616 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 26, 1894. 
Strawberries are both balsamic and refreshing; 
their only drawback is their laxativeness, but this is 
easily remedied by adding sugar or a little wine. 
Being rather indigestible and cold on the stomach, 
it is prudent not to indulge in the tempting fruit too 
freely, more especially if after having partaken of a 
good repast. As with ices, there is a time more 
favourable than another for eating Strawberries as 
regards health, and that is either the first thing in 
the morning on getting up, or when the effects of 
digestion shall have been completed ; then indulgence 
in Strawberries is beneficial and salutar}'. The 
young leaves of the fruit are employed as an in¬ 
fusion to excite the secretion of urine ; the bruised 
leaves applied to ulcers are said to induce healing of 
the sore. When the allies entered Paris after 
Waterloo, Strawberries were eaten with a sauce 
called the “Triple Alliance," and was composed of 
cream, champagne, and loaf sugar. Ordinary 
people, however, were content to eat the seductive 
berry with sugar only. 
Culture and Sale. 
The industrial culture of the Strawberry, properly 
speaking, only began last century in France. Lun^l, 
in the department of Herault, is the region for 
growing the fruit. The village has a population of 
nearly 7,000 inhabitants, and is equally famous for 
its wines. Immense fields are cropped with the 
fruit. The owners of the “ beds ’’ do not believe in 
raising Strawberries in hot-houses, but in the open 
air, devoting much care to the cultivation of a 
speciality under that condition. Straw-berry farming 
gives rise to a very important commerce, which it 
is almost impossible to estimate even approximately. 
All the growers of the fruit in the suburbs of Paris 
send their harvests to the city markets. Thousands 
of basketsful arrive in the metropolis every morning, 
whose selling price varies from 2 d. to yjd. the basket; 
of course, the cost depends on size and period of the 
season. Being a very delicate fruit, the Strawberry 
requires great care in transport; this is w-hy in the 
carriage from the departments to the “ City of 
Lights ’’ Strawberries are placed in grey- stone jars, 
whose months are closed with Vine leaves. The 
manner of gathering the fruit consists, when the 
Strawberries are not over ripe, to pick them without 
bruising and send them immediately to Paris. The 
best time for gathering the fruit is either in the 
evening or in the middle of the day; never in the 
morning if it be desired that they retain all their 
agreeable perfume. As in the case of Melons, never 
cut off or break the stalk. If Strawberries are 
intended to lie over for a day or two, spread them 
out on plates, dishes, on wooden planks, or even on 
dried leaves. Never pick the stem off till a few 
minutes before placing the fruit on the table. 
In 1776 , Strawberry culture began to be more 
general all over France, and nearly in every garden 
and corners of fields the plant w'as to be met with. 
The climbing and bed varieties of Strawberries are 
both extensively cultivated. Some berries are so 
large, the Chili and several English kinds, that the 
fruit has to be cut in tw-o before being eaten. Straw¬ 
berries, like Vines, have a destructive and mortal 
enemy, only instead of being the phylloxera, it is the 
May bug, which when still in the larvae stage 
embeds itself into and eats the roots ; soon the leaves 
are to be seen withering and dropping off. The 
remedy in this case is either to rake and freshen up 
the soil around the plant, or, better still, to dig out 
the plant, destroy the enemy, and replace by a new 
the victimised plant, afterwards being very careful to 
water w-ell. The quantity of Strawberries actually con¬ 
sumed in Paris is not separately given in the market 
statistics—they are included in 1,200 tons of Rasp¬ 
berries, Peaches, Currants, Melons, and Grapes. 
Anecdotes and Virtues. 
Strawberries throughout ages have ever had parti- 
zans, and even passionate ones, such as Cato, who 
doted on the delicacy ; he used to eat them pickled 
in wine, spice and salt. The latter has not many 
modern admirers. Fontenelle, the philosopher, also 
liked them very much, and it is said that one day 
he declared to La Place, the famous French 
astronomer, who had ccme to visit his dying philo¬ 
sophical friend : 
“ Well, and how is your health ? ” 
“ Very bad indeed,’ replied the invalid, sinking 
fast in the arms of death. “ I have but only one 
wish, which I should like to see realised before I 
depart, and that is, to linger on till next sumtner, 
so as to once more partake of my favourite fruit 
before I die.’’ His illness did not permit him to 
achieve his wish, as he expired shortly after 
the interview. But he quitted the world at the ripe 
age of 100 years, a great triumph he openly avo'Aed 
that was to be attributed to his eating strawberries. 
Let the rising generation take the hint if they 
wish to enjoy good health and live to be modern 
Methuselahs .—Edward Conner. 
THE ROSERY. 
Scale and Mealy Bug. 
The latter is seldom found upon Roses under glass 
unless some other affected subject has been stood 
among them. But as it more frequently occurs in 
the conservatory among mixed climbers, it deserves 
a passing notice. You can cripple this insect pest 
very much by a vigorous use of the syringe, 
especially if the solution already advised is used. 
The floury, mealy covering from wLich this insect 
derives its popular name, is easily disturbed, and is 
generally death to them. Scale is more hardy, and 
cannot passibly be eradicated after the Rose growth 
has commenced. I never trouble about it except 
in case of a very' valuable plant, preferring 
to burn any which are infested with scale 
immediately one is noticed. As these affect 
the older wood, they can have much stronger 
measures brought against them. A safe and simple 
one is to drop a little paraffin upon a brush, half 
saturated with warm ' water, then work this upon 
a cake of Gishurst’s Compound (or even a piece of 
ordinary yellow soap) until a lather is formed; rub 
this over the affected .wood. If the plant be large 
time and patience must be afforded. 
Thrips and Red Spider 
Will not be troublesome if the atmosphere is kept 
sufficiently moist, and the syringe brought into use 
as often as it should be. There is no better pre¬ 
ventive and cure for the various insect pests than 
a free use of the syringe, especially if the solution 
be flavoured with some insecticide. Both thrips and 
red spider are most destructive upon the underside 
of the .foliage when a dry atmosphere has been 
allowed, with neglect in using the syringe, and for¬ 
getting the elbow oil. Before concluding I would 
like to devote a few words to 
Fumigation. 
This is a most dangerous remedy when used in 
the haphazard form too generally'seen. To kill the 
insects at one application means dangerous 
proximity to an injurious strength as far as the Rose 
growth is concerned. I am convinced that a large 
number of failures may be attributed to over 
fumigation. The young growth may receive serious 
injury without showing immediate results. With 
Roses and other subjects which it is possible 
to syringe freely, fumigation should be avoided as 
far as possible, and never used stronger than will 
allow one to distinguish objects six or eight feet 
away. When the foliage is thick, and red-spider 
has unfortunately got a hold, fumigate at the 
strength I have pointed out, and keep it up for a 
few hours. A thorough syringing the following 
morning, to be followed by a slight fumigation again 
at night w’ill generally be sufficient to kiil any pests. 
It is very annoying to see the 'ouds and young foliage 
drop off in the wholesale manner they do when 
subjected to too strong a dose of smoke. Niphetos 
is a variety particularly susceptible to tobacco 
fumes, and will frequently cast its flower buds, 
when other sorts seem little the w'orse.— Rosarian. 
-- 
ASPECT IN GROWING 
PLANTS. 
You may have been in a nursery garden when some 
gentleman's gardener has been making a large pur¬ 
chase of shrubs, and you have noticed that he is 
picking out those best suited to his purpose, and 
tying on a label to each. You may fancy that this 
is only to let the nurseryman see which specimens 
he has selected, but there is another object in his 
proceedings. Watch him closely, and you will 
observe that there is a coincidence between the 
position of his label on the plants and the points cf 
the compass. If he is choosing shrubs that are to 
go on the north side of a pathway, it will be the 
south side of the plants which will be most seen, 
and consequently he is selecting in the nursery those 
which seem to be best developed on that side, and 
marking them on that side, so that when they are 
replanted they may find themselves in the same 
position as that in which they had been growing. If 
he is buying for more than one position, a single 
letter (N, S, W, or E) on the label will enable him 
to assort his shrubs on their arrival, and put each 
into its proper position. The reason for all this care 
is that, however carefully a plant may have been 
moved as regards injury to or exposure of its roots, 
it is liable to have its growth much checked by- 
being turned round, or planted in a different position 
to that in which it has been growing. All plants, 
whether in or out of pots, naturally grow most and 
flower best on their south side, because from that 
quarter they get most light and most heat. If, 
therefore, you wish a plant to bloom equally well 
on all sides, it follows that you must turn it every 
day or two, so that each part of it in turn may 
have its share of southern light and heat. Knowing, 
however, that this change of position is more or 
less of a check to the development of the plant, we 
should avoid doing it with a new plant, or with one 
that has the reputation of being a shy bloomer, until 
we have the pleasure of seeing it flower for the first 
time; after that we can afford to experiment with 
it, even if we have not been able to get any cuttings 
rom it.— Cassell's Popular Gardening. 
- - t — 
INJURIOUS INSECTS.* 
Considering the enormous number of insects that 
infest cultivated crops in America, it must be taken 
for granted that only a small proportion of the more 
important ones could be noticed in a book extending 
to 216 pages, including a fairly lengthy introduction 
and an index. A considerable amount of information 
has, however, been squeezed in between the covers. 
The introduction deals with the classification of 
insects and the use of insecticides. To those who 
are quite ignorant of entomology, the illustrations, 
and anatomical descriptions, should prove very 
serviceable as a preliminary to the study of injurious 
insects and the remedies to be brought against them. 
There is a large class of people unfortunately who 
imagine that they can deal Avith the pests without 
going to the trouble of acquiring the smallest 
smattering of knowledge concerning their forms, 
appearances, and habits. The result is that every 
creeping, crawling, and flying creature found upon 
or in the vicinity of plants is regarded as an enemy, 
and the innocent as well as highly beneficial insects 
are doomed to destruction. \Ve have seen ladybirds 
ruthlessly crushed under the impression that they 
destroyed the wooden framework of windows. 
The instructions given in the book are meant to 
benefit a larger section of people than gardeners and 
fruit growers. It is divided ’into five parts, and 
access to each is facilitated by reference to the con¬ 
tents which are given at the beginning of the book 
independently of the index. The second part treats 
of insects injurious to orchard fruits; the third to 
small fruits ; the fourth to vegetables, cereals, and 
grasses ; and the fifth to insects infesting domestic 
animals and insects of the household. The latter, so 
far as stated, are not very numerous. 
If the illustrations are correct to name so far as 
America is concerned, the May beetles are very 
different insects from the May bugs or cockchafers 
with which we are familiar on this side of the 
Atlantic. Besides predaceous insects and parasites, 
there is a large number of the higher animals which 
serve to keep insects in check, such as birds, skunks, 
moles, snakes, toads, lizards, frogs, and fishes. In 
America, as here, many beneficial animals are hunted 
down simply because they are seen to exact a small 
tithe of the crops, while the more mischievous are 
allowed to increase because more difficult to get at, 
and by the diminution of their most insidious natural 
foes. 
Careful and fairly full instructions are given in the 
introduction as to the preparation of various insecti¬ 
cides, so that no space is wasted in giving repetitions 
under the remedies proposed for each specific insect. 
Paris green is considered the best and safest of the 
arsenical compounds for general use, and although 
the methods of applying it both in the state of a dry 
powder and in water mixtures, the latter is recom¬ 
mended as cheaper, more safely and economically 
managed, whatever the wind or rain may be. The 
remedies proposed are generally very brief, but 
doubtless the best known and most effective are 
* “ Injurious Insects.” By Fr.\nk W. Sempers, Director of, 
the Fordnook Laboratory Published by W. .\tl5e Burpee & Co. 
Philadelphia, :894. 
