rivers' S SEEDLING ELIZA STRAWBERRY. 205 



XVI. — Note on Rivers's Seedling Eliza Strawberry ; and on a 

 mode of Potting. By R. Thompson. 



Three plants of this were received from Mr. Rivers, October 

 8th, 1851, in order to ascertain the effects of a particular mode 

 of potting the runners. This consists in ramming the soil in the 

 pots with the view of condensing in the latter a greater quantity 

 of nourishment for the plants. 



The above were placed along with the other strawberries 

 potted in the usual way for forcing. Under the same circum- 

 stances the Seedling Eliza ripened about a fortnight later than 

 Keens' Seedling, therefore it cannot be recommended for early 

 forcing. Tiie fruit is middle-sized, somewhat conical ; flesh 

 solid, with the flavour of Myatt's Eliza ; the scapes and foot- 

 stalks very hairy. It is likely to prove a rich-flavoured straw- 

 berry in the open ground. 



Hard potting produced no beneficial result. Plants of Keens' 

 Seedling potted in the usual way made a better growth, and 

 yielded a larger crop ; and when turned out of the pots after 

 forcing the roots were sound ; but many of those in the hard 

 potting were not so. 



If we put into each of two pots an equal quantity of the same 

 kind of soil, and if by ramming we can make one pot contain the 

 same quantity of soil, and of course all the nourishment that was 

 in the two, it would seem to follow that a plant would thence 

 derive a double amount of nourishment, and make a proportionate 

 growth. But the experiment proves that such is not the case. 

 It shows, on the contrary, that a large quantity of nourishment 

 may be unavailably contained in soil that is too compact for the 

 roots of certain plants to penetrate. This is more especially the 

 case as regards plants in pots, because they are induced to make 

 finely divided roots, like a net- work, between the sides of the pot and 

 ball of earth. All below the surface, the ball is often completely 

 enveloped with these very fine roots, which bind it more and more, 

 whilst they seem to have lost the power of re-entering it. They 

 assume the character of roots formed in water, and losing the 

 stronger form which those have that travel in the soil, they neces- 

 sarily avoid the latter, if not of a very permeable nature. The 

 roots of large trees will traverse a great extent of very firm 

 soil, and will sometimes even upset walls that have shallow 

 foundations ; but let these powerful roots dip into a well, and 

 then their earth penetrating adaptation ends. They form there, 

 a mass of thread-like roots, that may be bundled up like a 

 quantity of rope-yarn. In like manner, but in a finer degree, the 

 roots of plants in pots form fibres in the moist easy medium o. 

 extension along the insides of the pots; and if it is desirable that 



