,8o FRUITS AND VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 



learn is to imitate natural temperatures to a certain extent; then failures will 

 be few and the success great. We cannot expect success if on starting to force 

 a plant we rush on too much heat before it gets acclimatized or before the root 

 action begins. There will be no end of trouble if Strawberries are brought 

 along in an atmosphere that is too close and humid. While good foliage is 

 necessary both for the development of root action and for the fruit, yet if an 

 over-abundance of foliage is encouraged by too much heat and moisture, the 

 fruit will sufler. It will withstand a fairly brisk temperature after the fruit 

 is set, but high temperature should be avoided before that. This may seem 

 slow work but the crop will more than repay even if it does take a lew days 

 longer to mature. If brought along in a moderate temperature until the fruit 

 is set and the temperature is then increased by ten degrees the rapid progress 

 is surprising. By this method of forcing, moreover, much finer fruit will be 

 obtained. 



I have said that forced Strawberries may be had from the end of February 

 to the first of June, but it is possible to have ripe fruit before the date first 

 mentioned. I have had it earlier; but I ha\e come to the conclusion that it 

 is not worth the time and labor bestowed upon it. In the first place it seems 

 impossible to obtain the rich flavor until toward the end of February or the 

 first of March; besides, the premature crop is so light that quite a number of 

 plants are required to secure a decent gathering. 



Strawberries under glass do not need a special house for themselves; still, 

 the berries cannot be ripened up on a bench. No matter what care is given to 

 the preliminary work, success is uncertain unless suitable quarters are selected 

 for the fruiting. This is nothing new. When I was a lad, it was my work 

 to water the Strawberries with a watering can while standing on a ladder, for 

 the pots were ranged on a shelf at the highest point of a leanto house within a 

 foot or six inches of the glass. Before I was done I was usually drenched, as 

 I had to hold the can over my head, and the water ran down my arms and body. 

 The sensation was not a pleasant one, and no one will disagree with me when I 

 say that my opinion of Strawberry forcing was not a high one at that time. 

 But the methods have, fortunately, changed. The lad of today, plying a hose, 

 with the water turned on to suit his purpose, can accomplish as much in ten 

 minutes as I could in half an hour — and much more comfortably. It was a 

 case of working hard and accomplishing little or nothing. 



The plants must be in a position where they will receive the full sunlight and 

 a circulation of air, particularly when in bloom and again when ripening their 

 fruit. I have found hanging shelves admirably adapted for the development 

 of the Strawberry. Most houses now constructed are probably of iron, and 

 the shelves may be arranged so that the growing crops will not be damaged. 

 All that is needed is a shelf wide enough to accommodate a six-inch pot, and if 

 a four-inch board is nailed along each side of the shelf, there will be no accident. 

 These shelves can be hung up in any house by means of fairly strong iron sup- 

 ports made to clasp around the shelves, welted together on top with a cleat 

 turned at an angle, to fit over the cross bar or angle iron of the greenhouse. 

 Three-quarter half-round iron is best for the purpose, and it will hold the shelf 



