38 The Strawberry Book. 



CHAPTER VII. 



ON FORCING STRAWBERRIES. 



WITH the proper appliances forced strawberries can be 

 raised with less trouble than any other forced fruit. If 

 proper care and precaution are used, if the plants are of 

 a suitable variety, well grown, and w T ell ripened, and if 

 the gardener, in forcing, makes haste slowly, failure is not 

 far from impossible. The strawberiy is one of the earliest 

 out-door fruits, and therefore it requires less time for per- 

 fection under glass than any other ; and it often happens 

 that a good crop of strawberries can be grown on an un- 

 occupied shelf or some other place in a green-house that 

 would otherwise be useless. 



A grape vine under glass must be three years old to 

 bear a good crop ; a peach tree requires considerable care 

 before coming into bearing ; and if trees or vines under 

 glass are killed, the loss is quite serious ; while, on the other 

 hand, strawberry vines can be grown and got ready for for- 

 cing in three months ; and even if they are not set out in the 

 open ground after bearing their spring crop, the loss of the 

 plants is nothing compared with the loss of a row of three- 

 year-old vines. Again, forced strawberries if the plants 

 are started at the usual season come into the market in 

 advance of other hot-house fruit, and generally command 

 a good price, and sometimes are sold at rates that seem 

 really extravagant. 



With houses adapted especially for strawberry culture 

 it is extremely probable that forced strawberries can be 

 raised and sold to the public at lower prices and in much 



