There are those who have tried out the Labruscan varieties from Ontario. These cannot be grown under Guyot pruning methods but must be cultivated by a simpler system such as one main rod plus six strong side growths, which are pruned back hard each January.

The strong-growing varieties can be grown as cordons if the site is warm and the soil good. The rows have to be 6 feet apart and the cordons 10 feet apart in the rows. The cordons are trained horizontally and thus stakes and wiring must be provided. Under this system a stake with a minimum diameter of 3 inches, and preferably chestnut, should, when 2 feet of its base has been thoroughly treated with Cuprinol, be driven into the ground securely so that the top is 2 feet 3 inches above soil level.

It is almost time for spring chores and at the top of your list should be planting a tree or two.

Those who have been fascinated by the bowls of Alpine strawberries offered to them on the Continent may like to grow their own.

Aphides will pucker and curl the leaves and cause the tips to be twisted. Spraying with a 5 per cent emulsion of a tar-oil wash in December kills the eggs.