BREEDING 207 



eral varieties having imperfect flowers which are used 

 in breeding only. He grows, in a separate plot, four 

 plants of each pistillate variety which he wishes to use. 

 At the beginning of the flowering period, he encloses the 

 four plants in a wooden frame covered with a white cloth 

 of flne weave — preferably silk cloth. When a cross is 

 to be made, a flower is picked early in the morning and 

 is placed in an inverted position on one of the flowers 

 under the cloth frame. Pollen falls on the pistils and 

 fertilization takes place." ^ 



Sowing the seed. — Strawberries are grown from seed 

 more easily than most other fruits. The berries are 

 picked when dead ripe. The seeds may be separated 

 from the pulp by crushing the berries and rubbing the 

 pulp in fine, dry sand or loam until the soil and seeds 

 are well mixed. Years ago it was advised that the berries 

 be crushed between folds of blotting paper or absorbent 

 cloth; when dry, the whole material was sown. This 

 method may have been satisfactory for small berries, 

 but it is not suitable for large-fruited sorts, which have 

 so much pulp that the seeds do not separate from it read- 

 ily. These are best handled by paring off the surface 

 of each berry with a thin, sharp knife, removing a small 

 amount of pulp with the seeds. The parings are placed 

 in a stout cloth, which is held under water and kneaded 

 to work out the pulp. Some breeders prefer to crush and 

 wash the whole berry ; the seeds will settle, but the pulp 

 will float and can be drained off. 



Formerly it was thought necessary to keep the seeds 

 several months, or until the following spring, before sow- 

 ing them. The seeds were placed in paper bags or mixed 

 with sand and kept in a cool, dry place. There was much 

 1 Jour. Heredity, VII, No. 12 (Dec, 1916), pp. 534-535. 



