82 



JOUENAIi OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ August S, 1871. 



any other sort or salading, except Endive or Lettuce. It is a good 

 addition to a salad, though it has been thought too bitter for 

 some tastes, but those who are accustomed to eating it take no 

 notice of that. It is not so bitter if forced quickly, but if 

 forced slowly it is both bitter and tough. My mode of treating 

 Chicory is in May to sow a good breadth in rows, 1 foot apart, 

 in the open ground, selecting good deep soil, and encouraging 

 the growth so as to produce good-sized roots. In the autumn 

 I dig them out of the ground in the same way as Carrots, 

 taking care not to break them. After drying, the roots may ha 

 packed away, minus the tops, in some dry cool shed, where they 

 will he secure from frost, using dry earth or ashes to pack them 

 in. When forcing commences, which with me is about the 

 beginning of November, a hotbed is prepared of sufficient size 

 to afiord a heat of about 70". The position for such beds is by 

 no means of particular importance, for I have placed them in 

 dark sheds or cellars, or in any out-of-the-way corner of the 

 garden, and in brick pits or garden frames, and if every ray of 

 light be excluded, any of these places will answer the purpose 

 well. If a bed cannot be afforded for forcing Chicory alone, 

 the roots may be potted thickly, and placed in any heated 

 structure. They must be kept dark, and supplied with plenty 

 of water. The young leaves will soon push forth, well blanched 

 and tender, and when from 4 to 6 inches long are fit for use. 

 This salad is the easiest to force of any that I know, and may 

 be enjoyed by anyone having the most limited means for 

 ■forcing it. 



Of Lettuces and Endive, in order to have a good stock of 

 plants for winter use, successional sowings should be made 

 frequently between July and November. The earliest sown 

 will come to perfection in the open borders, and also later 

 Bowings if the weather be mild. The stock, however, should 

 be so regulated as to have a large quantity of plants approach- 

 ing maturity, so that aU store places under glass may be filled 

 up when frost sets in. Hand-lights and cloches may be used 

 with advantage to protect the plants left in a forward state in 

 :the open ground. The cloches, of which I have several dozens, 

 are the handiest and most useful means of protection I know, 

 and they should be in use in every garden. The way to make 

 the most of them is to place the plants in groups of five or 

 seven, close enough for the cloche to cover the whole. Daring 

 hard frost a little protection must be given at night. Cloches 

 are also remarkably handy for bringing forward Lettuce in the 

 spring, for protecting or growing Parsley, and for many other 

 purposes. 



I hope the hints I have given wiU be found useful to those 

 who may be called upon to supply a winter salad ; but remem- 

 ber, there is much to be left for the- cultivator's own judgment 

 to apply according to circumstances which I cannot foresee. 

 By the methods described, I have to supply some thousands of 

 heads and bunches of the different salads mentioned during the 

 autumn, winter, and spring. — Thoiias Becoed. 



STEAWBERRY CULTURE. 



Last season Strawberries, owing to the excessive heat and 

 drought, ripened nearly together, but where they were well 

 supplied with water at the roots the quality was very superior. 

 The present season has been equally remarkable for wet ; in 

 many cases the fruit was deficient in colour and flavour, and 

 •decayed on the ground before it was quite ripe. In a season 

 like the present, the best way to ripen the fruit, and to pre- 

 serve it for a few days after it is ripe, is to stick small sprays 

 of Elm, Beech, Hornbeam, or anything similar, round the 

 plants, and allow the fruit to hang over from the clefts of the 

 spray. In a dry, scorching season the fruit is sometimes 

 scalded, but in a wet season this is the only way to preserve it 

 intact. 



The failure out of doors has been amply compensated by the 

 unusual excellence of the pot fruit. A very large crop has 

 been gathered with considerably less attention as regards 

 watering. In continued dry, hot weather the amount of water- 

 ing pot Strawberries require is enormous. Various means 

 have been tried to obviate, to some extent, the necessity of so 

 much watering, such as placing the pots in saucers of water, 

 or setting them on turf, but I do not approve of either system. 

 To obtain the finest-flavoured fruit the pots should stand upon 

 a wooden platform or shelf as close as possible to the glass, 

 and in a position where a current of air can pass over and 

 under them, especially when the fruit is ripening ; and air at 

 that time should be admitted both by night and day. The fruit, 

 as a consequence, will be highly coloured and rich in flavour. 



The following varieties were grown in the orchard house this 

 season, and they ripened in the order of their names : — Pre- 

 mier, British Queen, Mr. Eadelyffe, Lucas, President Wilder, 

 La Constante, Souvenir de EieS, and Frogmore Late Pine. 

 From some cause, but what I know not, nearly two-thirds of 

 the plants of Souvenir de Kieff were " blind," and the same 

 circumstance occurred with the plants in the bed out of doors. 

 This is an excellent Strawberry, but if it has a failing of this 

 sort it is not to be recommended. Lucas was very good in- 

 doors, and is very fine out of doors ; beautiful in colour and 

 excellent in flavour under the circumstances. British Queen 

 and Mr. Eadelyffe are much aUke ; both are first-class, and 

 always to be depended upon for a crop of the finest dessert 

 fruit. President, which ripens earlier than any of the above 

 except Premier, which ripens about the same time, should be 

 grown by everybody. Frogmore Late Pine, planted out and in 

 pots, is unsurpassed as one of the latest varieties ; the fruit is 

 large, and, with its peculiar Pine flavour, most excellent. The 

 plant is also an abundant cropper. Those who require fruit of 

 the largest size and late should grow Admiral Dundas and 

 Cockscomb ; the latter is also of good flavour. 



The new varieties which I have not as yet seen noticed are 

 President Wilder, which is of dwarf, compact habit ; the fruit 

 is not of the largest size, but there is plenty of it, and the 

 flavour is good, especially out of doors. Triomphe de Paris is 

 of free growth, and an excellent variety for pot-culture. Alex- 

 ander II. also promises well. The fruit is of large size, some- 

 what irregularly formed, and of a bright red colour ; it is, un- 

 fortunately, one of the most tender sorts, and the plants were 

 much cut up last winter. 



It may be useful to state the method of culture pursued here 

 with the Strawberry in pots as well as in the open garden. We 

 commence to layer the runners both for pot-enlture and for 

 planting out about the first week in July. The Strawberry 

 requires good potting material — turfy loam and rotted manure, 

 in the proportion of four of the former to one of the latter. 

 A single crock is placed at the bottom of a 3-inch pot, and a 

 little soot over this to help to keep the worms out ; the loam is 

 then pressed firmly in. The pots are arranged close together 

 in a double row between two rows of Strawberries, and a runner 

 is fixed in the centre of each pot with a small peg. In a fort- 

 night the runners will be established in the pots, and may be 

 cut clean from the plants, placing them in a position freely 

 exposed to the sun and wind ; of com-ee not in a continued 

 draught, as no plant will do well in such a position. The 

 plants should also stand on a hard bottom, or each pot should 

 be set singly on a brick. 



When the plants have well fiUed the small pots with roots, 

 they should be shifted into the pots in which it is intended 

 they should fruit ; 5 and 6-inch pots are the most suitable, and 

 the compost should be the same as that previously used._ I 

 have tried a larger size than 6-inch pots, but do not_ think 

 that such are so suitable. In potting it is hardly possible to 

 ram in the compost too hard. The pots should not be filled 

 too full : half an inch or more space should be left below the 

 rim to allow of sufficient water being given ; and it may be as 

 well to note here that the plants should not have a drop of 

 manure water until after their season of rest and until the 

 flower-trusses appear, when manure water may be occasionally 

 given until the fruit shows signs of colouring, then it must be 

 withheld. During the period of growth the plants should not 

 only stand in an open position, exposed to the sun morning, 

 noon, and night, but ample space should be allowed between 

 the pots in order that the leaves may have room to develope 

 themselves. The only attention the plants require after potting 

 them is to water freely and pinch off the runners as they are 

 formed, and about the middle of October to remove them to 

 cold frames, where the pots should be plunged to prevent the 

 frost from injuring the roots. The pots can be removed to the 

 forcing houses as they are required. 



For culture in the open ground, and to obtain the best results, 

 much the best system is to make a fresh plantation annually, 

 and, as already noticed, the runners should be layered in small 

 pots. It is the best way, as not only do the plants go out 

 without experiencing any check to their growth, but they may 

 remain in the pots a week or two if the ground is not ready for 

 them. They can be planted after any crop— Peas, Potatoes, or 

 spring Cabbage. If the ground is cleared before the end of July, 

 it should, if possible, be trenched and well enriched with ma- 

 nure a fortnight before planting. I plant in rows 2 feet apart, 

 and allow the same distance between the plants. This distance 

 is the most suitable for all the varieties, except such as Presi- 



