i84 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 



a high-grade fertilizer intelligently applied, better results may be obtained 

 from six-inch pots than from larger ones. 



There are different manures adapted to this crop. Clay's, used in a liquid 

 form, is a manure of tried value. Ichthemic guano as a top dressing is also 

 good, in the proportion of four or five of soil to one of Ichthemic, applied as a 

 light surface dressing. Bon Arbor may also be used with good effects. Even 

 cow manure water now and then will help to bring the crop along; but when 

 the berries get large, chemicals are cleaner to use, and give the same or better 

 results. 



The first lot of plants, after being started, may be brought into heat from 

 the middle of December to the first of January. Where a steady supply of fruit 

 is desired, fresh plants should be brought in about every ten days, and treated 

 as recommended for the first lot. Bring the pots in according to the stock, 

 but the batch should always be large enough to yield two quarts or more at one 

 gathering. This means fifty or seventy-five pots in a batch. 



WATERING 



Good judgment must be used in watering during the short days. When 

 the plants are first brought in, they should be held a bit on the dry side. In- 

 crease the moisture as the growth advances. After the fruit is set it will take 

 a liberal amount until it starts to ripen; then the plants may again be kept a 

 little drier at the root. A better flavor will be obtained with this treatment. 

 Nor should the plants be fed after the berries begin to ripen; but during the 

 period of developing their fruit they may be fed twice a week with either liquid 

 or top dressing. 



GATHERING THE FRUIT 



Strawberries should color up well before being gathered. If they have 

 to be shipped a great distance it is better to pick them while they are still firm. 

 Take the morning or late afternoon for this work, when the weather is bright. 

 Delicate fruit like Strawberries, when sent by express, must be packed with 

 some care. Have the berries perfectly dry. The best thing to use is the regular 

 quart berry basket. First line the berry basket with cotton wool and wax 

 paper; then pack in the fruit with a perfectly dry leaf of the Strawberry plant 

 between each berry. If there is any moisture on either foliage or fruit, the 

 latter will not reach its destination in a \er\ tempting condition; but with dry 

 packing it will arrive in good shape. 



Setting the fruit is very important. There are no insects to perform this 

 work early in the season. To secure a perfect set, the pollen must be dry around 

 mid-day, and this means that water should be kept off the foliage while the 

 berries are in bloom. Go over the flowers once a day about noon with a camel's 

 hair brush, until a sufficient number of berries are set. If the pollen is dry, a 

 light touch with the brush will distribute it around the pistils. Berries that 

 are set imperfectly will not swell evenly; hence the importance of a fairly dry, 

 bracing atmosphere while the plants are in blossom. 



