October 25 . 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
39 
Tho first point to which we would draw attention 
at this period, is the protection oi“ the plants until 
wanted for forcing ; for this is a most material point 
of the business, and many a lot of fine plants have 
proved barren for want of precautions in this way; 
whilst the owners would be completely puzzled to 
divine the cause. This often happened in former days, 
when the pots were set down in any out-of-the-way 
corner, to be dried up, or frozen, as the case might be, 
until scarcely a live root remained to commence ope¬ 
rations with; yet, at the same time, they might possess 
strong looking buds; these, however, were the pro¬ 
duce of former agencies. Hence one fertile cause of 
the anamolous appearances they frequently carried, 
and which the gardener of the olden time used to 
term “ going blindand, on inquiring the reason, 
we used to be thus answered : “ There’s no account¬ 
ing for it—they’re apt to do it in some seasons.” To 
make farther inquiries after such an answer was, of 
course, considered impertinence; and many a one, 
in our younger days, stuck fast contentedly in this 
“ slough of despond,” without attempting to lift a 
leg. 
To protect strawberries in pots, then, they must be 
plunged, as gardeners term it; that is to say, immersed 
in soil, sand, ashes, or tan, down to the very rims of 
the pots. The object is to preserve the tender fibres 
from the vicissitudes of the wintry air; and this the 
plunging accomplishes, and indeed something more, 
as we will endeavour to show. It is well known that 
the earth and the atmosphere borrow, at certain 
periods, of each other; they do not, however, like 
some parties, repudiate their debts, but pay them 
back in the most scrupulous way, as all good agents 
should do. Thus, during one half the year—perhaps 
in May, say from April to September—the earth bor¬ 
rows of the sun ; or, in other words, the ground heat 
increases or accumulates during that period. Towards, 
however, the period of the “ equinoctial gales,” the 
reverse takes place ; heat—solar heat—is no longer 
absorbed, but the borrowed store of what may be 
termed natural bottom heat, is progressively restroed 
to the atmosphere by a process which our learned 
men term “ radiation ;” that is, the air being colder 
than the earth, the heat from the latter passes off 
into the air. Towards March, these things being not 
far from a state of equilibrium, a balance is struck, 
and the accounts opened anew, in the language of 
our commercial friends. So that it will be seen, as 
we before observed, that the plunging affords pro¬ 
tection from vicissitudes, and something more. It 
affords a real “ bottom heat,” and which is of no 
mean service, as encouraging a small amount of root 
action, which acts in a very similar way to the ad¬ 
vanced fibres in the hyacinth; for here the great 
desideratum is to get roots before the bud is excited. 
Very frequently, indeed, at the latter part of Octo¬ 
ber and the early part of November, during severe 
weather, a thermometer at six inches in depth will 
give ten or more degrees in favour of the ground 
heat; this, then, is a consideration not to be lost 
sight of. Having now, we trust, established the 
principle, we revert to the plunging. It is essential 
that the ground on which they are plunged should 
be perfectly dry; an airy, sound, and elevated spot, 
therefore, must be selected. The pots should be set 
on the surface, and filled up between with any of the 
materials before named. The plants should not be 
crammed too close—at least the leaves should barely 
touch each other—and the soil beneath them should 
be of so porous a character that any amount of rain 
that may fall shall speedily find an exit. 
We must now see what should be done for the tops. 
Some kinds, as tho British Queen, are notoriously im¬ 
patient of severe frosts; whilst others, as the Kean's 
Seedling , are comparatively hardy. This tenderness of 
habit on the part of the “ Queen” is indeed a serious 
drawback on its out-door culture, for otherwise it is 
doubtless one of the finest strawberries in cultiva¬ 
tion. It is absolutely essential, then, that the tops be 
covered in frosty weather. Any loose dry litter, 
whether of straw, fern, or even bad hay, is eligible, 
but the more free and open the better, as any close 
soft material might, through laying on them during 
a long frost, engender mouldiness on the under side. 
When frost commences we would suffer them to 
have a night or two uncovered, if not too severe, and 
then, when they are slightly frozen, cover them well 
with the litter. We would pursue this course in 
order to avoid the necessity of frequent uncoverings 
through slight fluctuations in the weather; for as 
long as they could be kept unthawed there would 
not be the slightest occasion to uncover them. No 
mouldiness will engender under those conditions. 
This, then, is the mode of handling pursued by all 
our very best gardeners, not one of whom, of any 
standing in his profession, will suffer them to remain 
unplunged or unprotected. One thing must be ob¬ 
served, and that is, that a little watering will at times 
be necessary during the autumn months. It should, 
however, be given rather grudgingly after this period; 
for, although any amount of dryness is not desirable, 
yet any extreme of wet or water lodgments is ex¬ 
tremely prejudicial. 
We have now handled the subject as far as the 
ordinary practice i s concerned; we may now endea¬ 
vour to assist those who would fain force forward, 
yet have hitherto made no preparation. The taking 
up strawberry plants in November from the open 
ground, and forcing them, although by no means the 
best practice, is nevertheless practicable; only one 
thing may be remarked—they will not bear atmo- 
spheric warmth so suddenly applied; neither, indeed, 
can they be forced so early as established plants—it 
would indeed be folly to attempt it. Those amateurs, 
or others, who would indulge in a hobby of the kind, 
should not remove their plants until the early part of 
December; they should be prepared with a frame, or 
pit, in which a little bottom heat should bo provided 
—say a guaranteed heat of 60°, for three weeks. 
Some tan or other plunging material should be 
placed on the top, and the strawberry plants, the 
moment they are potted, should be plunged to the 
rim, and even a little over it. The soil should be 
moist at potting time, and we would not even “ water 
them in,” as it is termed (that is, pour water over 
the soil at the time of planting,) unless the plants 
were actually dry; but rather leave the roots some¬ 
what porous, in order that the warm gases of tho 
bottom heat should freely breathe through the mass. 
Whilst in this frame, or pit, which may merely be 
considered a preparatory stage to their introduction 
to the hothouse or planthouse, they should be kept at 
a low surface temperature—the thermometer ranging 
from 55° highest to 45° lowest. This course is pur¬ 
sued in order to bring on a root-action before the buds 
are excited—an important point, which we before 
explained by referring to the bulbous tribes. It is 
only of late years that this principle has been recog¬ 
nised as it ought; and now no gardener will venture 
either to dispute or to slight it. As soon as Christ¬ 
mas is tinned they may be introduced to the house, 
and as tho change from a close and damp medium 
(as to the roots,) to one more airy and more dry, is 
