136 Strawberry-Growing 



bunches of one hundred, with "ninety females and ten 

 males" in a bunch. These were mixed indiscriminately 

 in the row. At that time, however, the poUinizer was 

 considered a dead loss, except to fructify the pistillate 

 plants, and it was natural that the proportion of the polli- 

 nizers should be kept as low as possible. By 1885 the 

 proportion was one row of Wilson to five of Crescent. 

 Now, the proportion usually recommended is one to three, 

 occasionally one to two. It may be advisable to set an 

 early blooming staminate on one side of a row of the 

 pistillate variety, and a late blooming staminate on the 

 other side. Growers who live near lakes or large streams, 

 where the air is moist and fogs are common during the 

 blooming season, may find it necessary to make every 

 other row a poUinizer. Pistillate fall-bearing varieties 

 need a larger proportion of the poUinizer than spring- 

 bearing varieties, since the weather during their bloom- 

 ing season is cooler and insect visitors less numerous. 



In most cases the poUinizer is set in separate rows. 

 A few growers mix them promiscuously with the pistillate 

 plants. W. S. Perrine, of Illinois, used three to five vari- 

 eties in the same row. He planted soUd rows of a variety 

 diagonally across the field, so that staminate plants alter- 

 nated with pistillate plants. More recently, L. J. Farmer, 

 of New York, has advised: "I think, for best results, 

 it is best to mix pistiUate and staminate varieties in a 

 row, keeping several rows for propagating purposes un- 

 mixed." Most growers, however, prefer to plant the 

 staminate and pistillate sorts in separate rows. 



