THE STRAWBERRY QUESTION REVIEWED. 



165 



a bed of Hovey's Seedling, that has borne 

 for three years, has become entirely pistil- 

 late." How did it happen that if perfect 

 plants will entirely change in three years or 

 less to pistillate and staminate forms, that 

 he was so fortunate in 1844 or 184-5 as to 

 have beds entirely composed of such plants 

 as these two varieties ? 



The Ross Phcenix was raised in 1837, 

 and the Hovey's Seedling has been cultiva- 

 ted for twelve years. If it takes but three 

 years only to change their organization, 

 would it not be reasonable to presume that 

 the perfect plants would have long since 

 been entirely extinct ? Those who cultiva- 

 ted these varieties, immediately after they 

 ■were raised from the seed, we presume, 

 cultivated them upon as " rich soil " as that 

 upon which Mr. Downing planted his beds, 

 and raised probably as large crops ; why 

 did not the perfect blossoms assume a diffe- 

 rent form under their management, before 

 any plants reached his hands ? Supposing 

 even that some few perfect plants, by not 

 having been " cultivated in rich soil," or 

 not having been allowed to " overbear," 

 still remained, it would be singular that 

 there should be entire beds of them in 

 1844 or 1845. Whence were they obtained ? 

 Has Mr. Downing, or any other person, for 

 years cultivated these varieties upon poor 

 soil, to prevent the perfect plants plants from 

 running out ? L. c. e. 



rrovicloice, August 20, 184G. 



Additional Note by the Editor. — AVe 

 think we can very readily throw some light 

 on this latter point, which seems so difficult 

 of solution to our friend. 



In the first place, we may repeat that 

 when once the normal state of a strawberry 

 is that of perfect blossoms, as we consider 

 Hovey's Seedling to have been, it requires 

 that the plants should bear two to four years 



upon the same bed before the offsets would 

 also assume a pistillate form. Now, every 

 one knows that a new variety of strawberry 

 as popular as this has been, is not one which 

 is likely to be allowed by gardeners and 

 nurserymen to remain long in the same bed. 

 On the contrary, the demand for Hovey's 

 Seedling has scarcely been supplied by con- 

 tinually taking off the runners, and making 

 new plantations, as fast as they were formed. 

 It is evident, therefore, supposing a bed to 

 bear perfect flowers the first season, that, 

 according to our views, if a new bed vifere 

 formed with the runners of that summer,and 

 again another fresh plantation made from 

 the off-sets of those runners the succeeding 

 year, that the original perfect condition 

 could be and is preserved. In short we be- 

 lieve as Ave before said, a strawberry, which 

 is at first productive and perfect in its blos- 

 soms, may, by renewing it by fresh planta- 

 tion, made from off-sets taken from beds that 

 have borne but once, be preserved forever 

 in a perfect state. 



Hovey's Seedling is now in this condition 

 in many hands. But in the majority of cases, 

 in private gardens, having been allowed to 

 bear continuous crops, it has assumed perma- 

 nently the pistillate form, and now requires 

 to be fertilized by other sorts. 



The reason why we now recommend the 

 plan of making beds of pistillate and sta- 

 minate plants, instead of the perfect ones, 

 as we did in our work on fruits, are these : 



JTirst, Because, for reasons stated in our 

 article in the August number, we are satis- 

 fied that a bed of pistillates, fertilized by 

 staminates, Avill be more permanently and 

 uniformly productive. 



Second, and chiefly, Because it require? 

 more care and attention to renew a straw- 

 berry plantation every second year than the 

 majority of our cultivators are willing to 

 bestow. A fine crop this year, is the strong- 



