The Strawberry Book. 39 



larger quantities than ever before, and yet afford the grower 

 a better profit than he obtains from any other forced fruit. 

 Indeed, one of the largest growers of forced strawberries 

 in this part of the country tells us that they yield an income 

 of a dollar per pot, and sometimes twice that amount. In 

 addition to this fact, an equally important one should be 

 kept in mind, viz., that the crop is all off in March, and 

 the house is left vacant for other uses a matter of no little 

 moment to the market gardener. 



As, in cooking a hare, the hare must first be caught, so, 

 in forcing strawberries, the vines must first be obtained, 

 and grown the season previous to the very maximum of size, 

 strength, and ripeness. The crowns must be full, plump, 

 well ripened, and mature. Such varieties, too, must be 

 selected as have been tested and found to force well ; and 

 these, generally spsaking, are those that make a full, high 

 crown, like the Triomphe de Gand, which is here held in 

 high esteem for a forcing variety. Trollope's Victoria has 

 been commended for forcing, and I have seen very splen- 

 did crops of La Constante ripe in March. The foreign 

 catalogues give long lists of varieties that force w r ell, very 

 few of which, we presume, have ever been tested for that 

 purpose in this country. Among the kinds thus marked 

 are the Eclipse, Gweniver, President, Princess of Wales, 

 Eliza, Lucas (these last two, from my success with them 

 out doors, I should think would do well in pots), Sir Harry, 

 Louis Vilmorin, Oscar, and many others ; but while the 

 Triomphe de Gand gives so sure and certain a crop of 

 high-priced berries, our growers will be slow to abandon 

 it. I may add, that the Hooker and the Boston Pine have 

 been tried, and found to do well in the forcing-house. I 

 have forced a very few plants of the President Wilder 

 (Wilder) in a hot-bed, and they did very well, although 

 I let all the runners grow, and the plants had not been 

 especially prepared for forcing. 



The variety having been fixed upon, the next step is to 



