164 Commercial Gardening 



The chief pests attacking Loganberries and allied fruits are the Rasp- 

 berry Beetle (Bytwrus tomentosus), the Clay-coloured Weevil (Otiorhynchus 

 picipes), the Daddy-long-legs (Tipula oleracea), the Heart-and-Dart Moth 

 (Agrotis exclamationis). (See Vol. I, p. 166 et seq.) 



Mulberry (Morus nigra). This can only be regarded as an ornamental 

 tree, easily grown on lawns in the southern parts, and against walls in less- 

 favoured localities. Its fruits are delicious when ripe, but they give too 

 much trouble for the market grower to worry about. Any fruits that find 

 their way to market are chiefly from private sources. 



STRAWBERRIES 



i. CULTIVATION 



The Strawberry. The Strawberry (Fragaria) is a very important 

 market-garden crop in England, where about 21,000 ac. are devoted to 

 its culture. The most important centres appear to be Kent, 6733 ac.; 

 Hampshire, 2406 ac.; Cambridge, 2336 ac.; Norfolk, 1798 ac.; Worcester, 

 1102 ac.; Essex, 567 ac.; Cornwall, 542 ac.; Lincoln, 484 ac.; Middlesex, 

 432 ac.; Hereford, 421 ac.; Cheshire, 371 ac.; and Yorkshire, 300 ac. 



In Scotland about 3000 ac. are down to Strawberries, 1234 ac. being in 

 Lanarkshire, 500 ac. in Perthshire, and 218 ac. in Aberdeenshire. Only 

 about 1000 ac. are given for Strawberries in Ireland, the great bulk being 

 grown in the counties of Armagh and Dublin. Wales grows a little over 

 500 ac., of which Denbighshire absorbs about 480 ac. 



It would be easy to deduce from these figures, and indeed from those 

 given for other crops, that England, being the centre of government in 

 the British Islands, naturally attracts the lion's share of the fruit trade 

 as well as the population. One is a natural corollary of the other, and 

 it is evident that if the population were better distributed over the 

 kingdom trade would develop to support it. 



Strawberries like a good and fairly heavy loam that has been deeply 

 cultivated and well manured. The deeper the cultivation in advance of 

 planting the better, as the soil is thus rendered warmer and earlier, and 

 there is but little trouble afterwards with weeds. In many places Straw- 

 berries are looked upon as a catch crop between young fruit trees, until 

 the latter are large enough to require all the space to themselves, and 

 one, two, or three rows are planted between, according to circumstances. 

 When grown in large breadths, from 11,000 to 16,000 runners are planted 

 to an acre, the average cost for young plants being about 10s. per 1000, 

 although they are often advertised at half this price. At 2 ft. apart every 

 way an acre will hold 11,000 plants, and 20,000 at 2 ft. by 1 ft.. The 

 latter number, however, is too great, except perhaps in the case cf varieties 

 like "Stirling Castle" and the "Old Scarlet", that are grown chiefly for 

 jam. Amongst the best dessert kinds are " Bedford Champion ", a large, 



