264 Growing Strawberries /or Forcing. 



o-rowing encumbers and melons by hot water, I formed a 

 chamber over the tank, by placing spars across the tank and 

 coverinc^ them with turves : upon these I put about I ft. of 

 prepared dung, and then the soil in the usual way. I grew very 

 o-ood cucumbers in this way ; but the beds were only of short 

 duration, owing to the dung and soil becoming dry, and the 

 difficulty of keeping them moist. 



As the season advances, and the sun becomes powerful, the 

 pieces of slate are put on the steam-pipes during the day, and 

 taken off at night ; but when the melons are in flower, and 

 ripening their fruit, they are kept on day and night. When the 

 melons are done with, I use the pits for striking crowns and 

 suckers, and find them to answer admirably. 



Mawley Hall, Bewdley, March 22. 1841. 



Art. X. On grotving Siratvberries Jbr Forcing. By a Gardener 

 OUT OF Place. 



As the system I have pursued successfully for several years in 

 growing strawberries for forcing differs, in some respects, from 

 that of Mr. Fish (p. 39.), I send a note of the details. As soon 

 as the runners are fit for the purpose, I lay a quantity, say two 

 or three in a 32 pot, others one in a 60, in a good strong loam, 

 with a portion of well-decayed manure. I place a stone on each 

 runner, for the double purpose of keeping the plant in position, 

 and preserving moisture to the roots. The first runners I 

 prefer : the sort Keen's seedling. As soon as the plants are 

 well rooted, I repot the sixties into thirty-twos, and the thirty- 

 twos into twenty-fours, still using the same strong soil ; I then 

 place them in the hottest part of the garden, fully exposed to 

 the direct rays of the sun, but not under a wall. The situation 

 I prefer is the centre of the vine border, first placing a quantity 

 of half-decayed manure, generally some old dung lining, to put 

 round the pots, to prevent the sun acting too powerfully on the 

 roots. Here they are left exposed to the elements most con- 

 ducive to bring them rapidly to a state of maturity; a free cir- 

 culation of air, abundance of moisture, which I take care they 

 are liberally supplied with, and a full share of solar heat. In 

 this situation the plants grow freely, forming well-matured 

 crowns, to send up fine stems of bloom in the forcing-house, 

 with strong and vigorous roots to support them. Those in 

 twenty-fours remain; after a time I examine the others, and 

 those that have the strongest roots I repot into twenty-fours, 

 pursuing the same method as before; so that, out of 700 or 

 800 pots, I have half the number in twenty-fours, with one, two, 

 or three plants in a pot, and the remainder in thirty-twos, with 



