198 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 5, 1904. 
economy to work with old worn-out tools', or even, to get such 
old tods mended. 
If a spade is worn half down you are losing more in failing 
to properly work your ground than if you bought a. new spade. 
After a tool is so far dome that it. is constantly wanting repairs, 
throw it away and get a, new one. That is. true economy. 
Again, in sowing seeds, I hold that very often it is far fiom 
economical to. sow very thinly, and for this reason : We cannot 
know what sort of a. season we are to have, and so, therefore, 
are unable to know whether our seeds will not. partly rot, or 
slugs, birds, or mice have their share. Now with reasonably 
thick sowing we are at least partially prepared for whatever 
come®, and it is so much easier to pluck out a. few plants, wlieiei 
too thick than to have to put them ini. This latter is. often 
impossible, and many a, time thin sowing is thei reason for 
failure. I know many will not agree with me there, but I have 
seen the game tried and noted the failure. 
It. must not be supposed, however, that I recommend really 
thick sowing. What I practise myself isi reasonable thickness, 
and with crop® that require- thinning I do this as soon, as they 
can be handled, going over them: twice, and as I am practically 
sure of a, crop thei small amount, of extra time spent, in. thinning 
is real economy. 
I still find many other point® worthy of notice, but will 
mention only one, via., artificial manures'. Now I hold that 
it, is true economy to use a fair amount -of these. I do .not 
quite pin my faith, to- these a-lone, but I say that, their judicious 
use far more than repays any little outlay. In; fact, I think 
I am within the mark when. I say that with many crop®, if we 
want them at their best-, we must use some chemical prei- 
parat-ion; and I think most people will admit-, that without 
something better than can be got in the farmyard, we could not 
hope t-o see the glorious flower® so often met with at our shows 
and in our gardens and glass-houses. 
Chas. Blair. 
Preston, Linlithgow. 
Forcing Strawberries. 
Before successful forcing of Strawberries can, be carried o-ut-, 
it is necessary to have strong and well-ripened crowns. To 
get these for very early work it is the best plan t-o layer in 
the autumn int-oi 3£-in. pot® a-nd winter in cold frame®, plung¬ 
ing the pot® in coal aishe®. Po-t- int-o- 6-in. pots: in April, when 
they have all the summer to grow and ripen. These p-lants 
may bei 'Started in the- latter part of December, when they will 
fruit in February and March. 
For plants t-o follow these and keep up the supply -of fruit 
until June, runners should be- taken a® early a-s possible. Use 
3-in. pots, and if plunged between e-veay other row of plant® 
they will not dry so quickly. There are many ways of fasten¬ 
ing the runner on the pot, some using p-egs or lengths of 
raffia-. The old-fashioned way of using a small -stone is to 
be recommended, thus preventing undue evaporation, giving 
the young plant a, better chance o-f rooting quickly. As soon a® 
the pots are full of roots Sever the runner from the parent 
plant and stand the pots -on a bed of oo-a.1 ashes. Pot- into 
5-in. or 6-in. pots as soon as po-ssib-le', because' the yo-ung plants 
will soon suffer if left in small pots. 
Use a- compost of loam, fairly strong, with plenty of Mush¬ 
room dung, lime rubble and a, litt-le crushed' bone®. See that- 
tlie pots! are clean and well crocked ; over the crocks p-la-oe a 
little so-o-t to- keep out the worms-. Pot firmly and stand the 
po-ts in the full sun, giving each plant plenty of head room. 
Attend t-o watering -and -syringing. On, very hot days they will 
need t-o be syringed three- or four times a day. Give a water¬ 
ing with so-o-t water occasionally, syringing with- the same t-o 
keep down red spider, which is very troublesome to the pot 
Strawberry. Keep the plant to one crown and stir the surface 
soil afewtiine® during the summer. Towards the latter part, 
of autumn -stop syringing, a-s the night de.ws will keep the) 
p-fantisi damp enough, for if kept, rather dry overhead at this 
eea-son they will ripen their crowns better. 
Towards the end of October the pots should be plunged in 
coal a-shesi in -cold frames, using the lights only to keep off 
heavy rain and snow. 
Bring into- heat a® required, giving a temperature o-f 50 deg. 
for the start., increasing it, a® the plant® come in-t-oi flower. Fer¬ 
tilise the flowers with a camel-hair brush, keeping the house 
drier until the fruit is set, when the syringe may again be 
used until the first- sign of colouring. Thin the fruit to- six 
or seven- on a, pot, leaving only the beshformed one®. Stake 
the fruit carefully or e-lse it will liang over the pot and be 
9 
Lilium nepalense. (Seeip. 196.) 
bruised. The plant® should be fed with liquid manure fro-m 
the farmyard and some kind of artificial manure. Never 
allow the soil to become very dry, or your fruit will b© ruined. 
Forced plants, if hardened off, are useful for making a new 
plantation in the kitchen garden. T. B. Byram. 
One Danger of Shooting Birds. —Mr. Luke Ellis, in com¬ 
menting upon garden thieves, feathered and otherwise, speaks of 
an old pensioner who- has borrowed a firelock and blazes away 
indiscriminately at every bird that ventures to settle in bis 
Damson trees. He further says that this bird-scarer might take 
tbs trouble to- examine the trees and see the mischief lie himself 
is causing. We have been aware of the 1 damage to trees- and 
fruit bushes for many years- past. The shoots get barked, thus 
laying them liable to- be attacked by fungi, or to be broken off 
by the wind, even if the pellets of shot do not actually break 
them. In the case of Raspberries broken near the base a whole 
year is lost. 
