748 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



years old will show the following- ratios: 34 : 100 : 117 : Hi : 110, 

 respectively. 



As regards the ripening period the averages obtained from a consid- 

 eration of the data secured with all varieties show that ''the cropping 

 season of the older plants lasts longer than that of the 1-year-old 

 plants, . . . but the advantage does not seem with any certainty to 

 increase with the age of the plants beyond 2 years.'' The l-3'ear 

 plants ripened their fruit earlier 3 years out of -1 than the older plants, 

 but in 1899 the reverse was uniformly true. 



A table is given in which the 20 varieties of berries that stood lirst 

 in order of merit of some one qualitj^ are arranged in 7 columns, and 

 these data are finally condensed into a list of 11 varieties which stood 

 highest as regards the sum total of all qualities. No variet}^ stood first 

 in all 7 qualities or even in 5. Three varieties appeared in 4 columns 

 and 8 in 3 columns. The variety La Constante stands at the head of 

 the list with a mark of 173, whereas by the system of valuation adopted 

 a marking of 6 is the best attainable. It is urged b}' the avithors that 

 too much value must not be placed on the list of best varieties because 

 of the great variation in behavior exhibited by different varieties when 

 placed under slightly different conditions, as shown by the supple- 

 mentarj' plats. 



In other parts of the experimental field 4 suppl omenta r}- collections 

 of strawberries were grown. The largest collection consisted of 64 of 

 the varieties experimented with above. The plants in the supplemen- 

 tary beds were set a little closer together in some instances. The 

 results obtained in these experiments wdth the different varieties fre- 

 quently varied widely from the results obtained with the same varie- 

 ties grown in the main bed. The variation was not at all in any one 

 direction, nor was it constant as regards any one quality or character. 

 Leaving out exceptional cases the variation on one supplementar}' plat 

 was from 22 to 177 or as 1 : 8 in 1896; in 1898 the variation on this same 

 plat was from 5 to 184 or as 1 : 87. A similar lack of consistency in the 

 behavior of the A^arieties was observable during each year of the experi- 

 ment on each supplementary" plat and with all ages of plants. 



"Without impugning our ground or manure there would seem to l>e ample 

 explanation for the variations noticed when dealing with a short-lived, low-growing, 

 and somewhat delicate plant. The crop must depend largely, if not chiefly, on the 

 progress of events during the l)lossoming period, a slight difference in moisture of 

 the soil, a slight depression in the ground, an almost imperceptible shelter from 

 radiation, or a screening from ventilation, an accidental breath of wind, or a day 

 earlier or later in the expansion of the flowers, may make all the difference whether 

 the blossoms were affected by a night frost or not. 



"Although these results may be regarded as unsatisfactory irom the point of view 

 of a mere 'testing of varieties,' they will have served their 2>urpose well if they 

 have done nothing more than prove the futility of experiments directed to this 

 object only. 



"Without implying that such a 'testing' may not have its uses in some cases, we 



