Cultivation of the Strawberry in Pots. 59 



Art. III. On the Cultivation of the Strawberry in Pots. 

 By H. Bock. 



Of all the fruits that delight our fancy, gratify our festive 

 appetites, or please the eye, there is none that is so easily ac- 

 cessible, as regards the expense of growing, as the strawberry. • 

 But, as there appeared in your December number, an essay on 

 the culture of this fruit in beds, in the open air, it is my inten- 

 tion now only to treat upon the manner of forcing in pots. I 

 immediately proceed to detail my method of cultivation. 

 First, the plants from which I make my selection, have been 

 growing in the open ground at least one year ; in the sum- 

 mer, as soon as I can, I obtain young plants from laterals, or 

 runners, — which will be in June or the early part of July, — 

 by placing a three-inch pot, filled with the compost I always 

 use, viz., — good mellow, loamy turf, mixed with eight or ten 

 per cent, of super phosphate of lime, or burnt bones, — under- 

 neath each young plant, with a stone upon the surface, for 

 the double purpose of fixing the plant and keeping the soil 

 moist ; at the same time stopping the runner a little beyond 

 the plant, so that the sap may reach the plant and no further, 

 giving occasional waterings. 



Within a fortnight they are generally sufficiently rooted to 

 bear separation from the parent plant, with about one foot of 

 the runner attached, which serves partly to sustain the plant 

 until it takes nature wholly upon itself. Each plant is then 

 potted singly into an eight-inch pot, folding the runner at- 

 tached beneath the soil, and placing them in a shaded situa- 

 tion for two or three days. Next, they are arranged in beds, 

 four feet wide, the outside rows made up to the top of the 

 pots, with coal ashes, or similar material, for the purpose of 

 retaining a uniformity of moisture throughout, watering at- 

 tentively, with liquid manure, whenever they appear dry. 



In this situation they remain until the middle of Septem- 

 ber, when they are set in a single row, if possible, along a 

 south wall, as at this stage all the light and sun that can be 

 obtained are essentially necessary in ripening the buds, or, 



