To keep the crop clean many plans are adopted, and the plant probably takes its name from the old custom of covering the ground with straw for the purpose.  The cultivator must be left to his own devices, because of the difficulty in many places of obtaining suitable material.  But we must warn the beginner in Strawberry culture against grass mowings as more or less objectionable.  They sometimes answer perfectly, and at other times they encourage slugs and snails to spoil the crop, and if partially rotted by wet weather communicate to the fruit a bad flavour.  There is a very simple means of feeding the crop and making a clean bed for the fruit.  It consists in putting on a good coat of long, strong manure in February, and in doing this it is no great harm if the plants are in some degree covered.  They will soon push up and show themselves, and by the time the fruit appears the straw will be washed clean, and the crop being thus aided will be a great one, weather permitting.  As regards cutting off the leaves, we advise the removal of old large leaves as soon as the crop is gathered.  But this should be done with a knife; to use a scythe amongst Strawberries is to ruin the plantation.  The object of removing old leaves is to admit light and air to the young leaves, for on the free growth of these the formation of good crowns for the next year’s use depends.  By encouraging the young leaves to grow, root action is promoted, and the embryo buds are formed that will, in the next summer, develop into Strawberries.

Some gardeners recommend the removal of the Strawberry plantation every three years.  It is a better plan to make a small plantation annually, and at the same time destroy an old plantation that has served its turn.  But we are bound to say that Strawberry plantations, well made and well kept, will often last and prove profitable for six or even more years.  But this will never be the case where there is a stint of manure or water, or where the runners are allowed to run in their own way to make a Strawberry mat and a jam of the wrong sort.  The Strawberry fancier does not wish to keep a plantation any great length of time, and he must plant annually to taste the new sorts.  This to many people is one of the chief delights of the garden, and it certainly has its attractions.

==Forced Strawberries.==—­The high price realised on the market for the earliest supply of forced Strawberries is a sufficient proof that society is prepared to pay handsomely for this refreshing luxury.  As the season advances and competition becomes keen the figure rapidly declines, but ‘Strawberries at a guinea an ounce’ has more than once appeared as a sensational head-line in the daily press.

The fruiting of Strawberries in pots is part of the annual routine of nearly all large establishments, but even with the most perfect appliances it must be admitted that to produce berries which win appreciation for their size, colour, and flavour demands both skill and patience, especially patience.