November 7, 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
399 
weather will be sure to give a succession of bloom for a lengthened 
period. The plants are best established in pots, but we have frequently 
lifted neat little bushes in October and November, potted them in 
loamy moderately rich soil, placed them under a wall or fence protected 
from the sun for a few days. They are then removed to a cool house, 
watered well, and the foliage sprinkled occasionally, the reward 
being heads of bloom very useful for decoration and cutting from 
during the dull winter months. The best form is the pyramid, as 
taking up less room than bushes ; but standards are fine for breaking 
the monotony of flat even surfaces. All the plants require is to be 
hardened after flowering, to be planted out in good soil in an open 
situation, but sheltered from winds, and to cut the heads into shape 
before growth takes place, watering well if dry weather prevail when 
planting out; and they may be lifted again in autumn, for the lifting 
appears to increase their floriferous character. The flowers are much 
finer and more delicate when produced under glass than outdoors. 
- The Strawberry.— Our present varieties of Strawberries are 
the cultured products of the native and other species of Fragaria. Few 
fruits have been more improved by croes-breeding, selection, and evolu¬ 
tion ; and yet, so long as those processes were confined to native species, 
little was effected but an enlargement of size in Wood and Alpine 
Strawberries, or Hautbois. So early as the beginning of the sixteenth 
century we read of the former being developed to the size of Mulberries, 
a development unknown to modern cultivators of the same species. It 
was not, however, until the introduction of Fragaria chiliensis, F. grandi- 
flora, and F. virginica, that our present families of Pine and Scarlet 
Strawberries began to be moulded into their present quality and form- 
Some of these can now also claim a very respectable antiquity. The 
Old Scarlet has been grown in its present form for two centuries ; the 
Bosebe rry or Gravesend Scarlet for at least a hundred years. Keen’s 
Seedling was raised in 1820, and thirty years later the Black Prince, 
Elton Pine, and Myatt’s Eleanor, and many others still in cultivation— 
the near progenitors of such fine varieties as British Queen, President, 
and a host of others. Considering that white varieties have existed 
from the earliest times, it seems singular that so few have been or are 
cultivated. A White Alpine and the White Carolina were extensively 
grown, and have been improved out of the garden by the Bicton Pine, a 
delicious white variety, well worth cultivating. Possibly some of these 
may have infused some of their white blood into such delicately tinted 
sorts as British Queen, Dr. Hogg, &c. But good white Strawberries are 
rare, and can hardly be said to be popular. There is probably more 
money made in Strawberries than in any other hardy open-air fruit. As 
much as £20 profit per acre has frequently been cleared from Straw¬ 
berries, and it is no uncommon thing to hear of an acre of Strawberries 
being worth £100. Though a perishable crop, if picked and packed 
with care it travels safely by rail, and the smaller fruit can be made 
into jam on the spot, or transported in tubs to the large preserving 
houses. Picked fruit gathered over-night, and delivered in London or 
other large towns by the milk trains, generally commands a price of 6d- 
or more per pound. Thoroughly preparing the ground, manuring and 
planting, costs about £20 per acre ; but the crop may remain three or 
more years on the ground without any great additional expense, and it 
would be difficult to name any other fruit that will yield larger gross 
returns and such liberal profits. The forcing of Strawberries also opens 
up an almost new and a profitable industry. Eipe fruit in March 
commands prices varying from 6d. per ounce. In the Royal Gardens 
of Frogmore about 100,000 pots of Strawberries are forced annually, and 
some commercial growers probably double or treble these numbers.— 
(Cassell's Popular Gardening .) 
A NOTE ON PINE APPLES. 
We have been cutting fruit of Charlotte Rothschild and 
Smooth-leaved Cayenne, but were not able to keep the tempe¬ 
rature high enough, consequently the fruit, though juicy, was not 
of superior quality. It will not do at this time of the year to ripen 
the fruit in a lower temperature than 65°, if it ranges between that 
and 70° all the better. The utmost caution is required in watering. 
In careful hands liquid manure benefits Pines very much, but if 
injudiciously applied much damage results to the fruit. If the 
plants are freely supplied with liquid manure up to the time of the 
fruit colouring, in all probability it will be black at the core. It is 
absolutely necessary to leave off using stimulants about the 
time the fruit takes its second swelling. If the soil is moderately 
moist water must be withheld from the time the fruit shows signs 
of colouring. In our beds, where the pots are not far from the 
pipes, there is more danger of the roots becoming dry than there 
is when they are plunged in deep beds of moist leaves where the 
heat is kept up by fermentation. Suckers that are just established 
in the small pots in which they were potted early in autumn 
or late in summer are kept in a temperature of 55° ; they do 
not receive much water. They might be grown on a little 
faster if necessary, but usually we have not room to pot them 
until May. 
We have heard a little of new Pines within the last two or 
three years, but it will be some time before anything will beat the 
sorts we have grown for many years. The most recent of ours is 
the Charlotte Rothschild, but all points considered, although a 
most noble fruit, it is not equal to Smooth-leaved Cayenne. It is 
generally understood that there is a good and a bad strain of the 
Cayenne. We have had the fruits decay before they were ripe, 
but this has generally happened in spring when fierce sun has 
scalded the fruit, coming suddenly upon it after the dull dark days 
of winter ; we usually just lay a sheet of newspaper over the 
crown to protect the fruits from injury. Is it not possible that 
this weakness in the Smooth-leaved Cayenne has led people to 
believe that there are two varieties ? The Queen holds the same 
position amongst Pines that Black Hamburgh holds amongst 
Grapes, and it is even now more valuable owing to the fact that 
nearly all the St. Michael’s Pines are Cayennes, and these being 
imported in quantity at certain seasons very much depreciate the 
value of home-grown fruit. Good Queens are not only valuable 
for home consumption, but they always command a high price in 
the market independent of any glut from abroad. If it is intended 
to pot any plants in February the soil for this purpose ought to be 
put in a dry place, as it will not be in good condition for potting 
if exposed to the wet during winter. Good, sound, moderately 
clayey loam from an old common where Brackens grow freely 
answers well for Pines.—A. B. 
PLANTING BULBS AND TUBERS. 
The summer bedding plants have remained effective rather 
later than usual, and this will necessarily delay the work of refilling 
the beds. The sooner, however, the bulbs intended for the mixed 
or herbaceous borders and other sites they are to permanently occupy 
are planted the better it will be for many of them. Early planting 
does not materially affect the time of flowering, but those in early 
are invariably the most strongly rooted, and afford a superior 
display of bloom. Narcissi and Daffodils are most effective when 
planted in groups of one variety only, the bulbs being disposed not 
less that 5 inches apart and fully 6 inches deep. A good position 
for them would be the second or third line in a mixed border, and 
all should be properly labelled, both in order to preserve the 
names and also to protect the bulbs when the foliage has dis¬ 
appeared. Irises vary considerably in height, and these also should 
be set well back in a border, or say somewhere near the middle. 
These may be planted in groups, the bulbs being disposed 9 inches 
apart and not less than 4 inches in depth. A little sharp sand 
surrounding these and bulbs generally favours a strong root 
action. 
Anemones, of which there are several beautiful and quite hardy 
tuberous species, succeed very well in either small beds, in small 
patches, or even among fruit trees and bushes. Arrange them 
5 inches apart and cover with 3 inches of light sandy soil. The 
latter condition is especially necessary where the soil is of a heavy 
clayey nature, and in this case it is also wise to defer planting till 
January. Ranunculuses should in no case be trusted in the open 
ground before January or as early in February as the state of the 
soil permits. Patches of Triteleia uniflora are very pleasing in 
mixed borders. Plant these near the front row, B inches apart and 
3 inches deep. Musk, Grape, and Feather Hyacinths are also some¬ 
what dwarf, and the bulbs of these may be either planted in lines 
or patches, rather thickly, and about 3 inches deep. 
Scillas are attractive for the Alpine garden and the front rows 
of mixed borders. These should be planted somewhat thickly and 
about 3 inches deep. Snowdrops succeed admirably in turf, the 
foliage dying down before it is necessary to mow the grass. Plant 
in patches 2 inches below the surface. Crocuses are effective in the 
front rows, and should be planted in a broad band and fully 
4 inches deep. The Winter Aconite is usually the first to flower, 
and this does well in any moderately dry position, including 
rockeries. It is of very dwarf habit and should be planted in 
patches and about 3 inches deep. Dodecatheons (American Cow¬ 
slips) and Erythroniums (Dog’s-tooth ^ iolets) also succeed in 
rather dry positions and light peaty soil—the rockery being a good 
position for these tiny gems. Leucojums to be treated similarly to 
the Feather Hyacinths, and if Ornithogalums are planted now they 
must be protected from severe frosts, a mound of ashes answering 
