August 12, 1886. 1 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
133 
may be near enough to touch each other, when no harm will be 
done. The lid or door should be fastened with four screws, which 
prevents the jarring caused by nails and is more easily removed at 
the end of the journey. 
APPLIANCES, FORCEPS, AND BRUSH. 
Cultivators of Chrysanthemums intended for exhibition or even 
for home decoration ought to provide themselves with appliances, 
such as forceps or tweezers for the manipulation of the flowers 
with a view to their improvement, even if they are not intended to 
be placed upon the exhibition table, as a few minutes’ attention 
given to a flower improves its appearance greatly. Amongst 
growers there is a variety of opinions as to which is the best kind 
of forcep to use for dressing the blooms Fig. 19 represents the best 
instruments I have yet seen. As each cultivator has his own par¬ 
ticular fancy in the selection there is no name by which they are 
known ; those shown in the engraving are made from steel of a 
special pattern to order. Such instruments vary in pi’ice from 3s. Gd. 
for the smallest size to 7s. Gd. for the largest pair. The brush is 
made of camel-hair 1 inch long, and the handle measures 6 inches. 
This is used to free the flowers from dust, which they are almost 
sure to collect in travelling, and upon the white varieties is a defect, 
whereas by gently brushing in an upward direction the dust can 
easily be removed. The smallest size is 3 inches long and one- 
quarter of an inch wide in the middle. The mouth or points are 
very narrow, just the extreme point rounded off; these are used for 
finishing off a bloom for exhibition. The next or middle size are 
b inches long and five-eighths of an inch wide at the rough part, 
which is made to allow of a firm grip being had of them. The 
points are square, as can be seen, are rough and one-eighth of an 
inch wide ; these are used for taking out any bad or wrongly placed 
-- 
Fig. 20.—Instrument Box. 
petals. The largest size measures 8 inches in length, are half an 
inch wide at the rough or grip part. As will be seen, they are 
narrow, one-eighth of an inch wide at the points. These also are 
ffor removing petals from the centre of a flower of large dimension. 
They are made with a very easy spring, which facilitates the handling 
of them considerably. There are various other patterns and sizes, 
but I consider these a fair sample ; any optician or tool-maker can 
supply them on order. Some growers prefer to use those made of bone 
and ivory. The objection to them is that they do not grip the florets 
firmly enough, they are so liable to slip off. Fig. 20 shows the 
box in which the forceps are kept when not in use. It is not 
absolutely necessary that such a thing be used, but where much 
manipulation is required I find it better to have a box for the 
instruments, as greater care can be taken of them ; they are not so 
likely to be lost or get rusty by laying about. The size of the box 
is 10 inches long, 2£ inches wide, and 1| inch deep ; spaces are 
made wherein fits the forceps and the brush also ; the box in 
question is lined with velvet.—E. Molyneux. 
CULTIVATION OF THE STRAWBERRY. 
( Continued from page 87.) 
STRUCTURES SUITABLE FOR FORCING. 
A Strawberry house should be high at the sides so as to 
allow of sufficient head room all round, or 6 feet at the eaves, 
and of this half or 3 feet of the lower part may be brickwork or 
wood, the upper part glass, and made to open the entire length 
from the bottom outward by crank and lever movement. A 
shelf of slate or 1-inch deal, 7 inches wide, may be placed at the 
side about 3 inches below the wall plate, supported by iron 
brackets galvanised, and another of l-inc 1 ! deal about 15 inches 
from the glass of the roof, which is also best supported by iron 
brackets galvanised secured to each front upright. This, or the 
upper shelf, must have half-inch square strips of wood secured 
to the upper outer edges, “ planting ” them on the shelf bedded 
in white lead, and secured with screws These will form a dish, 
and with boles at every alternate front upright or light through 
the shelf, and a half-inch zinc tube inserted and taken below 
the other or lower shelf, will prevent the water dripping on 
to the lower shelf from the upper one. These side shelves are 
very useful, and increase the standing room considerably; besides, 
being at the sides they get more air, and so are suitable 
for fresh introductions. 1 find these shelves hold quite enough 
plants to fill the central stage, where they must be given more 
room ; the shelf plants are, therefore, coming on whilst the 
central stage ones are perhaps flowering and setting. The roof 
should be at an angle of 35°, and have a lantern ventilation 
which will take some of the height off the otherwise sharp ridge, 
and the opening must be 12 inches, the cover of the opening to 
be raised by a rachet and wheel or handle. The pathway, or 
from the inside of the wall, may be 3 feet wide, the width of 
the house inside not being less than 15 feet. This will give 
room for a 9 feet wide stage, or 4 feet 6 inches on each side, we 
get room for nine shelves, four on each side, and a central one. 
The shelves need only be 7 inches wide, but fixed in the centre 
of the foot space, or inches from each side, and this will pre¬ 
vent one tier dripping on to the one below it. The lowest shelf 
of the stage must be 2 feet 6 inches from the floor, and the 
uppermost one 3 feet from the glass, so by putting a string tight 
from the outer edge of the upper and lower shelf it will show 
where the other shelf edges are to be. The house, of course, 
can be of any width, only if narrower there will be fewer shelves, 
as less space than 3 feet cannot well be allowed for a path, the 
side shelves taking up some room. On dry sites the pathway 
may be sunk, having the steps and area outside. 
Span-roofs should have the ends north and south. If a lean- 
to is used the aspect should be south, and I need not enter into 
particulars, as lean-to’s are only the half of spans. A house 
with a pathway up the centre is also suitable for forcing 
Strawberries, provided it has side ventilation, though it may 
have blank side walls, but with wooden ventilators in the walls. 
We have only to reverse the staging, having the shelf at the 
back about 15 inches from the glass, and then falling to the 
path, each tier proportionately, as the height allows 12 inches 
width for each row of plants. Bricks afford a ready means of 
improvising a stage where there is a bed, as in a Cucumber 
or Melon house. 
All houses are not suitable for forcing Strawberries. The 
structures must be light, well ventilated, and properly heated, 
having sufficient hot-water pipes to maintain a temperature of 
70° to 75° without hard firing. The next condition is to keep 
the plants near to the glass. They will not take any harm at 
a distance of 3 feet or more, provided they have unobstructed 
light, but the nearer they are to the glass without touching it 
the better. Air is essential, and if it reach the plants below or 
above them it will be preferable to coming directly upon them. 
These remarks are made as Strawberries have very often to be 
accommodated in Peach houses and vineries on suspended 
shelves, which are not the best places for them, but much can 
be effected by such means by removing the plants as the struc- 
tui'es accord in temperature, &c., with the requirements of the 
Strawberries in their different stages. To force Strawberries well 
two structures are required, so that a succession can be main¬ 
tained, as up to setting they do not require a high temperature, 
but after the fruit is fairly swelling they require a high tem¬ 
perature with corresponding moisture, which can hardly be 
accorded in Peach houses and vineries without prejudice to the 
Peaches and Grapes. 
Preparing for Forcing. —The house must be clean. The 
glass must be washed both inside and outside with clear water, and 
not leaving any dirt or green, as that is speedily added to. The 
woodwork brushed and thoroughly cleansed with soap and water, 
the brickwork or other similar surface thoroughly washed with 
hot lime, if necessary painted after any repairs, the whole put 
into good order, not forgetting the heating apparatus and the 
working of the ventilators. 
The plants having been in frames or pits will be available at 
any time for introducing to the forcing structure. Plants that 
are to be started in November for the earliest crops must be 
placed in the frames or pits early in October, and as they will be 
removed by the middle of November others can take their place 
for starting later, and so on as the succession plants are removed 
for placing in heat, others from the outside reserves can be 
placed in the frames. It is well in all cases to have the plants 
a month to six weeks in frames preparatory to their being intro¬ 
duced to artificial heat, therefore sufficient frame or pit room 
must be at command to allow of their being so treated. Plants, 
for instance, that are to be started by the middle of November 
must be in the frames by early October, those for January 
starting by the middle of November; for February from the 
middle of December to early January, and for March from the 
middle of January to eaidy February. As these will go out in 
