STRA WBERRY SUNFLOWER 125 



flowers must be removed, for to overload the plants will ruin them, 

 and the temperature may be raised to 65 or 70. As the colour- 

 ing proceeds the minimum may be 65 and the maximum 80. 

 Beyond this entails great risk, and so high a temperature is allowable 

 only when the sun shines and the plants are kept well supplied with 

 water. During the colouring process the water supply must be 

 reduced, but not to such an extent as to cause the leaves to flag, for 

 it should be observed that if the leaves of Strawberries once droop 

 through deficiency of moisture at the root, it is more than probable that 

 they will never rise again. 



To grow Strawberries from seed is an interesting business, and 

 should be systematically practised to insure a supply of the delicate 

 Alpine varieties. The seed may be sown as soon as gathered, or 

 may be kept until spring. Being remarkably hardy, it is an easy 

 matter to raise plants in an open bed of light rich soil, by sowing the 

 seeds in shallow drills six inches apart. From this bed they should 

 be transplanted to the places they are to remain in for fruiting, the 

 soil being rather lighter and finer than for the larger kinds of Straw- 

 berries. But it is better practice to sow the seed in pans filled with 

 a light rich compost, consisting of turfy loam, leaf-mould, and rotten 

 hot-bed manure, and assist germination with a gentle heat. From 

 these pans the plants should be pricked out in a bed of light soil 

 in a frame, or on a nearly exhausted hot-bed, whence they should 

 be taken to the open ground to remain for fruiting. From spring- 

 sown seeds thus treated a moderate crop may be obtained in the 

 autumn, and a full crop the following year, after which the plants 

 should be destroyed, a succession being kept up by sowing annually. 

 By slowly growing from spring-sown seeds and potting in autumn, 

 it is not a difficult matter to have Alpines in fruit under glass at 

 Christmas. 



SUNFLOWER 



(Helianthus anmtus) 



THE SUNFLOWER may be spoken of as a plant that is for ever pro- 

 mising to perform wonders, but abandoning the task when it is about 

 half completed. It may become a farm crop, but it seems to wait 

 for a man of genius to discover its capabilities. It is possible that 

 we have fibre in the stem, fodder in the leaves, as well as poultry 

 food in the seeds, and the latter may also be made to yield a valuable 



