1922.] 



BlINDNKSS in S'IMiAVVl'.ERRIE.S. 



87 



else. Nevertheless it should not be forgotten that the great 

 progress which has been made in improving llie productivity of 

 British breeds of poultry is almost entirely due to the efforts 

 of specialist poultry breeders, the majority of whom are not 

 farmers at all in the ordinary sense of the word, and are usually 

 quite " small men." 



^ tII^ ^ ^ ^ 



l^he term " blindness has been somewhat loosely applied 

 bj growers, and has been wrongly used to describe failure of 

 Blindness in P^^^^^ts to produce fruit from causes such as 

 Strawberries f^^ost, eelworm, red-plant, and other forms 

 of insect attack and fungoid disease. There 

 is, however, a well-known form of blindness in strawberries, 

 and it is to be found to a greater or less extent in all varieties. 

 It is easily recognisable to those who carefully examine 

 their crops, by the presence of strong growing luxuriant 

 foliage-producing plants which do not flower. These plants 

 in turn produce strong healthy runners, which are, as a rule, 

 more robust than those produced by plants bearing a normal 

 crop of fruit. The runners of such blind or barren plants seldom 

 produce fruitful stools, but show a marked tendency in turn to 

 produce abnormal foliage and no flower. A small })ercentage 

 of blind plants in a large area does not seriously affect the crop, 

 but w^hen they appear in a small plot they materially vlecrease it. 



The small growler, cottager and allotment holder are very apt 

 to select strong runners from these barren plants to renew the 

 strawberry patch, and in cases where only a few rows are grown 

 for home consumption, it is a very easy matter under such a 

 process of selection for the patch to become quite bai'ren in a 

 few years. This often occurs in small gardens, and the only 

 safe course is to mark barren plants during the fruiting season 

 and exercise the greatest care that runners are not taken fi-om 

 them later to extend the plantation. 



Where strawberries are specially selected for forcing ])nrposes, 

 it is best to isolate stock plants which have been obsi^'ved to be 

 healthy and heavy bearers and only propagate from such. Stock 

 plants should be selected the first season as soon as they have 

 bloomed and the fruit set ; they should receive special cultural 

 attention to enable them to throw strong healthy runnos. which 

 should produce strong crowns before any attempt is made to foi-ce 

 them in pots or frames. The larger growers should mark blind 

 plants and after the fruitincf season destroy them. 



