218 THE GARDENER. [May 



from getting sour. Fill the pan to within ^ of an inch of the top, 

 pressing the soil rather firm, and make the surface quite smooth, on 

 which sow the seeds as evenly as possible. Cover them not more 

 than i of an inch deep with finely-sifted soil, over which spread a 

 piece of muslin or blotting-paper, and give a good watering through 

 a fine rose. When the water subsides, remove the muslin or paper, 

 and place a square of glass over the pan. Set it in the propagating 

 pit or frame, and keep it shaded until the seedlings are fairly up. As 

 soon as they can be handled, prick them out 3 inches apart in boxes, 

 using soil the same as for the seeds. Place the boxes in a cold frame, 

 facing the north ; keep close and shaded for a few days, after which 

 time remove the shade and admit an abundance of air. As soon as 

 the leaves of the individual plants begin to touch each other, transfer 

 them into 4-inch pots, using a compost of two parts loam, one part 

 leaf-mould, and one part old cow-dung, adding as much sand as will 

 keep it open. 



After placing 3 or 4 inches of cinders at the bottom of the frame to 

 stand the pots on, return the plants to their old quarters. As soon 

 as they fill the pots with roots, shift into the sized pot you intend 

 them to bloom in, using soil the same as before. Keep the plants as 

 long in the cold frame or pit as you are certain you can keep frost out. 

 Attend to watering and keeping insects at bay, and you will be re- 

 warded with fine heads of bloom for your trouble. J. H. 



STRAWBERRY FORCING. 



I HAVE read with great interest the valuable contribution on this 

 subject by Mr Simpson, p. 107; and on its perusal a few thoughts 

 naturally struck me, which I send by way of a supplement. 



As far as my little experience goes with the kinds of Strawberries, 

 and their relative merits for forcing in pots, I have more than on one 

 occasion proved, as Mr Simpson has described, the success and again 

 the comparative failure of the same kinds in different places. As an 

 instance, I may here cite my father's experience of them in Bedford- 

 shire. The best Strawberry he forces there is Marguerite, which 

 is also, as Mr Simpson has found several others in his neighbourhood 

 to be, much superior in all respects to the well-known Keen's Seedling. 

 As a proof of the excellence of this Strawberry as it is grown at Col- 

 worth, you will find, in the account of the Proceedings of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society's Fruit Committee three years ago, notice of a 

 sample as being first-rate, and the fruit of which, I can say, were all 



