December 13 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
139 
tho hothouse shelf at once; and if a due propor¬ 
tion of atmospheric moisture is provided, such 
may meet with success. As houses are generally 
constructed, however, the odds are much against 
them, and a pit, or frame, with fermenting materials, 
will, in the present imperfect knowledge of first prin¬ 
ciples with many, be found by far the most efficient 
during the early stage of strawberry-forcing, and up 
to the period when the plants are in full blossom, or 
nearly so. 
By reference to the remarks at page 39, it will he 
seen they only apply, briefly, to the potting of straw¬ 
berries from the open ground, by those who have 
not made due preparation. We now wish to offer 
advice on what may be termed regular strawberry- 
forcing,—that is to say, the forcing of those which 
are well established in pots, and according to the 
most approved practice. 
Wc may here observe that the Keens seedling is 
the most eligible and most generally forced variety; 
for it possesses more desirable properties for the pur¬ 
pose than most other kinds. In the first place, the 
fruit is scarcely second to any in point of quality; 
it is not inferior to any in point of appearance, the 
colour being excellent; it is well adapted for trans¬ 
mission inboxes, or otherwise, the berries being good 
travellers; it is a heavy cropper, and, under proper 
culture, forms a very strong bud, and, consequently, 
a bold truss of bloom when properly developed. 
Added to this it is what is termed “ a good forcer;” 
it bears the unnatural treatment well. Where a 
long succession of this fruit is requisite, and some 
must be produced very early, we think it good policy 
to force such kinds as the Grove-end scarlet, or even 
the old Roseberrg, for a very early crop. These, 
however, are not so highly flavoured, and, indeed, 
it is a difficult matter to obtain flavour in any kind 
ripened in the end of February or beginning of 
March. As a line of succession, we say the Grove- 
end scarlet first, if introduced some time before 
Christmas ; the Keens seedling for the middle season, 
or introduced into heat from the end of December 
until tho middle of February ; and the British Queen 
for late purposes, although the Keen’s are good for 
the late as well as for the middle season. We do 
not think it advisable to introduce the Queens until 
the early part of January, as they are assuredly not 
such safe forcers at an early period as the Keen’s. 
At page 39 the utility of bottom heat was pointed 
out. AVe must beg again to impress it on the minds 
of our readers. In doing so, however, we hope not 
to be misunderstood, as a very small amount will 
suffice. What is called a “ lively bottom heat” 
woidd probably prove ruinous to them. By “ lively 
bottom heat,” gardeners in general understand some¬ 
thing near 85°, and it is a term generally applied to 
pine culture. A temperature in any plunging ma¬ 
terial of 70° will be amply sufficient for the straw¬ 
berry ; but we would rather direct the attention of 
the amateur to principles than dry rules. AVe would 
say, in the earlier stage of strawberry forcing, en¬ 
courage a boLtom warmth of about 10° in advance of 
the atmospheric heat in which, the leaves are grow¬ 
ing. The novice will now naturally inquire what 
the atmospheric warmth must be, as that is to be 
tho “key stone.” AVe advise, for strawberries plunged 
in a pit or frame appropriated to them, and during 
the first stages (which reaches, we consider, up to 
the period when the flower truss is rising), a tem¬ 
perature ranging from 50° to 55°. AY hen, however, 
tlioy get their new leaves fully expanded, this strict 
adherence to a prescribed temperature must cease, 
and that all-powerful agent, Solar Light, be allowed 
to influence the atmospheric temperature, suffering 
the thermometer to rise to even 75° maximum, oc¬ 
casionally, on bright days. Sun-light at this early 
period is not to be lost, and many persons who have 
heard of the importance of ventilation, persist daily 
in throwing their pits wide open, thereby losing the 
immense benefit of solar heat. 
A pit, or frame, then, being provided, and the heat 
before named secured, the plants must be plunged 
as near the glass as possible, the leaves being cer¬ 
tainly within a foot of it. And now some considera¬ 
tion must be had as to whether they are to fruit, and 
even ripen in these pits, or whether they are to bo 
removed to some shelf in the house, which latter is 
more generally the case. If so, the number intro¬ 
duced must bear a relation to the amount of space 
reserved for them, always introducing about 10 or 
] 5 per cent, extra in the first instance, in order to 
be prepared for cases of “ blindness,” or other fail¬ 
ures, which will occur more or less let ever so much 
pains be taken. AVe may, in order to speak point¬ 
edly, suppose such a frame or pit started by an 
amateur just before Christmas; and it may be well 
also to suppose that leaves and dung form the body 
of the bed, and that six inches of tan as a plunging 
material is placed on the surface. Roof covering is 
the next great matter; for as the pots are plunged so 
near the glass, the ice-king may enter: this, how¬ 
ever, must not be. Certainly strawberries, in their 
earlier stage of forcing, will bear even a small amount 
of frost. Still, the forcer must not take such into 
his calculation. Mat-up, then, we say, or otherwise 
cover the roof constantly at night, be the weather 
what it may; only, if the temperature, through roof 
covering, gets too high, according to our previous 
maxims, why, then, of course, some small amount of 
air must be given to keep it down. Ventilation must, 
at times, be had recourse to. Nevertheless, as it is 
desirable to encourage atmospheric moisture about 
their houses, any plan which would supersede the 
necessity of night ventilation, in their first stage, 
would be desirable, and, in this respect, the frame or 
pit with fermenting materials is always superior to 
the dry back shelves of our ordinary liot-houses. 
Strawberries thus situated require little or no water 
for the first three weeks or a month, especially dur¬ 
ing our winter months; and, when they receive any, 
it must be very lightly administered; for, in general, 
it is only the mere surface which becomes dry, or, 
we might rather say, husky. In fact, there is no 
demand for extra moisture during the earlier stage. 
The fine plump bud in the centre is a storehouse of 
the necessary vegetable food, which holds out until 
the developing bud is furnished with a set of new 
leaves, whose office is twofold, namely, to cater for 
the young truss of blossom, and to create besides a 
surplus fund for the supply of the bud for the ensu¬ 
ing year. When, however, the new leaves are be¬ 
coming developed, then the addition of moisture 
becomes necessary, and the water-pot will be in re¬ 
quest. Still, caution is necessary; the amount of 
water, small at first, must be gradually increased up 
to the period of the first colouring of the fruit, which 
may be regarded as the climax of the affair. Thence¬ 
forward, as much water must be given as will enable 
the later set berries to complete tbeir swelling; for, 
be it understood, the strawberry, like the orange, has 
blossoms and fruit in all their stages co-existent; 
and during the ripening process it becomes a nice 
point so to encourage the swelling of tho later 
berries as not to spoil the flavour of those which are 
