64 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The necessity of this change has had a tendency to pro- 

 duce, in some measure, a stagnation in the strawberry-grow- 

 ing. Good judges estimated that only about two-thirds of 

 the acreage of 1879 and 1880 will be in bearing in 1882, 



Growers are experimenting cautiously with new varieties, 

 to which their attention is constantly being called, and will 

 continue to do so until something is found that will " fill 

 the bill," when the business will be resumed, and perhaps 

 exceed its former proportions. 



The strawberry is an uncertain crop, and by no means 

 an easy one to raise, the frequent assertion of writers on 

 horticulture to the contrary notwithstanding. New impedi- 

 ments yearly present themselves ; and every succeeding year 

 demands greater effort to insure success than was required 

 the year preceding. Though I think this may be truly said 

 of almost any crop, yet I think it is peculiarly so of the 

 strawberry-crop. 



The raA'ages of the cutworm, or the disheartening appear 

 iince of the blight, are either often sufficient to discourage 

 the most resolute cultivator. The former we have learned 

 in a measure to out-general, but of the latter we know abso- 

 lutely nothing except its results. A field may be perfect 

 to-day, to all external appearances, and to-morrow unmis- 

 takable signs of waning Adtality are stamped on every leaf. 

 The foliage quickly and mj^steriously disappears, leaving the 

 half-grown, sickly-looking berry exposed to the rays of the 

 scorching sun, emphatically saying to the husbandman, 

 "Thus far, but no farther, shalt thou go." The cause of the 

 blight is merely a matter of speculation. Although theories 

 are not wanting to account for it, yet none have been ad- 

 vanced that appear to stand the test of experience. It has 

 been attributed to various causes ; such as, too much or too 

 little plant-food in the soil, the broadcast application of too 

 much fertilizer, or the working of a minute insect at the 

 roots. Some look for the cause in climatic influences, while 

 others think that they account for it by saying that the 

 plant has played out. 



This phenomenon, though not confined to any particular 

 variety, has developed itself most frequently on the Wilson, 

 and has been one of the chief causes wliich has brought that 

 plant into disrepute. 



