"96 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Rev. Calviu Terry asked for iuformatiou about a prize bed of 

 Jewell strawberries, grown b}' Mr. Augur. 



Mr. Augur stated that one twenty-eighth of an acre of land was 

 prepared as recommended in the essay, and planted to the Jewell 

 strawberry, with occasional rows of Sharpless, Charles Downing, 

 and other bi-sexual varieties to fertilize them. A committee from 

 New York visited the grounds in June, when they requested that a 

 record of the plat be kept for subsequent reference. The crop 

 gathered averaged over one quart to each plant and there was not 

 a plant missing from the entire plat at that time, a reserve bed, 

 from which a few plants were drawn to fill vacancies, having been 

 kept. No difference was observed in the fruit to indicate that 

 fertilization Avas due to different bi-sexual varieties. The fruit 

 measured was gathered from only the Jewell plants. 



Mr. Augur spoke a word of caution against planting straw- 

 berries in grass land just broken up, as it is apt to be infested 

 with the larvffi of the May beetle. He once ploughed up a piece 

 of grass land and planted it Avith strawberries, so many of which 

 were destroyed by the May beetle that the whole bed was ploughed 

 up. He likes to have grass land broken up two years before 

 planting the strawberries. 



S. H. Warren asked if the lecturer thought it as important, as 

 most writers state, that staminate varieties must be set near pistil- 

 late kinds, in order to have the latter produce perfect fruit. He 

 said he had cultivated strawberries thirty-five years, and had 

 picked ver}' nearly perfect fruit fi'om Jewell plants (pistillate) in 

 October, where there had been no staminate variety in bloom 

 anywhere around so far as his knowledge extended. 



Mr. Augur said that no variety of straAvberr}' produces flowers 

 absolutely destitute of stamens. He has had a plat of JcAvell 

 plants left OA'er, Avhich gaA'e many l)erries, but they Avere imper- 

 fect ; also, some years the Crescent has yielded quite a crop alone. 

 But we must not presume to depend upon self-pollenizing in 

 pistillate A'arieties. He desired to add a Avord on the utility of 

 bees and other insects in pollenizing the floAvers of strawberries 

 and other fruits. He stated tliat by a Avise provision of Nature, 

 at the time the pollen-grains ripen, a saccharine substance exudes 

 within the flower and attracts the insects which, while busily 

 gathering sweets, are unconsciously made the agents for the more 

 complete pollenization of tlie pistils Avhich otherAA-ise might remain 

 undeveloped. 



