The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1859-04-14
How to Raise Strawberries.

This month is one of the best in all the year
for planting the strawberry. For this reason,
and because many persons still imagine that there
is some mystery in the raising of this excellent
fruit, we will now set forth all that is really
necessary to know on the subject For a more
full discussion of the theory and practice we re-
fer the readers to articles in our recent volumes
The strawberry likes a warm sandy loan.
with q sunny exposure. 1t will bear fruit in
poor soil, but to produce large berries and a
plenty of them, the land must be enriched. 1t
will bear fruit short time, in light and thin
soil, but to prolong the season of bearing into
the midst of dry weather the soil must be trench
ing digging Some varieties have imperfect
flowers. i. e. are either staminate or pistillate
{nale ser 3female) and cannot fertize themselves.
therefore, those of one sex need to be planted in
the neighhorhood of the other. A few have
a. perfect flowers, and are called hermaphrodtc
In the artificial soil of our gardens, strawberry
plants are apt to grow too rank and dense for
5 their highest productiveness and should be thin
ned out so as to keep them several inches apart
y The above are perhaps the most important
general principles connected with successful
strawberry culture. Now, for an application (:
Choose warm portion Of the garden, unshaded
by trees or vines and where there is no stand
ing water in the subsoil If the garden has
already been trenched eighteen inches or two
feet deep, and if the soil is warm, rich and po-
rous throughout, all you have to do is to just
spade up the EARTH level it off, and set out your
plants But, supposing the subsoil is hard, and
the top soil somewhat stiff and cold, and ex-
hausted by other crops, then proceed as follows !:
Begin at one end OF the proposed bed, and take
OH the top soil one spade deep and four feet
sqnare, and carry the same to the other end
spread over this uncovered spot, a. compost of
oldmanure and rotted weeds or muck from the
woods, and spade it down, and mix all thoroughly
together, Then uncover four feet more. throw
ing the top soil over the part already MANFRED
Manure the uncovered soil as before. and so
r. proceed the whole length of the bed on reach
ing the end you will find use for the top soil
taken off at the beginning Ifnow, the top soil
is not rich enough, or is too hard and sterile,
apply a dressing of fine compost, or sand and
"ood-earth and ashes, mixing the whole thoro-
ugniy Then level off and lay ont the beds
lour ieee VIDE, and as long as your space de-
inands. Three beds, of that width and fourteen
leet long, VIII supply an ordinary family and
Il thelr cousens with an abundance Set three
rows IN each bed, and let the plants be eight
y. teen inches apart 1.-THE rows Mulch the ground
between the plants with tan-bark or straw. If
the weather is dry for several weeks after plant
ing, give dn occasional watering Keep the
|, Tunners slipped, and the weedsolet none he
seen. You may be tempted to let the plants
bear fruit the first year; but this win only
weaken them and prevent bountiful cron the
second season. The very best way is to keen
down all the runners, and to pinch off eyery
I blossom the first year
As to the best varieties, it is no easv matter
to decide, where there are SO many excellent
sorts ); but the following may be relied on as
certainly good
Stamanate sorts Wilson's Albany, Longworth's
Prolific Hooker, and Larae Early Scarlet.
Plstsl1ates Hovey's Seeding, McAvoy's
Superior, Burr's New Pine, Black Prince, Grim
son Cone.
Some of the above are regarded in certain
quarters as hermaphrodite, viz. Longworth's
Prolific, Hooker, and Wilson's Albany.
The staminates and pistillates may be set to-
gether in the same bed but it is better to keep
them IN separate patches. If they are within
six or eight feet Of each other, the pistilate
plants will be sGfIcicntly fortified ID