STRAWBERRY HAND-BOOK. 25 



As with the "white grub," clean cultivation and the same 

 preventive conditions apply to the cut worm. It is never 

 bad in thoroughly tilled soil, unless near a pasture or hay 

 field. Scatter over the land a week before the plants are 

 set, cabbage leaves or small bundles of green grass which 

 have been steeped in a solution of Paris green. Make the 

 distribution in the early evening. Do not follow a clover 

 sod with strawberries, and you will have no trouble with 

 the cut worm. 



Strawberry Weevil. This is a minute beetle ; the egg 

 is deposited in the bloom just before it opens, and the stem 

 is partially severed so that it may droop and stop growth in 

 order to furnish food and protection in the young weevil. 

 It may readily be recognized by the drooping immature 

 buds. The attack is made as soon as the bud approaches 

 maturity. 



The food is largely the pollen, consequently imperfect 

 (pistillate) plants are not injured. Clean and thorough 

 culture is both remedy and preventive. The destruction of 

 old beds, and all infested beds is necessary. Practice a 

 rotation. In the garden, the plants may be protected by a 

 covering during the blossoming period, of light muslin, or 

 even old newspapers. 



Strawberry Thrip. The injury is done to the blos- 

 soms, which wilt and die very quickly after the attack. In 

 action this pest is so similar to the weevil that it is some- 

 times claimed that the two are identical. The thrip is very 



