RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 105 



to the required size. It should be removed when the crop ia 

 gathered, so that birds can enter the enclosure and help to 

 destroy any insects that may be present. It has a further 

 advantage over a permanent covering of wire netting; it is 

 not liable to be broken down by the weight of snow in winter. 

 As Strawberry (or fish) netting is measured along the 

 diagonals, it should be ordered one-third longer and one-third 

 broader than the size of the area to be covered. 



PESTS OF THE STRAWBERRY. 



The chief pests of the Strawberry are slugs, certain beetles, 

 eel-worms, leaf-spot, and mildew. For slugs in Strawberry- 

 beds, there is no real remedy, except hunting for and destroy- 

 ing them. It is almost impossible to attract them to a trap, 

 as they prefer the fruit to any bait that can be offered to 

 them. The beetles eat the seeds and spoil the fruit. Many 

 of them can be caught in old tins sunk level with the ground, 

 and nearly filled with a solution of sugar and a few scraps 

 of meat. Eel-worms cause distortion of the crowns, making 

 the plants " blind." Sulphate of potash, at the rate of three- 

 quarters of a hundredweight per acre, has been found useful, 

 but if the trouble becomes serious, it may be necessary to burn 

 all the plants and make a fresh bed elsewhere. For mildew, 

 the foliage should be sprayed at once with a solution of liver 

 of sulphur (half an ounce in two gallons of water) . When 

 the disease assumes a severe form, dry straw should be strewn 

 about the bed in autumn and set alight. This will burn the 

 leaves, but not injure the crowns. As the same species of 

 mildew attacks various wild plants, such as the Hop, the 

 Meadowsweet, and the Willow-Herb, they should not be 

 allowed to grow near Strawberries. The method of burning 

 the foliage may also be employed for leaf -spot, a very common 

 disease, easily identified by the reddish-brown spots on the 

 leaves. 



