192 THE STRAWBERRY 



flowers that it produces One class of plants is known as the 

 pistillate or imperfect varieties while the other class is the 

 staminate or the perfect type. The imperfect varieties have 

 flowers with only pistils and will not produce fruit unless 

 fertilized with other varieties that have stamens, while the 

 perfect varieties have stamens as well as pistils, and are 

 capable of producing fruit alone. Unless the male and the 

 female parts are both present there can be no fruit. In 

 selecting a variety it is necessary either to select a variety 

 that has perfect flowers or to alternate the rows of plants 

 that have imperfect flowers with those that have the perfect 

 flowers. Where the rows are alternated the varieties must 

 both bloom at the same time in order to have the fruit set. 

 The amateur should usually confine his selection to the perfect 

 flowered varieties. Usually two or three varieties are better 

 to grow than only one, even if all of them are perfect flowered 

 sorts. 



The following list of varieties comprises a few of the most 

 cosmopolitan sorts: Early Varieties — August Luther, Ex- 

 celsior, Crescent and Warfield. Medium Early Varieties — 

 Dunlap, Glen Mary and Bubach. Late Varieties — Gandy, 

 Sample, and Brandywine. 



DISEASES OF THE STRAWBERRY. 



The strawberry is notably free from disease. It is rarely 

 ever necessary to spray the plants, provided the proper 

 cultural methods are followed. There are, however, several 

 diseases which might become troublesome. 



Leaf Spot. — The leaf spot is the most commonly known 

 disease of the strawberry. This disease makes its appearance 

 in the form of small, discolored spots on the leaves. These 

 spots appear most abundantly at the flowering period. The 

 spots are first reddish or purplish, but as they grow older 

 the centers become a whitish color and the death of the 

 tissue is the result. The spots are scattered irregularly over 

 the leaves, and when they are abundant several may join 

 together to make one large spot. 



Certain varieties are more or less free from this disease, 



