==Alpine Strawberries== are very largely grown in France, probably more so than the large-fruited varieties which are popular in this country.  The best method is to sow the seeds in January, in pans filled with a light rich compost and placed in a gentle heat.  Prick out the plants on to a bed of light soil in a frame, or on a nearly exhausted hot-bed, whence they should be taken to the open ground.  From these sowings fine fruits may usually be gathered in the following September.  Seeds may also be sown outdoors in spring or in September in shallow drills, six inches apart, on a bed of light soil.  Transplant in due course for fruiting in the succeeding Strawberry season.  When a full crop has been gathered the plants should be destroyed, a succession being kept up by sowing annually.  By slowly growing the plants from spring-sown seeds and potting in autumn, it is not a difficult matter to have Alpines in fruit under glass at Christmas.

==Sunflower==

==Helianthus annuus==

Although the Sunflower is not utilised as food for man, the plant is frequently grown in the Kitchen Garden, partly as an ornament, and also for the production of seeds which are given to poultry.

As regards cultivation, sow in pans in April, and put on a gentle hot-bed, or shut up close in a sunny frame.  The plants will soon appear.  Give them light and air, and plant out when they are two or three inches high.  But Sunflowers can be grown without any kind of artificial aid.  A simple and effectual method is to make the spot intended for them very rich, and dibble the seed an inch deep on the first day of May.

==Tomato==

==Lycopersicum esculentum==

The taste for Tomatoes often begins with a little antipathy, but it is soon acquired, and not infrequently develops into decided fondness for the fruit both cooked and in its natural condition.  As a necessary article of food the call for it in this country is no longer limited to a select circle of epicures, for the value of its refreshing, appetising, and corrective properties is now widely recognised, and its advance in public favour has been accelerated by the improved quality, enhanced beauty, and increased variety effected by expert raisers.

The Tomato is a tender, but not a tropical plant, and it requires a moderately high temperature, free access of air, and above all a full flood of solar light to bring it to perfection.  The necessary heat is easily managed in any garden equipped with ordinary forcing appliances; so also is a current of air in properly constructed buildings; but the deficiency of light during the darker months renders the task of producing fruit in midwinter less easy than at other seasons.  By the introduction of varieties possessing increased powers of crop-setting, however, the difficulty of winter fruiting has been largely overcome, so that, with efficient management, it is now possible to send Tomatoes to table throughout the year.