THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 16, 1858. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
361 
1 
Day 
of 
Mth 
Day 
of 
Week. 
MARCH 16—22, 1858. 
Weather near London in 1857. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R.andS. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
afterS un 
Day of 
Year. 
Barometer. 
Thermo. 
Wind. 
Rain in 
Inches. 
! 16 
Tu 
Calceolarias. 
29.995—29.944 
54—25 
S.W. 
— 
14 af 6 
4 af 6 
7 a 42 
— 
1 
8 
50 
17 
W 
Carnations. 
29.860—29.759 
58—31 
s. 
— 
12 
6 
5 6 
9 8 
2 
8 
32 
76 ! 
18 
Th 
Princess Louisa born, 1848. 
29.751—29.717 
65—44 
S.E. 
—. 
10 
6 
7 6 
10 38 
3 
8 
15 
77 ! 
I 19 
F 
Callistemon phoenieium. 
29.830—29.880 
56—47 
S.E. 
.08 
8 
6 
9 6 
morn. 
4 
7 
57 
78 j 
i 20 
S 
Chorozema flava. 
29.978—29.919 
51—33 
E. 
— 
5 
6 
10 6 
0 8 
5 
7 
39 
79 
21 
Sun 
5 Sunday in Lent. 
29.998—29.980 
41—26 
E. 
— 
3 
6 
12 6 
1 34 
6 
7 
21 
80 
22 
M 
Chorozema varia. 
29.856—29.732 
45—27 
E. 
.01 
1 
6 
14 6 
2 44 
3 
7 
2 
81 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the last thirty-one years, the average highest and lowest 
temperatures of these days are 50.7° and 32.6®, respectively. The greatest heat, 69®, occurred on the 20th, in 1836 ; and the lowest cold 
16°, on the 17th, in 1845. During the period 133 days were fine, and on 84 rain fell. ’ ’ 
LITTLE HINTS EOR LITTLE GARDENS. 
So many inquiries and complaints, as to disappoint- 
! ments, have lately come in my way, that, to save 
room, I will throw them into different groups, and first 
as to the 
Forcing of the Strawberry. 
One “ raised and potted strong plants in October, 
and put them in his forcing-house in December.” A 
second did likewise as to potting, hut “ placed the 
plants, plunged in a hotbed for six weeks before taking 
them to his vinery.” A third “grew the plants 
properly, in pots, in summer : protected them from 
rains in autumn, and severe frosts in winter; placed 
j them in the house in January, and kept the plants rather 
dry, expecting that thus the showing of the flower- 
truss would sooner take place.” A fourth did much 
the same, but “ never allowed the plants to want for 
water, though the saucers should hardly ever be 
empty;” and all complain, that “if the plants show 
flower-trusses at all, they show them very weakly, 
spindling, or gouty.” Several more correspondents 
think their failures must be owing to the kinds: 
these being chiefly, Black Prince , Keens, and British 
Queen ; and sympathetic advice is craved. 
1st. I ivill first advert to kinds. —Than those named, 
I know of no better for general forcing. But they are 
not all alike suitable for early forcing; nor will the}'' 
stand an equal amount of high temperature. The 
hardier a Strawberry plant is, the less artificial heat, 
in general, will it stand with impunity. Judged by 
this standard, the Prince will stand the least heat of 
the three. On this account, and also because the 
earliness of the kinds is somewhat in proportion to 
their hardiness, I advise the using Black Prince 
chiefly for the first; Keens for the intermediate ; and 
Queen s for the last forced crop. Unless for particular 
purposes, I would not advise the placing Queens in 
heat, before March. The Prince may be set agoing, if 
deemed advisable, in November, or even earlier, pro- 
| vided the artificial heat to start with is not more than 
45° at night, nor more than 50° until the blossom 
appears ; not more than from 55° to 60° when the fruit 
is set, and swelling, with a rise of 5° during the day 
in dull weather, and from 10° to 15° when sunny, and 
after giving air. When fairly set, the fruit will swell 
in higher temperature, but you may expect the plants 
j to be exhausted, and subject to spider and green fly, 
and the fruit to be soft and red, instead of Black and 
firm. After the fruit is set, Keen s will stand 5° more ; 
and Queen s from 5° to 10° more heat than the Prince. 
j Extra heat, I believe, to be a fruitful cause of failure. 
2nd. Preparation of the plants. —This, for early 
forcing, is a matter of first importance. Several assign 
as reasons why they lifted and potted their plants at 
once, the influence exercised over them by an able co¬ 
temporary, who ridiculed the fuss and bother gardeners 
made in preparing their Strawberry plants. In all 
such cases, it is best to refer for instruction and further 
information, to the identical party in question. It is 
quite heavy enough burden to carry the blame of 
misconceptions we have ourselves directly or indirectly 
produced. So far as I recollect, the discovery had re¬ 
ference. to plants raised and potted at the end of March 
and April ; a very different thing from doing it in 
October and November. Gardeners would not hesitate 
to do such a thing, even for early forcing, if they could 
not make a better of it; and especially if they could 
promote root action, by plunging the pots in a mild 
heat, while the Strawberry crowns were kept cool and 
airy ; but, where is the gardener that would resort to 
such a plan from choice, and with the full expectation 
that hardly a single pot would prove unfruitful P If 
you wished a certain small Cineraria plant to show 
bloom in the autumn, you would let it get pot-bound ; 
you would not think of transferring it to the open 
ground, or placing it in a large pot, to encourage the 
growing instead of the flowering principle. Would 
you have a Strawberry plant, in a pot, to show bloom 
early, not only should the pot be full of roots, but the 
plant should be more early matured than that growing 
in the open garden ; and which will bloom naturally 
three or four months later. As yet, most of the great 
improvements that were to make gardening a matter 
requiring little forethought and care, have terminated 
in the disappointment of the extra sanguine. There 
can be no question, that in the circumstances described, 
the success of the plan adopted was ample. Confined 
to such circumstances and times, it might have added 
one to the many and great obligations, which gardening 
and gardeners are placed under, to the author. What 
has given rise to mistake and disappointment, was 
making a mere particular case the ground for advo- ' 
eating a general rule of practice. 
Whatever, then, the age of the plants, be they young 
or old ; whatever the mode adopted with young run¬ 
ners of the previous summer, whether laid in, or trans- J 
ferred at once to the fruiting pots, or laid in a small 
pot, and then repotted in a larger ; some of the chief 
causes of success, in anything worthy of the name of 
early forcing, consist in having the plants thoroughly 
established in the pots early in autumn ; the roots 
thoroughly interlaced through every particle of soil; 
the crown of the plant standing well up, and exposed 
to every possible ray of sunlight; no want of water, 
and rich water, too, so long as there is sun to evaporate 
it; no more water at the end of autumn than will 
keep the leaves from flagging; no runners at any time 
allowed ; protection from heavy late autumnal rains ; 
and security from severe frosts in winter, before 
forcing commences. 
Such a course has two distinct objects in view. 
First, to secure strength and vigour to the plant; 
and second—knowing that mere luxuriance and vigour 
are not synonymous with, but often opposed to, fer¬ 
tility—to strive, by comparative dryness, and full ex¬ 
posure to sunshine in autumn, to get that vigour 
ripened and matured. Here I may just mention, that 
No. 494. Vol. XIX. 
