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Trained gardeners need no instruction from me on this topic. There may be those, however, who have never given the subject attention, and who would be glad to learn some of the first principles of success in forcing this fruit for market; while a still larger number, having small conservatories and warm south windows, would be pleased to see a few strawberries blossoming and ripening, as an earnest of the coming June. There are no greater difficulties in the way than in having flowers, for it is merely a question of doing the right thing at the right time. I do not believe in a system of minute, arbitrary directions, so much as in the clear statement of a few general principles that will suggest what ought to be done. The strawberry plant has the same character indoors as out, and this fact alone, in view of what has been written, should suggest moisture, coolness, light, and air. I shall endeavor to present, however, each successive step.
First, prepare a compost of thoroughly rotted sods and the cleanings of the cow-stable, in the proportion of three parts sod-mould to one of manure. In the place of sods, decayed leaves, muck, sweetened by a year's exposure to air and frost, or any good, rich loam will answer. With this compost, made fine and clean by passing it through a coarse sieve, fill in June, and not later than July, as many three-inch pots as you desire; then sink them to their rims along the sides of the rows from which you propose to obtain winter-bearing plants. Varieties best adapted for forcing are those of a low, stocky growth, bearing perfect flowers and sweet or high-flavored berries. I should say the Triomphe de Gand was the best, and I observe that it and the La Constante, which it closely resembles, are highly recommended abroad. The bush Alpines are said to do finely, and I should think the Black Defiance would answer well. Mr. Henderson speaks highly of the Champion, which, however, must be grown with a perfect-flowered kind, since it is a pistillate. From the parent row, guide the first runners so that they will take root in the pots. Let each runner form but a single, strong plant, which it will do in about two weeks, filling the pot with roots. Then these plants, with their accompanying balls of earth interlaced with roots, are ready to be shifted into pots of from six to eight inches in diameter, which also should be filled with the compost already described.
These larger pots should have three or four pieces of broken pottery in the bottom for drainage. One plant to each pot is sufficient, and the soil should be pressed firmly about the roots. The methods of growers now differ somewhat, but all agree in seeking to promote a continuous and healthy growth. It may be necessary to place the pots in a half-shady position for a few days, till the effects of shifting are over, and the roots have taken hold of the new soil. Then they should stand in an open, airy position, close together, where they can receive daily attention. Some recommend that they stand on boards, flagging, or bricks, or a layer of coal ashes, since earth-worms are thus kept out; others sink them in cold frames, where they can be protected somewhat from excessive heat and drenching storms; while others, still, sink the pots in the open ground, where it is convenient to care for and water them. It is obvious that moisture must be steadily and continuously maintained, and the plants be made to do their best until about the first of October. After this, they should be watered very sparingly—barely kept moist—since it is now our aim to ripen the foliage and roots and induce a season of rest. At the same time, they should not be permitted to dry out. About the first of November, an old hot-bed pit can be filled with dry leaves and the pots plunged in them, close together, up to their rims, and, as the season grows colder, the tops can be covered, so as to prevent the earth in the pots from freezing. The top of the pit can be covered with boards to keep out the wet, but not so tightly as to exclude the air. Our aim is to keep the plants dormant, and yet a little above freezing, and barely moist enough to prevent the slightest shrivelling. Since it requires from ten to fourteen weeks to mature the fruit under glass, it would be well to subject some of the plants to heat early in October, so as to have ripe berries at the holidays. They can thereafter be taken from the storage place every two or three weeks, so as to secure a succession. By this course, also, if a mishap befalls one lot of plants, there still remain several chances for winter fruit.
In the forcing process, follow nature. The plants do not start suddenly in spring, but gradually awaken into life. The weather, also, is comparatively cool when they are blossoming. If these hints are not taken in the green-house, there may be much promise but little fruit. If the heat is turned on too rapidly when the plants begin to bloom, the calyx and corolla will probably develop properly, but the stamens will be destitute of pollen, while the pistils, the most complicated part of the flower, and that which requires the longest time for perfect formation, become "a mere tuft of abortions, incapable of quickening, and shrivelling into pitch-black threads as soon as fully in contact with the air." Let the conditions within-doors accord as far as possible with those under the open sky. The roots require coolness, continuous and evenly maintained moisture. One check from over-dryness may cause serious and lasting injury. The foliage needs air and light in abundance. Therefore the pots should be on shelves close to the glass; otherwise the leaf and fruit stalks will be drawn and spindling. If the pot can be shaded while the plant is in full light, all the better. When first introduced, the temperature should not exceed 45 degrees or 50 degrees. Air must be freely admitted at all times, though much less will suffice, of course, in cold than in warm weather. Watch the foliage, and if it begins to grow long and without substance, give more air and less heat. An average of 55 degrees to 70 degrees by day may be allowed, and from 45 degrees to 50 degrees by night.
When the flower buds begin to open, the forcing must be conducted more slowly and evenly, so as to give the delicate organs time to perfect; but after the fruit is set, the heat can be increased till it occasionally reaches 75 degrees at midday. After the fruit begins to color, give less water—barely sufficient to prevent any check in growth, and the fruit will be sweeter and ripen faster. The upper blossoms may be pinched off, so as to throw the whole strength of the plant into the lower berries. Keep off all runners; syringe the plants if infested with the red spider, and if the aphis appears, fumigate him with tobacco.
The plants that have fruited need not be thrown away as useless. If they are turned out of the pots into rich, moist soil, in April, and the runners are kept off all summer, they will make large, bushy stools, which will give a fine crop in autumn.
The amateur, with a small conservatory or south window, by approximating as far as possible to the conditions named, can achieve a fair success. I have had plants do moderately well by merely digging them from the beds late in the fall, with considerable rich earth clinging to their roots, and then potting with more rich soil, and forcing them at once. Of course, fine results cannot be expected from such careless work, but some strawberries can be raised with very little trouble. If one, however, wished to go into the business on a large and scientific scale, I would recommend a straw berry- house, designed by Mr. William Ingram, gardener at Belvoir Castle. A figure of the structure may be seen on page 74 in Mr. Fuller's valuable work, "The Small Fruit Culturist." On the same principles that we have been describing, the ripening of strawberries can be hastened by the use of hot beds, cold frames, and ordinary sash.
During the Christmas holidays strawberries sell readily at from $4 to $8 per quart, and handsome fruit brings high prices till March; but the profit of raising them under glass threatens to diminish in future years, since Florida berries begin to arrive freely even in February. There are those who now seem to be doing well in the business of forcing, if we may judge from the jealousy with which they guard the open secrets of their calling from their neighbors.
A rough and ready method of forcing is to dig up clumps of plants during a mild spell in winter or early spring, put them in boxes or pots of rich earth, and take them into the green-house. Considerable fruit is sometimes ripened in this way.
An English writer says: "We find forced strawberries mentioned as being served at an installation dinner, April 23d, 1667; but the idea had already occurred to the great Lord Bacon, who writes, 'As we have housed the exotics of hot countries, so we may house our natives to forward them, and thus have violets, strawberries, and pease all winter.'"