1 86 SUCCESS WITH SMALL FRUITS. 



soil, in April, and the runners are kept off all summer, they 

 will make large, bushy stools, which will give a fine crop in 

 autumn. 



The amateur, with a small consen^atory or south window, 

 by approximating as far as possible to the conditions named, 

 can achieve a fair success. I have had plants do moder- 

 ately well by merely digging them from the beds late in the 

 fall, with considerable rich earth clinging to their roots, and 

 then potting with more rich soil, and forcing them at once. 

 Of course, fine results cannot be expected from such care- 

 less work, but soffie strawberries can be raised with very little 

 trouble. If one, however, wished to go into the business on 

 a large and scientific scale, I would recommend a strawberry- 

 house, designed by Mr. William Ingram, gardener at Belvoir 

 Castle. A figure of this structure may be seen on page 74 

 in Mr. Fuller's valuable work, " The Small Fruit Culturist." 

 On the same principles that we have been describmg, the 

 ripening of strawberries can be hastened by the use of hot 

 beds, cold frames, and ordinary sash. 



During the Christmas holidays strawberries sell readily at 

 from $4 to ^8 per quart, and handsome fruit brings high 

 prices till March ; but the profit of raising them under glass 

 threatens to diminish in future years, since Florida berries 

 begin to arrive freely even in February. There are those 

 who now seem to be doing well in the business of forcing, 

 if we may judge from the jealousy with which they guard 

 the open secrets of their calling from their neighbors. 



A rough and ready method of forcing is to dig up clumps 

 of plants during a mild spell in winter or early spring, put 

 them in boxes or pots of rich earth, and take them into the 

 green- house. Considerable fruit is sometimes ripened in 

 this way. 



