New Sti'azvbcrries. 157 



name of Tcrmes frontalis, has long been known about Vienna in Europe, 

 where, according to Kollar, it did injury to the plant-houses around the 

 imperial palace of Schonbrunn, and was supposed by him to have come 

 originally from Brazil. He described this species previously to Haldeman 

 under the name of Termes flavipes, by which it must be known. Burmeis- 

 ter states that there are specimens in the Berlin Museum which were taken 

 in Portugal. 



It may be readily distinguished from our common ant, which it most 

 closely resembles, by its large head, its pale or whitish body, and by the 

 nearly uniform size of the joints of the antennae ; the true ants having the 

 basal-joint nearly half as long as all the rest of the antennae together. 



Noticing their fondness for damp places, Mr. Allen tried the plan of 

 surrounding the layered portion of his vines with coal-ashes ; and, in these 

 cases, had experienced no trouble from the ants. The same experiment 

 might be tried on the roots of full-grown vines, displacing the earth, and 

 leaving a surrounding of ashes one or two inches in thickness. The dry- 

 ness of the ashes, and the superabundant moisture of the surrounding 

 earth, would probably prevent the ants from attacking the vine. 



Samuel H. Scudder. 



NEW STRAWBERRIES. 



I PROPOSE giving here a brief account of my success in fruiting various 

 kinds of strawberries, new and old, in 1866 ; and, having nothing novel to 

 say in regard to methods of cultivation, I proceed to discuss the different 

 varieties in alphabetical order. 



Agriculturist. — It is not necessary to describe minutely this famous 

 variet}^, as almost everybody has it under cultivation ; but I may say. a 

 word or two as to its merits. Although I have been severely criticised for 

 speaking so strongly in favor of the Agriculturist, I have very little to take 

 back. Its flavor is very good, — not first-rate, — and it is a most abun- 

 dant bearer. Various people who make a business of raising strawberries 

 for market visited my beds when the fruit was ripe, and expressed their 

 unqualified admiration of both vines and berries. 



