166 WHYTOCK—THE CULTIVATION OF 
the best success at that period of very short day by keeping the 
mean temperature not less than 60°. The time of removal from 
pit to shelf is suitable for giving a little top-dressing to the sur- 
face of pots with artificial manure mixed either with soil or sand. 
Some prefer to give the top-dressing when putting them in at 
the beginning. This top-dressing is essential. It makes fine 
foliage, not liable to red spider, and helps the vigour of flower- 
spike. The plants being now on the shelf and in flower, to get 
them to set well the air must not be close and stagnant; as a 
rule, however, at that cold season in most of our houses sufficient 
air gets in at not too close places. 
After the fruit is set they may be shifted to a higher tempera- 
ture or the temperature increased, but try and give what air you 
can. You must now feed the plants to get good-sized fruit, not. 
strong doses but weak and often. Soot-water is one of the best 
for pot-strawberries. A change of manure-water is best. 
A good plan for feeding strawberries, especially -as the season 
advances and pots on shelves dry up much quicker, is to place 
well enriched soil underneath the pots. This may be done in 
three ways :—Firstly, a little square sod sprinkled with artificial 
manure may be put under the pot ; secondly, fill a saucer with a 
hole in bottom with a soil mixed with manure, and place the pot 
upon it; thirdly, half fill a six-inch pot with enriched soil, and 
stand the pot in it. In all three cases the soi] under the pot- 
plant gets filled with roots and helps the size of the fruit very 
much. It is a mistake to leave more fruit on a pot than will 
swell to a good size. What you grow strawberries in pots for is 
dessert, and they should be a fair size. 
Mildew, green fly, and red spider are the three things that 
injure most the foliage of strawberries under glass, and my 
experience leads me to say (we force 6000 pots annually) that if 
the plants are properly attended to:at the roots with water and 
the manures best adapted to them, you will have very little, if 
any, of these pests on your plants. I have proved Veltha to be 
a certain preventive for mildew, and also a powerful manure for 
the plants. The fruit should be supported to prevent hanging 
over the pot-edge. 
Steven’s Wonder, Auguste Nicaise, and John Ruskin are the 
kinds I found best for very early forcing. Scarlet Queen, Royal 
