May 31, 1883. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
439 
STRAWBERRY RUNNERS 
AND FORCING. 
-+- 
C AREFUL -watering, steady forcing, judicious ventilation, and 
other cultural requirements are unquestionably of great import¬ 
ance ill the culture of forced Strawberries. But these are of but 
little avail if the grower has plants with small unripened crowns. 
Fine large fruit does not entirely depend upon the treatment the 
plants receive while they are in the forcing house, although this is 
■essential to success ; but it is dependent mainly on a good start, for 
without strong plants with well-ripened crowns fruit of first quality 
will not be produced. 
\oung plantations made early last August, and made firm in 
the ground directly signs of growth were visible, and the ground 
well mulched at the same time, will now be growinry vigorously. 
The first runners are now showing, and the flower stems that are 
pushing up strongly from the centre of the plants should be re¬ 
moved. The past dry weather has been the reverse of favourable 
for rapid growth, and early mulchings have already proved beneficial. 
Plants could not have looked more promising even had they enjoyed 
showery weather. When the flower stems are removed the plants 
can devote all their energies to growth and the production of early 
runners. If the ground in which they are growing was in a good 
fertile condition at planting time a soaking of clear water will help 
them wonderfully. If the soil was not liberally supplied with 
manure before planting, or rendered sufficiently rich by that used 
for mulching, liquid manure in a weak state may with advantage 
be given now. Where liquid from the drainings of the manure 
heaps does not exist, a little artificial manure may be used, and 
even this will do no harm, but the reverse, if the land was in 
good condition at planting time. I have found this to be the 
sjuickest and most economical method of feeding the plants, or 
for exciting them into vigorous growth for producing strong 
runners early. When liquids have to be carted a distance and 
then diluted with water the labour soon amounts to more than 
the cost of artificials, that act equally well, if not better. The 
effect of suitable artificial manures acts almost magically upon the 
plants in producing strong early runners, which are so desirable for 
the purpose in question. 
Those who have followed my previous writings are perfectly 
aware that liquid manure has not for years been applied to fruiting 
plants during forcing. When used it must be discontinued directly 
the fruit shows signs of colouring, just when the plants need most 
•support. This can be given by artificials- without fear of injury 
to the fruits, either as regards their flavour or appearance. If 
the plants have been well treated, and are given the last dose 
of artificials when the first fruits are colouring, hundreds of 
white roots will quickly appear on the surface to take in the food 
provided. Their appearance shows at a glance the healthful con¬ 
dition of the roots, and if they did not need the food they would 
not appear so freely and quickly on the surface for it. Roots of 
plants in pots fed with liquid manure of any description do not 
so readily come to the surface; they have a tendency to leave it 
■and make their way out through the drainage. If there is any¬ 
thing in which they can root they soon form a large quantity of 
fibres outside in comparison to what plants will if fed by artificials. 
Yet strong doses cannot be too much condemned. Most artificials 
if given in too large quantities do more harm than good. A little 
applied frequently is the secret of success. The first appheation 
No. 414.— VoL. XVI., Thibd Series, 
should bo given directly the fruit is thinned, and then weekly until 
they reach the stage already stated. 
Notions that should have been obsolete long ago about top¬ 
dressing ai'e still thoroughly and firmly believed in. Those 
who have practised top-dressing with light rich material prior 
to starting the plants, and observed its effect upon them in their 
later stages of development, cannot well conceive that prac¬ 
titioners should still believe that such a course is liable to promote 
leaf gro-n'th at the expense of fruitfulness. If too much foliage 
is pushed ujo at the start the evil must be traced to other 
causes, and the most general ones are, either forcing them too 
quickly in their early stages or the unripened condition of the 
cro-vvns in autumn. Some kinds, of which Sir Joseph Paxton 
may be noted, are very liable to do this, and therefore those -w-ho 
wish to have full crops of this variety must have good runners 
early, so as to insure the crowns being thoroughly matured. 
Top-dressing after the fruit is set does not do half the good as 
is the case when done early. When done at starting time the 
roots take possession directly the plants start growing, and these 
in consequence thro-vv up stout healthy flower stems that stand well 
above the foliage. 
All those who have grown Straw'berries know the ruinous effect 
of allowing them to become dry when the fruit is swelling, and 
this has often led to the opposite evil of giving them too much 
■\vater. When grown in small pots, say 5-inch, and arranged on 
shelves near the glass, we are told they must be watered Uvo and 
three times a day. I cannot think such treatment good for any 
plant. When the sun has con.siderable powmr, and the fruit set, 
they SAvell better some distance from the glass, wffiere, instead 
of the fruit being exposed unnaturally to full sunshine, they 
can be partially shaded by their own foliage. Where the 
shelves are close to the glass the only chance is to turn the fruit 
from it. I have said -R'atering two or three times a day is not 
good for any plant—crippled fruit during the setting period, a 
sodden condition of the soil, and unsatisfactory root activity are 
the results. G-ood fruits are and have been produced by such 
methods, but there is some uncertainty about the system, as we 
have felt for years while practising it, and much, very much, of the 
success attained, or the revmrse, is dependent upon the man in 
charge. Under a good reliable man all may go well, but under the 
care of a thoughtless careless person all may go -wrong. Success 
should not be solely dependent on those entrusted with the appli¬ 
cation of water to the plants. How can this state of things be 
altered, and labour in watering saved, with a greater certainty of 
success ? is only a natural question to ask. The difficulty has been 
solved, and a plan that has been found serviceable will be more 
largely practised another year if I still remain in charge of these 
gardens. The shelves, narrow ones, will all be so arranged by nail¬ 
ing a board on each side and at the ends, so that the pots can be 
plunged as far as practicable to the rim in ashes, cocoa-nut fibre 
refuse, or any similar material. Filling in between the pots as they 
are arranged is avork that can be done quickly, and making the 
shelves so that they wiU hold the plunging material will not take 
much longer. This can all be done at the season of the year when 
work does not press so heavily as during the months of April, May, 
and later. This system will insure the roots of the plants from 
injury bj' the exposure of the pots to the sun, and avhat avill be the 
watering compared with the present system of growing them with 
the pots exposed ? Some plants plunged to the rim in January only 
needed watering twice up to the time they came in flower, while 
another lot of plants arranged for the purpose of testing the matter 
needed attention daily, and some days twice, from the time the 
flower spikes first made their appearance. Plunging the pots will 
insure the soil being in a uniform condition of moisture, which must 
prove beneficial to the plants, save labour, and insure success with 
half the care and responsibility to those in charge. Have glazed 
pots been tried for Strawberries ?— "W. B.vrdxey. 
No. 2070.— VOL. LX XVI 11., Old Series. 
