After-Culture

"Remove all runners not required for planting as often as they appear, for their growth at first is at the expense of the parent, and the more beds are matted with plants, the more these will draw the moisture out of the soil.

"What would be just sufficient for supplying the evaporation of a moderate quantity of plants, would be completely exhausted by an excessive number. Stirring the soil so as not to injure the roots, mulching with grass or litter, or paving with fiat tiles or small round pebbles and occasional waterings, are the best means to adopt.

" In thin soil the plantations will require to be more frequently renewed than where it is deeper, and of a more substantial quality."-Gard. Chron.

The spade should never be permitted to enter among strawberries, except to dig them up when a bed is to be destroyed ; the hoe, or at the most pointing with a three-pronged fork, is all the surface-stirring required, if the beds were well trenched when made, and have not been trampled upon.

Late Crops

To obtain these of the Alpine, it is correctly recommended to sow the seed in pans, and place in a hot-bed about February, or not later than the first week in March. "When the plants are hardied off, plant out in good time in May; they will bear a plentiful crop in August and September following, and continue to bear until stopped by the frost. The same plants will also bear earlier than the larger sorts, and continue on until the crop raised from seed (as above) succeed, when they can be thrown away. Large stones, or tiles, or slates, placed between the plants, will keep the roots moist through the summer months, and ripen the fruit. Seed should always be saved from the finest fruit; to get them large and plentiful, waterings (with now and then manure water) will improve the size of the fruit." - Gard. Chron.

To obtain late crops of other strawberries, as of the Keene's Seedling, Mr. W. Godwin recommends - " plants which were early in spring to be planted out into a rich border, to remain until the last week of September, when they will throw up very strong spikes of flowers; take up and pot in the same soil in which they were growing, and place in a pine frame. They will bear fruit to near the close of the year." - Gard. Chron.

Forcing

On this point we have the following directions from one of the most eminent of modern horticulturists, Mr. Paxton: -

"Select for this purpose, in the middle of August, a sufficient number of the best runners from approved kinds to have choice from, and plant them six inches apart, in beds, upon a strong border in a dry and sheltered situation. As soon as the leaves have withered, mulch them lightly with well-rotted manure, and if very severe weather occur, protect them for the time with fern or litter. They must be kept the following spring free from weeds and runners, removing also any flowers as they appear. Towards the latter end of May or beginning of June, whenever dull or rainy weather may occur, remove them carefully into forty-eight-sized pots. It is optional with the grower, whether one, two, or three plants are put in one pot, according to his object being quality or quantity; but we, desiring fine fruit in preference to number, only place one of the strongest or two of the weaker in one pot, using enriched melon soil or turfy loam. Place them, when potted, in a situation where they can be readily shaded for a short time, and receive regular supplies of water if necessary.

About the latter end of July, or early in August, these pots will be filled with roots, when the plants must be repotted into flat thirty-two-sized pots, usually termed strawberry pots, and at this time plunged in old tan or coal ashes. The best manner of plunging them we find to be, forming beds wide enough to contain five rows of pots, when plunged, upon a hard or gravelly surface, to prevent them rooting through, the sides supported by slabs of the same width as the depth of the pots, and filling them up with old tan or ashes; the plants remain here until wanted to take in, and are easily protected from severe frosts. It will be found an excellent plan to preserve the latest forced plants, which are not much exhausted, for forcing the first the next season; these, from their long period of rest, and well-ripened buds, are predisposed to break earlier and stronger than the others; some of them, if the autumn is moist, will be excited, and produce flowers, which must be immediately pinched out; they should have their balls carefully reduced, and be repotted in larger pots early in August, protecting them from the late autumnal rains, and from frost." - Gard. Chron.

"For succession," Mr. Paxton says, "strong runners are taken up in September, and planted about six inches apart, in manured and well-prepared beds, four feet wide, in a somewhat sheltered situation; there they are allowed to remain until the following July, during which period they must be kept very clean from weeds, have the flowers and runners regularly pinched off, and be watered whenever likely to suffer from drought. About the middle of July they are potted in small thirty-two-sized pots, two plants in a pot, taking the greatest care that neither roots nor leaves are damaged in the operation, and an important part of it is to press the earth firmly about them; the soil used is two parts loam to one of well-rotted dung. Beds which will hold five or six rows of pots are then formed in the following manner: - level the surface of the ground, and spread upon it a layer of coal ashes; above which must be nailed firmly slabs, or any rough boards, as wide as the-depth of the pots, which are then to be plunged to the rim in spent bark or ashes. All that they will here require is attention to watering when necessary, and a slight protection with fern, or other light covering, during severe frosty weather.

I always preserve from 300 to 400 of the latest forced plants of the above description, and after having carefully reduced their balls, repot them in large thirty-two-sized pots in July, treating them afterwards precisely as the others. I find these by having their buds formed early (through the slight forcing they have received), and becoming very strong, are admirably adapted for the first crop, and always repay me for the extra trouble. Begin forcing with a temperature of 40°, increasing to 50° when in bloom, and to 55° when ripening." - Gard. Chron.

Mr. Brown, gardener to Lord Southampton, at Whittlebury Lodge, near Towcester, says, that "Mr. Paxton's method of preparing strawberry plants for forcing is a good one where time and trouble are of no consequence; but for the last fifteen years he has adopted a plan which answers well, and by which good strong plants are procured in one month from the present year's runners.

"The compost used is good strong loam, well mixed with rotten dung from the hot-bed linings; twenty-four-sized pots are the best for Keene's Seedlings, and thirty-twos for Grove End Scarlets. The latter variety answers for early forcing better than any other sort, when strawberries are wanted by the end of March.

"Having filled the pots with the compost, they are removed at once to the strawberry quarters, and arranged on each side of the rows, amongst the runners. The middle of July, when the plants are emitting roots, is the proper time to begin the operation of layering; having previously prepared a quantity of pegs, the runners that are rooted into the ground are carefully removed, and their roots inserted in the pots, and pegged down. Put three plants into the twenty-four pots, and one in the thirty-twos; they immediately begin growing, being supported by the mother plant, and will only require occasional watering in dry weather.

"When the plants are well rooted, which is in about one month, detach them from the old plants, and remove to their winter quarters.

"Beds are prepared for them with a bottom of coal ashes, and they are plunged in old tan; each bed surrounded with a stratum of coal ashes six inches wide, and as high as the top of the pots, which prevents worms from working amongst them." - Gard. Chron.

Thus far we have copied the English edition of this work. The American reader, though he will find that which will instruct in the culture of this delicious fruit, will perceive there is too much detail and tedious labour for his practice.

Many of the varieties named in the preceding article are comparatively unknown in this country, and others have been tested, and found wanting. Our American Seedlings have, on the whole, given most satisfaction, and are most reliable, whilst the efforts now being made to produce varieties promise, from the success already attained, to give all that could be desired.

"The market gardeners around Philadelphia, who are successful cultivators of the strawberry, plant both in spring and early in autumn; their method is to plant two rows about twelve inches apart, and the plants twelve inches from each other in the rows; between every two rows as described, they leave spaces of two feet, which are, by the growth of the vines, reduced to one foot, thus making each bed two feet wide with an alley of twelve inches between them; when planted in the spring they usually raise some dwarf crop on the same ground, but that had better be omitted - keeping the soil cultivated and top-dressed with some well-rotted manure. In the autumn, they spread on the surface, both beds and alleys, a good coat of coarse manure, such as will lie lightly, the loose portion of which may be raked off in the spring, when the alleys are dug, and covered with straw, to exclude draught and screen the trusses of fruit on the edge of the bed from contact with the earth. Exhausted tanner's bark, or saw-dust scattered among the plants, is highly serviceable in protecting the fruit from grit.