24 THE STRAWBERRY CULTTJRI8T. 



partly above it. The walls are formed of brick or stone, or board* 

 filled In with sawdust or tan-bark, finished with a coping and covered 

 with movable glass sashes. In such a pit they will not freeze during 

 the coldest weather, if the sash is covered with straw mats or board 

 shutters that fit closely. 



Watering the plants is one of the most important operations in forc- 

 ing any kind of fruit, yet I can give no precise direction as to time or 

 quantity, as it depends so much upon circumstances which are variable. 

 But one person should always attend to this operation, for by so do- 

 ing they will soon learn the quantity the plants will require. 



The plants should be syringed over head every day with pure water, 

 and the temperature should be 65 to 75 degrees by day, and 50 to GO 

 by night. When the plants come into bloom, the syringing should be 

 dispensed with and plenty of air admitted, enough to get up a circula- 

 tion if possible. 



It is seldom necessary to give the plants any stimulant if the soil in 

 the pots be properly prepared ; but if it is ever desirable to push 

 them a little more rapidly, they may be sparingly watered with 

 guano water, say four pounds to the barrel, or other liquid manure, 

 each as two or three shovelfuls of cow manure to a barrel of water. 

 A solution of nitrate of soda, say an ounce to eight gallons of water, 

 sprinkled regularly over the surface of the soil, is not so offensive, and 

 nearly as good as manure water. When the fruit is set, a higher de- 

 gree of temperature may be maintained, say ten degrees by day and fiv< 

 by night. If the plants are placed on a stage in the forcing-house, 

 more care will be needed in watering than when plunged in soil ; and 

 where staging is used, it is best to place 

 the pots within another pot, as shown in 

 Figure 10, the outside pot, c, being about 

 one inch more in diameter than the inside 

 one, the space, a, between being filled with 

 moss, which should be kept constantly 

 moist. The roots of the plant will soon 

 fill the pot and grow more or less on the 

 Fig. 10. outside of the ball of earth against the 



pot ; and as the pots are placed so that the sunlight or a free circula- 



