STRANV^ESIA 



835 



STRAWBERRY 



These calculations are all founded upon the supposition 

 that the condensed water is returned to the boiler whilst 

 hot ; but if this cannot be effected, then one-twelfth 

 more fuel will be required. The boiler for the supply 

 either of steam or hot water should be covered with the 

 best available non-conductor of heat, and this is either 

 charcoal or sand. 



A case of brickwork, with pulverised charcoal between 

 this and the boiler, is to be preferred to any other. A 

 boiler having a surface of 70 feet exposed to the air, in 

 a temperature of 32, requires an extra bushel of coals 

 to be consumed per day, to compensate for the heat 

 radiated and conducted from that surface ; and the 

 smaller the boiler, the greater is the proportionate waste. 

 The surface of the pipes should be painted black, because 

 a surface of this colour gives out more heat in a given 

 time than any other. 



Bark or Moist Stove. Mr. J . Claudius Loudon gives the 

 following description of a moist stove, warmed on the 

 old plan of deriving heat by the combined agency of 

 bark and flues. Instead of a stage in the centre it has 

 a pit, which may be from 2$ to 4 feet deep, according 

 as bark or leaves are to be used, the latter material 

 requiring the greatest depth. It is commonly surrounded 

 by a thin brick wall ; but planks of stone, or plates of 

 slate or cast iron, are to be preferred. The roof, when 

 necessary, may be supported by iron columns from the 

 middle of the pit. Shelves may be placed against 

 the back wall, and occasionally a narrow-leaved creeper 

 run up the roof. We may add, that houses of this 

 description are generally placed east and west against 

 walls, on account of the shelter thereby obtained during 

 winter, when a high degree of heat is kept up within, 

 while the cold is excessive without. 



(Named after the Hon. W. F. 

 Strangways, F.R.S. Nat. ord. Roseworts [Rosacea?]. 

 Linn. iz-Icosandria, z-Di-pentagynia. Allied to Cra- 

 taegus.) 



Beautiful and nearly evergreen shrubs, but not quite 

 hardy, except in the south of England. Grafting on the 

 thorn ; in cold places would like a little protection in 

 winter. 

 S. glauce'scens (grey-leaved). 20. White. June. Nepaul. 



1828. 



undula'ta (waved). 3-6. White. Fruit orange-red. 

 Central China. 1910. 



STRATIO'TES. Water Soldier. (From stratiotes, a 

 soldier; sword-like leaves. Nat. ord. Hydrocharads 

 [Hydrocharidacea?]. Linn. 22-Dicecia, lo-Dodecandria.) 



Hardy aquatic. Useful to plant in ponds, where it 

 will soon cover a large space. Seeds and divisions ; 

 ponds and lakes. 



S. alistnoi'des (plantain-like). See OTTELIA ALISMOIDES. 

 aloi'des (Aloe-like). 2. White. June. England. 



STRAVA'DIUM. (From the native name in Malabar. 

 Nat. ord. Myrtleblooms [Myrtaceae]. Linn. i6-Afcma- 

 delphia, S-Polyandria.) 



Stove evergreen trees. Cuttings of ripened shoots in 

 sand, under a bell-glass, and in a good, moist bottom- 

 heat ; fibrous loam and peat, with a little charcoal and 

 silver sand. Winter temp., 60" to 65 ; summer, 65 

 to 90. 

 S. acuta' ngulum (sharp-angled). See BARRINGTONIA 



ACUTANGULA. 



insi'gne (remarkable). See BARRINGTONIA INSIGNIS. 

 ,, Tacemo'sum (racemed). See BARRINGTONIA RACEMOSA. 

 ,, ru'brum (red). See BARRINGTONIA ACUTANGULA. 



STRAWBERRY. Fraga'ria. 



Superior Kinds. (i) Black Prince; (2) Keen's 

 Seedling ; (3) British Queen ; (4) Elton ; (5) Old Pine ; 

 (6) Alpine ; (7) Kitley's Goliath ; (8) Eliza ; (9) Carolina 

 superba. For early heavy crops none can exceed the 

 Keen's ; for size, the British Queen and Goliath ; for 

 earliness, the Black Prince probably takes the lead ; for 

 very late purposes, the Elton and Alpines ; and for 

 forcing, the Keen's and the British Queen. Of modern 

 varieties Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury and Royal 

 Sovereign are first early varieties for outdoor culture 

 and for forcing. Superior maincrop varieties are Presi- 

 dent, Sir Joseph Paxton, Dr. Hogg, Bedford Champion, 

 and Louis Gauthier. Late varieties, of good flavour, are 

 Givon's Late Prolific, Olympia, Laxton's Latest, and 



Waterloo. The best perpetual Strawberry is St. Antoine 

 de Padoue. 



Soi7. A good loam of some depth is best adapted 

 to high culture ; for although strawberry walls are found 

 to be highly conducive to flavour, yet they will not 

 succeed well in such situations, unless a special provision 

 of this kind be made for them. Therefore, loose and 

 sandy soils must be mixed with marls or clays, and 

 clayey soils must be rendered open by applying sand, 

 road-scrapings, cinder-ashes (fine), burnt or charred 

 material, &c. Boggy or peaty soils will require consolida- 

 tion by burning, or the application of sound soil, and by 

 thorough draining, if wet. 



Propagation: by Runners and Seed. Their propaga- 

 tion by runners is well known. Seed-sowing is resorted 

 to for raising new varieties, and for heightening the 

 culture of the Alpine class, which is by most cultivators 

 treated as an annual. 



Culture during the Growing Period. Very little is 

 necessary besides keeping them clear of weeds, and 

 trimming all those runners away which are not required 

 for future stock. All operations connected with root- 

 culture should be carried out during the rest period. 

 At the end of May the runners will begin to ramble freely, 

 and at this time a very general spring-dressing should 

 take place. This consists in hoeing and raking the ground 

 thoroughly, choosing a dry period for the operation, in 

 order that every weed may be destroyed ; at the same 

 time trimming away all the wires or strings on which the 

 runners are produced. The next proceeding will be to 

 place clean straw, grass-mowings, or tan beneath the 

 trusses of fruit ; this process requires a little nicety of 

 handling. When the bloom trusses make their appear- 

 ance, the next great point is to see that the plants never 

 suffer from drought from this period to the moment 

 they commence ripening. 



Culture during the Rest Period. We date our rest 

 season from the period at which the last fruit is gathered, 

 or soon after, say the end of August. At this period it 

 will be found that, in spite of the trimming the plants 

 received in May, a profusion of runners will have been 

 produced, the rambling foliage from which will obstruct 

 the light from the older and principal leaves, which have, 

 from this time forward, the important office of preparing 

 for the formation of the ensuing year's blossom. The 

 waste runners should therefore be trimmed away as soon 

 as possible, for they also exhaust the soil by their roots. 

 In cutting away these runners, great care must be exer- 

 cised in preserving all the true leaves, which must by 

 no means be cut. No further trimming need be practised 

 until the following March, in the early part of which all 

 the decayed and injured foliage may be cut away. The 

 rows being 3 feet apart, at the end of October, one foot 

 in the centre only is to be dug, thus leaving the plants 

 one foot of roots on each side entirely undisturbed. 

 Introduce some decayed manure annually in this centre, 

 and the small amount of loss of root is more than com- 

 pensated by the volume of new white fibres which, by 

 the month of May following, have fully invested the new 

 ground. The dung or vegetable matter should be some- 

 what fresh ; such is preferable to rotten manure. 



Making new Plantations. Trenching should be had 

 recourse to, going as deep as the good soil will permit, 

 placing the manure necessary principally between the 

 two spits. If the soil be shallow, of course the manure 

 will be dug down with a single spit. If good runners 

 can be obtained early in July, and carefully cultivated, 

 they may be expected to bear a respectable crop the 

 following summer. From those planted in February, of 

 course, little can be expected. It is by far the best to 

 keep a little nursery for runners in a very open situation, 

 and the plants a long way apart. 



Strawberry Walls or Banks. These have been highly 

 recommended, and are, doubtless, very useful, as heighten- 

 ing flavour. They have, however, never become very 

 general, owing to their being rather expensive in con- 

 structing. A strawberry wall, in the direction of east 

 and west, would be a useful adjunct in high gardening if 

 properly managed. On the south side plant the Black 

 Prince and the Keen's Seedling ; and on the north side 

 the Elton. The former would ripen a fortnight earlier 

 than ordinary ones, and the latter continue bearing until 

 October. These walls may be built of any kind of 

 material which will maintain its position, and should be 

 as near to an angle of 45 as can be approached. 



