262 Strawberry-Growing 



freely. The anthers shed pollen every sunny day; a 

 little may fall upon the pistils, but not enough to pollinate 

 them properly. In bright weather, especially as spring 

 approaches, some varieties pollinate well if the gardener 

 merely brushes his arm over the plants; but usually it 

 is necessary to hand-pollinate each blossom. This is 

 done in the middle of the day, when the house is dry. 

 A small camel's-hair brush is used to distribute the pollen 

 over the pistils ; the surplus pollen is collected in a spoon 

 for use on pistillate varieties, or staminate sorts that 

 produce little pollen. Staminate varieties differ widely 

 in their ability to produce pollen. Marshall is one of 

 the best in this respect and Glen Mary one of the poorest, 

 especially the early blossoms. It is impossible to grow 

 a satisfactory plant without a fair amount of sunshine 

 during the blossoming period. In prolonged cloudy 

 weather, varieties that are strongly staminate normally 

 may produce no pollen at all. 



When the berries begin to swell, stimulate the plants 

 with liquid manure. This should be given twice a week, 

 and gradually increased in strength until the berries begin 

 to color; then the applications should cease, as they 

 make the berries soft and watery. Rotted cow manure 

 or sheep manure is preferred. Nitrate of soda, at the 

 rate of one tablespoonful to three gallons of water, is almost 

 equally effective. Sulfate of potash and acid phosphate, 

 in small quantities, are used after the fruit has set and 

 until it begins to turn color. All the blossoms are pol- 

 linated, but not all the berries are allow^ed to mature. 

 Small and imperfect specimens are cut off, leaving five to 

 ten berries on each plant, according to its vigor. If they 

 lie upon the soil they may decay; the stems may be 

 propped up with crotched sticks, or square pieces of wire 



