214 THE SMALL COUNTRY PLACE 



of the other. Pistillate varieties are generally more pro- 

 ductive than those having stamens and pistils. 



Many new varieties are introduced each year with 

 high recommendations, but very few of them prove of 

 much value; yet as old varieties soon deteriorate, it 

 becomes necessary to plant new kinds after a few years. 

 There is now scarcely a variety in cultivation that was 

 grown ten to fifteen years ago. 



There is great fascination in testing new varieties, 

 yet when we consider that not one in a hundred of the 

 new varieties equals the old standard sorts, we should 

 go slow in planting largely any new kind. The trial of 

 a dozen or two plants of a kind under two or three dif- 

 ferent conditions will enable one to determine whether or 

 not it is wise to plant it largely. 



Of the varieties now generally grown the following arc 

 the best: Staminate or perfect Clyde, Brandy wine, 

 Senator Dunlap, Corsican; pistillate or imperfect 

 Sample, Haverland, Bubach. 



Insect and Fungous Pests. 



The strawberry is subject to these pests but not to the 

 extent that some other fruits are, and they are more 

 easily kept under control than many others. 



The most destructive insect is the larva of the June- 

 bug or May-beetle. This insect lays its eggs in land where 

 there is an abundance of grass or other fine roots for its 

 larvae to feed upon, and if we turn such soil over and set 

 strawberry plants in it, the grass roots being gone these 

 larvae feed upon the strawberry roots. To avoid this 

 pest, therefore, we cultivate the land for one or two 

 years with some other hoed crop like corn, potatoes, 

 etc. The black paria and strawberry-crown borer are 

 minute beetles that lay their eggs close up to the crown 

 of the strawberry plants; the larvae feed upon the roots, 



