414 



Strawberries. 



purpose, and is more easily and neatly applied, if chopped short, say 

 two or three inches. Rye straw, threshed by hand, will lie more 

 smoothly than any other long straw. Applied in autumn, straw will 

 protect from winter killing, and may be renewed or retained in 

 spring. Beds for family use are neatly mulched with the short mow- 

 ings of lawns. 



Selettion of Varieties. Independently of fine quality, the selection 

 of suitable varieties is of great importance. Some sorts, celebrated 

 and highly recommended, will not yield a tenth part of the crop 

 afforded by others. The most productive, among which may be 

 mentioned Wilson's Albany, Iowa, Large Early Scarlet, and the 

 Downer, have yielded at the rate of one hundred, and sometimes 

 two hundred bushels per acre ; the ground, at the period of ripen- 

 ing, glowing with the dense red clusters which nearly cover the sur- 

 face ; while of such varieties as Swainstone's Seedling, Myatt's 

 Eliza, and Deptford Pine, the fruit is so thinly scattered and imper- 

 fect, that whole square feet are destitute of fine specimens. 



As the productive qualities of strawberries depend so essentially 

 on the presence of the stamens and pistils, some attention to this part 

 of the subject becomes indispensable to their successful culture. 

 Modern cultivators divide all strawberries into two distinct classes, 



one being termed staminate (or 

 " male "), in which the stamens are 

 fully developed, and possess the 

 power of fertilizing the germ ; and 

 the other being termed pistillate (or 

 "female"), in which the stamens 

 are abortive, or so small and im- 

 perfectly developed that they fail 

 to accomplish fertilization. Figs. 

 453 and 454 represent the usual appearance of these two kinds of 



Fig- 453- Fig. 454. 



Staminate flowers. Pistillate flowers. 



Fig. 455- 

 Pistillate flower, magnified 



Fig. 456. 

 Staminate flower, magnified. 



flowers ; and Figs. 455 and 456, magnified portions of the same, 



