The Small Fruits. 167 



and in a state of thorougli cultivation. Varieties vary 

 greatly in their adaptation to different soils. 



252. Planting with reference to pollination. Since many 

 varieties of the strawberry are more or less dioecious (250), 

 and since many of the most valuable sorts produce little or 

 no pollen, it is important to provide for the pollination ot 

 dioecious (imperfect-flowered) varieties by planting with 

 them a certain proportion of one or more perfect-flowered 

 kinds. In culture, the dioecious sorts are commonly known 

 as pistiUates, and the perfect-flowered sorts used to supply the 

 pistillates with pollen are called pollenizers^ sfaminafes, or 

 fertilizers. As a rule, one row of the pollen-bearing va- 

 riety is planted to each 3 or 4 of the pistillate sort. Pollen- 

 izers should be selected that bloom as early as, and continue 

 to bloom as late as, the pistillate variety with which the}"" 

 are grown. 



253. Culture. Strawberry culture is necessarily some- 

 what expensive, as the low growth of the plants renders 

 them very subject to damage from weeds. Whatever sys- 

 tem of culture is practiced, a clean soil and frequent culti- 

 vation and weeding are essential to the highest success. 



Planting. Strawberry plantations are sometimes made 

 in late summer or during autumn, but more commonly in 

 spring. Summer- or autumn-set plants do not make suffi- 

 cient growth to form many runners or fruit-buds before 

 winter, and hence yield but a small crop of fruit the fol- 

 lowing season. The soil about them becomes compacted 

 during winter, hence the growth of the plants is more or 

 less restricted the next season. Only young plants from 

 young and healthy plantations should be used. Such 

 plants have white roots. The plants are commonly set 

 about 2 feet apart in rows Ss to i feet apart. 



