104 THE STRAWBERRY IN NORTH AMERICA 



held that the deficiency of stamens is " not constitutional, 

 but accidental and perfectly under control." This 

 extreme statement is not justified; but that sex in the 

 strawberry can be modified somewhat by cultural condi- 

 tions cannot be disputed. 



The distinction between pistillate and staminate va- 

 rieties is wholly relative. A pistillate variety is not one 

 that lacks stamens, and produces no pollen whatever, 

 but one that, under average conditions, is not dependable 

 in self-pollination. Probably most of the conflicting 

 observations concerning the sex of the Hovey arose from 

 a misunderstanding on this point. It is certain that 

 much confusion was due, also, to carelessness in propaga- 

 tion and culture. At that time the strawberry bed 

 frequently was kept in the same place for many years; 

 it was easy for varieties to run together and for seed- 

 lings to spring up in it. Another probable source of 

 error was the fact that true male plants multiplied in the 

 bed so much faster than the pistillate plants that they 

 soon ran out the pistillate, if the beds were neglected. 

 Charles Downing advised that staminate plants be set 

 at the end of a short row with pistillate plants between 

 them, in the same row. The two soon ran together and 

 became indistinguishable. 



Report of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society. — On 

 the other hand, Longworth was equally in error. Al- 

 though right in his main thesis that the Hovey, Early 

 Hudson and other pistillate varieties could not be ex- 

 pected to be fruitful unless planted with a pollinizer, he 

 was wrong in his contention that pistillate varieties were 

 the only kind worth growing. He maintained that her- 

 maphrodite plants were of little value for fruiting; they 

 were serviceable only for pollinating pistillate sorts, and 



