50 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
Culture against Hot Walls. —'There are some places 
where hot walls are used for producing early fruit, and where 
such is the case, a row of strawberries may be planted near the 
wall, and the heat that serves for the wall trees, will assist to 
bring forward an early crop of strawberries : wherever this is 
practised, fresh plants should be provided every season ; the old 
soil of the border should be carefully taken out, about a spade 
and a half wide, and fresh soil filled in. The plants may be put 
in about the beginning of October, at about nine inches apart, 
for the object is to obtain as much fruit as possible from a limited 
space; the plants should not remain there after fruiting, but 
they may be removed to a cool part of the garden, and will pro¬ 
duce a second crop in the autumn, by taking off all runners, and 
carefully watering them when requisite. If the fires are lighted 
about Christmas, the strawberries, will be ripe by about the end 
of March ; or if the season is very cold, it may be the middle of 
April before they are fit for the table. In growing strawberries 
near hot walls they must be well supplied with water when re¬ 
quisite, for neglect of this at the time they are coming into 
bloom, will cause the blossoms to drop without setting their fruit : 
care must be taken not to wet the bloom. 
Before we enter on the subject of forcing this fruit, it will be 
necessary to say something respecting the manner of preparing 
the plants, which should be done as follows: as soon as the run¬ 
ners become strong enough, fill a sufficient number of forty-eight 
sized pots, with good loamy soil, and plunge them about the 
beds ; then lay the best of the runners into the pots, and either 
peg them down, or lay a stone on them, — I prefer pegging them 
down; attend to the watering of them in dry weather, and they 
will soon send out fresh roots : when they are well established 
in the pots, cut them from the parent plant, and let them be re¬ 
moved and plunged in beds close,.together, where they may re¬ 
main till the roots fill the pots ; care must be taken that they 
have water in dry weather. In August they may be repotted 
into thirty-two sized pots, using a compost of one part well-rotten 
manure, and three parts loam, chopped fine, but not sifted : by 
pursuing this method, plants may be obtained either for forcing 
in the house, or for the hot walls ; when required for planting 
out they have this advantage, that they may be removed with¬ 
out greatly disturbing the roots. 
Forcing in Houses, &c. — When about to commence 
