AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



511 



Strawberry continued. 



The pots most generally used are of the size known as 

 32s, which measure about 6in. in diameter. These should 

 be clean, dry, and well drained ; a little rough turf is also 

 recommended for placing over the drainage, and, if a 

 sprinkling of dry soot is shaken amongst this, it will 

 materially aid in keeping out large worms, which often 

 enter at the bottom if they have an opportunity. 



The best soil for Strawberries in pots is turfy loam, 

 somewhat heavy rather than light, used to the extent 

 of about two-thirds of a compost, the remainder being 

 good, short manure, such as leaf mould, or horse- droppings 

 which have laid for a time, or well-rotted cow-dung. 

 Some cultivators use bone-meal or crushed bones, in 

 preference to other manures, with excellent results. The 

 compost should be suitably moist for ramming firmly 

 with a hand-rammer ; and it is important that none 

 of the plants are dry at the time of potting. Stand 

 them in a shady place for a few days, unless the weather 

 happens to be dull, and afterwards place them in an 

 open situation with full exposure to the sun, on a firm 

 bottom, such as gravel or coal ashes, which allows water 

 to pass away, and also keeps worms from entering the 

 pots. As the plants grow, they must be stood wider 

 apart, always allowing sufficient space between them, so 

 that the leaves of one do not overgrow another. The 

 crowns should be kept pointed towards the south, with a 

 view to getting them strong and well ripened by exposure 

 to the sun's influence. Strawberries in pots require 

 constant attention in watering through the summer 

 and early autumn ; they need copious supplies whenever 

 it is fine, but, in showery weather, the rain often supplies 

 sufficient moisture for several days together, and growth 

 made under such naturally favoured conditions is then 

 rapid. Before there are any severe frosts, the plants 

 should be stored away for the winter, or until they are 

 required for forcing. They may be plunged amongst dry 

 leaves, in cold pits or frames, where litter or some other 

 covering can be thrown over to exclude frost. On all 

 fine days, and during mild weather, the sashes should 

 be removed: the plants only need protection from 

 heavy rains and sharp frosts. Where frames or pits 

 cannot be spared, the plan of plunging the pots in 

 ashes, one above another, against a south wall is some- 

 times adopted, the pots being laid on their sides, with 

 the crowns outwards, and all one way. Garden mats 

 may then be laid over them at any time, if it becomes 

 necessary. 



Under the system of layering on the fruiting-pot, the 

 mode of treatment ia very similar, except that no small 

 pots are used, and, consequently, no second potting is 

 necessary. The large pots (6in.) should be cleaned, well- 

 drained, and filled with good soil, at the first; then 

 taken to the Strawberry plantation, and the selected 

 runners placed on them, in the way previously described. 

 Watering must on no account be neglected, not giving 

 sufficient to cause sourness in the soil, which, it is im- 

 portant to remember, has to serve the roots for the 

 season. When the plants get established, they may be 

 detached from the parents, and afterwards treated in 

 precisely the same way as has been already described. 

 No check consequent on repotting is experienced by 

 plants thus treated ; and the pots may, in the first place, 

 be filled rapidly with soil. They are not so readily taken 

 to and from the plantation as when the small size is 

 used; but, on the other hand, when established, they 

 may be taken direct to the place where they are to 

 remain for the summer, and there is no fear of injury 

 from the roots becoming starved, because of delays that 

 often unavoidably occur in getting the work of re-potting 

 completed. 



The preparation of plants for forcing has been thus 

 fully detailed, because on it principally depends the 

 success with them when introduced under glass for 



Strawberry continued. 



fruit-bearing; or, at least, superior forced fruit must 

 not be expected if the crowns are not strong, plump, 

 and well-ripened, at the outset. Strawberry forcing, 

 and its attendant results, are matters of very great im- 

 portance to most gardeners every season. Under suc- 

 cessful management, good fruits may be secured some 

 time during the month of April; earlier than this, the 

 amount of natural heat and light necessary, through 

 all stages, for attaining proper development, is seldom 

 forthcoming. Some of the best-ripened plants of an 

 early variety such as Keen's Seedling or Vicomtesse 

 H. de Thury may be introduced under glass, for start- 

 ing during December, or early in January. The tem- 

 perature at first must not exceed 40deg. to 45deg. at 

 night, and from 45deg. to SOdeg. by day, with air on 

 all favourable occasions. This will be sufficient to excite 

 the crowns to push the embryo flower-stalks and leaves 

 which they contain; but forcing must still be conducted 

 very slowly, even until the time the fruits are Bet. By 

 the time the plants reach the flowering stage, the days 

 will have lengthened, and full sunlight must be admitted 

 to them, with a free circulation of air always avoiding 

 a draught. When flowering, an average temperature of 

 about 55deg. must not be exceeded, and the admission of 

 air from some quarter is essential for insuring fertilisa- 

 tion ; the atmosphere at this period should be kept some- 

 what drier than is advisable at any other time, till the 

 fruits are ripe, and syringing must, for a few days, be 

 discontinued. The strongest flowers appear amongst the 

 first that open ; and if from nine to a dozen of these 

 can be induced to set properly, it will be a good crop, 

 and all the smaller, secondary flowers may be clipped off 

 so soon as these are safe. During forcing operations, 

 it is important to remember that the four parts of 

 a Strawberry flower are formed in succession, and 

 that the most essential of all, the pistil, arrives last 

 at maturity to perform its allotted function. It must 

 not, therefore, be inferred that, when the calyx appears, 

 and the white petals expand, the other organs are 

 similarly advanced. In early forcing particularly, great 

 care must be taken in regard to temperature and 

 moisture during the whole flowering period. After the 

 crop is set, a higher temperature should be gradually 

 applied, about an average of from 60deg. to 65deg. ; or 

 the plants that are sufficiently advanced may be shifted 

 into another house, if there are others coming on for a 

 succession. 



Watering must receive special attention. Plentiful 

 supplies are requisite, especially when the fruits are swell- 

 ing, and no Strawberry-plant should ever be allowed to 

 get quite dry at the root. The application of manure- 

 water is of great advantage while the fruits are swelling, 

 or the plants may be assisted more conveniently, and 

 quite as efficiently, by placing a little artificial manure 

 over the surface of the soil once a week, and watering it 

 in. The effect is most marked just as the first signs 

 of colouring are seen, and this should be the last appli- 

 cation made. Syringing may be freely practised until 

 the fruits begin colouring; besides supplying moisture, 

 it materially aids in keeping down Red Spider. When 

 the earliest fruits are nearly ripe, carefully transfer 

 the plants to a cool, airy house for two or three days 

 before gathering; this will often improve the flavour 

 immensely. As the crop is taken, the plants may be 

 turned out and thrown away, or preserved for forming a 

 new plantation, according as they may or may not be 

 required : others will be coming on to take their places. 

 Where large quantities of Strawberries are forced, a 

 Strawberry-house, specially devoted to bringing on suc- 

 cessions, is the best arrangement. This should be fitted 

 up with beds or shelves, near the glass, where full 

 exposure to sun and light is at all times secured. The 

 quantity of plants forming a successional batch must 



