170 Lessons in Fruit Growing. 



pected, is often successful in preventing damage from this 

 cause. 



256. Harvesting:. Tlie fruit of the strawberry is soft and 

 perishable, hence especial care is necessary in handling it 

 (16) (212). The fruit colors well in the package if picked 

 slightly immature. 



25^. Insects and diseases. The strawberry leaf-roller 

 {Plioxopterls comptana) lays its eggs upon the leaves of the 

 strawberry in early spring. The larvae feed upon the foli- 

 age and mature in June, causing the leaflets to roll upward^ 

 inclosing the insects. There are two broods in a season 

 in the northern states. 



Treatment. After the fruiting season, moAv over the 

 strawberry plantation, cutting off all foliage within an inch 

 or two of the soil. When the cut-off herbage is sufficiently 

 dry, rake it between the rows and burn it all. Should the 

 leaf-roller be troublesome in the young plantation, spray 

 the plants in the latter part of summer with water con- 

 taining Paris green at the rate of one pound to two hun- 

 dred gallons. 



258. The strawberry root-borer [Anarsia Uneatella) i^ 

 sometimes very injurious to strawberry plantations. It is 

 a reddish-pink caterpillar, nearly half an inch long, which 

 eats irregular channels through the crown of the plant. 

 The moth, which is the perfect form of this insect, lays its 

 eggs on the crown of the plant, rather late in summer, and 

 the larva burrows into the heart of the plant, where it re- 

 mains during the winter, escaping early in June. For 

 treatment see (260). 



259. The strawberry crown-Jiortr (Ti/Iodennafragarico)^ 

 a small beetle belonging to the curculio family, deposits its 

 eggs about the crown of the plant early in summer. The 



