Northwestern Horticultural Society. 253 



people do uot seem to take much interest yet in the subject of 



horticulture. They have so many other things to absorb their 



attention that it is very hard to awaken their interest and secure 



their attendance upon these meetings. Sj far but few ladies 



attend or show any interest in horticultural subjects. This seems 



strange, when we consider how many attempt to cultivate home 



plants and fail, because of their ignorance of the nature and 



habits of flowering plants. We must be content to wait and 



educate the peop'e to an appreciation of this subject. 



Mrs. W. P. Powers, now one of our vice presidents, was the 



pioneer among the women of this county. She attended our first 



meetings without any other lady being present and contributed 



a very interesting letter. We now have forty-seven members, 



with the hope of securing a large ac3ession of membership during 



the summer. S. W. BkiCxHam, 



Secreia ry, 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



Read by J. M. Smith, of Greea Bay, before the La Crosse Horticultural 



Society. 



In the list of small fruits the strawberry stands at the head. 

 No other fruit is such a general favorite. None of the others will 

 grow upon so large a portion of the earth's surface as the straw- 

 berry. It may be found in the almost tropical regions of South- 

 ern Florida, and on the shores of Lake Superior. In fact, in some 

 places it is found even within the Arctic circle. Its favorite 

 home is in the temperate zone, and in our northwest it prob- 

 ably does its best between 40 and 50 degrees of latitude. The 

 different varieties are divided into three classes. The staminate, 

 or male p'ant, which of course never bears fruit, the blossoms 

 having the stamens fully developed, but having no pistils. The 

 pistilate, or female plant, which has its pistils fully developed, 

 but has no stamens, and must of course be fertilized by the stamens 

 of some other blossom. The Russell's Prolific and the Cresaent 

 Seedling are samples of this class. The third class has both 

 stamens and pisti's fully developed in each fl jwer, and is called 

 the Perfect Blossom, or the Hermaphrodite, the latter being the 

 more correct name. They have also the p^wer of fertilizing pis- 



