12 WM. K. PETNCE & CO.'s CATALOGUE OF STEAWBEKEIES. 



SEXUALITY AND SELECTION OE PLANTS. 



Strawberry Plants are of three characters : — 1st. Stammate or Male, 

 sterile; 2d. Hermaphrodite or Bisexual, 7wore or less productive ; 3d. Pistil- 

 late or Female, very productive. The two first have been usually spoken of 

 as one, by ourselves and others, when referring to impregnators ; and the 

 second has usually been termed Staminate, when speaking of Fruit-bearing 

 varieties. The Hermaphrodite or Bisexual class comprises two very dis- 

 tinct divisions: — 1st. Varieties producing flowers that invariably combine 

 the two sexes ; 2d. Varieties producing distinct Bisexual and Pistillate flow- 

 ers on the same plant. All these sexual characteristics, as above stated, are 

 normal and permanent, and as false impressions are conveyed by the terms as 

 hitherto applied, we deem it important to correct the nomenclature by a 

 true application of these terms. It is indispensably necessary that the Pis- 

 tillate varieties be accompanied by about one-twentieth of some Staminate 

 or Hermaphrodite variety, and they will then prove invariably productive. 

 This course was recommended in our Treatise on Horticulture, published in 

 1828, since which it has been adopted in Ohio and elsewhere. 



CULTURE. 



It is indispensable that the ground for Strawberry beds be perfectly free 

 from all weeds and their seeds. The preferable soil is a rich firm loam that 

 retains moisture, but sufiiciently friable for filtration, which should be highly 

 manured, but without a possibility of nauseous weeds being introduced 

 therewith. 



The beds should be three feet wide, with four rows of plants lengthwise, 

 and these a foot apart each way. This width will admit of all the fruit 

 being gathered from the sides without trampling on any plants. A path, of 

 about fifteen inches in width, should be left between the beds. 



The best periods for spring planting, are the month of April for this and 

 more Northern latitudes, and the months of February and March for the more 

 Southern States. And for the plantations after fruiting, we prefer the months 

 of August and September in this latitude and north of it, and the months of 

 September and October for the more southern localities. The early autum- 

 nal planting has this superiority — such plants will produce a fair crop the en- 

 suing summer. 



The Pistillate varieties possess the great advantage that they may be al- 

 lowed to run together in a mass, and will in this mode bear profusely ; and this 

 is the most profitable course of culture for market ; whereas the larger Her- 

 maphrodite varieties (with only two or three peculiar exceptions) will not pro- 

 duce a fair crop unless they are cultivated as distinct plants, and kept clear 

 of runners. There can be no such event as a failure in the crops of Pistil- 

 late varieties (when accompanied by Staminates or Hermaphrodites). Every 

 Pistillate variety is prodicctive./ \a,ry'mg only in abundance. The Herma- 

 phrodites may all be deemed moderate bearers, except where we have denoted 

 otherwise ; and the few exceptions mostly produce fruit of but medium or 

 small size. The Primate, and two or three other Hermaphrodites, comprise 

 the only varieties, with large fruit, that produce large crops. In selecting 

 an impregnator to plant among Pistillates, it is the better course to select a 

 productive Hermaphrodite variety, as this will prevent any loss of space. 



In regard to hardihood, all the varieties here enumerated will withstand 

 the winters of the most northern States, by simply covering the beds with 

 four inches of straw or leaves, by which the danger of the plants freezing 

 out is prevented. Spent tan may be used as a winter covering to the depth 

 of three or four inches ; but it should be removed very early, or it will 

 materially injure the crop. 



