THE STRAWBERRY. 235 



recommended. In the smaller size, when forced early 

 they throw up their bloom-stalks more strongly, set 

 better, and yield as large fruit as in larger sizes. 

 The larger size is better later in the season, when 

 the plants require much more attention in watering. 

 I have tried experiments by selecting some of the 

 very finest plants and shifting them into 8 -inch pots, 

 but the result was never satisfactory. For any plant 

 to force well, it is of the first importance to have the 

 pot thoroughly filled with roots ; and in larger pots 

 than those recommended, this condition is more diffi- 

 cult of attainment. . The pots should either be new 

 from the pottery, or thoroughly washed and dry. And 

 they should be carefully crocked ; for although the 

 strawberry requires much moisture, it never thrives in 

 a soured soil or with stagnant water. There should 

 be an inch of small crocks in the bottom of the pots, 

 and over all a little of the fibry part of the soil. 



The selection of soil with which to pot or shift into 

 the fruiting-pots is of much importance. Presuming 

 that one-third of the plants are to be put into 5 -inch 

 pots for early forcing, choose for them a friable hazelly 

 loam, and mix with every three barrow-loads of it one 

 of thoroughly decomposed manure, consisting of an 

 old hot or mushroom bed in a dry state, and sifted 

 through a ^-inch sieve, so that it can be weU incor- 

 porated with the loam. To every four barrow-loads 

 of this add an 8 -inch potful of bone-meal; mix the 

 whole well ; and instead of removing any of the fibry 

 part of the- loam, grind every morsel of it through a 

 |-inch sieve, as large lumps of it become inconvenient 

 in shifting into such small pots ; moreover, the fibre 

 gets more completely equalised and incorporated with 

 the general compost. If a good, rather light loam 



