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The Fruit-Growers Guide-Book 



producing age that it may blossom very freely but fail to 

 produce a single fruit. The reason for it is that the flow- 

 ers were not "fertilized" or pollinated. Some varieties of 

 strawberries do not produce pollen; they are provided only 

 with pistils, or the female organs of reproduction and must 

 be pollinated by the pollen from varieties which have per- 

 fect or pollen-producing flowers. Varieties like Excelsior, 

 Klondike or Aroma have perfect flowers and are capable 

 of setting fruit when planted alone, but other varieties 



Strawberry flowers; one on the left is "staminate" or 

 pollen producing-; one on the right is imperfect and bears no 

 stamens. It must be planted with a staminate variety before 

 it will be fruitful. 



such as Warfield, Bubach, Haverland or Sample are pis- 

 tillate, or have imperfect flowers and cannot set fruit them- 

 selves. If one obtains plants from any of the reliable deal- 

 ers the sex of the plants will be marked in the catalogue, 

 and one can thereby guard against getting all pistillate 

 plants. Otherwise one will have to inquire from persons 

 who know whether their plants produce perfect flowers. 



