STRAWBERRY. It seems strange that a fruit so well adapted to a variety of soils, so easily cultivated, if in long rows where horse im plements may be used, which children would gladly gather if the head of the family would only plant and cultivate, should scarcely ever be found in abundance upon the tables of our farmers. Yet such is the fact, while our cities are now fully supplied with the finest fruit, and at a cost to the consumer often as low as eight cents a quart for good, and five cents for ordi nary, and this at a profit, including setting, pick ing, boxing, transportation, and commissions. The reason probably is that when planted, in a majority of cases, like the rest of the garden, strawberries are allowed to take care of them selves. One other reason is that many varieties are planted, it not being generally known that the strawberry is peculiar as to varieties adapted to the soil, the Wilson, perhaps, only excepted. The cost of picking well cultivated strawberries will not exceed from one to one and one-half cents per quart where girls are hired. InduS trious girls, when the berries are properly grown, have averaged eighty quarts a day, and in some instances 130 quarts per day. With such berries the cost of picking need not be more than three quarters to one cent per quart. Hence it is that good cultivators make money, while poor culti vators condemn the cultivation of strawberries as a trifling business. The yield of strawberries under good cultivation, and in good soil is enor mous. There are plenty of instances on record of crops of 150 up to 200 bushels, and even to over 260 bushels per acre. Mr. 0. B. Galusha, secretary of the Illinois Horticultural Society, has given special and successful attention to the cultivation of this crop for market. In his elab orate report to the Society in 1879-80, he says: The plants set in spring should be about eighteen or twenty inches apart in the rows, which should be three feet apart. Thorough cultivation should be commenced early and be continued well through autumn, running a narrow shovel-plow deep in the center of the space, and pulverizing and leveling with cultivator, leaving the row of plants from one foot to eighteen inches wide. At first hoeings the plants should, be layered along the row within this limit, and all others treated as weeds. In late autumn, and after the ground has frozen so as to bear a team, the mulch may be put on, which may consist of horse-stable litter—using, only that made where prairie hay is fed. Where this is not obtainable, planing chips, cut corn stalks, slough grass, whole corn stalks, or oat straw can be used. He uses corn fodder cut short with a horse-power cut ter. Shaken from large baskets over the plants, it settles into the spaces between the leaves and gives sufficient protection without smothering the plants, and does not require removal in spring, but remains as a summer mulch to keep the vines fresh and the fruit clean, and as it gradually decays gives stimulus to growth and fruitage. In addition, sow along the rows a mixture of ashes, plaster, and hen-manure, adding.a little salt—using six to eight bushels of this mixture per acre. This is applied early in spring, and sometimes a slight sprinkling, thoroughly pulverized and mixed, is again ap plied just at blossoming time. After the crop is harvested—as soon as condition of soil will ad mit—plow the spaces with a one-horse mold ' board plow, turning two furrows together, and harrow the entire ground level. The runners will then occupy the spaces, and early in autumn they may be again plowed, or, if it is desired to renew the plantation, the old strips may be plowed under and leave the young plants only for next year's fruiting. Where uncut mulch is used it is opened from over the rows in spring and left in the spaces until after the crop is gathered. Treated in this way a half dozen or more successive crops may be taken from the ground. The strawberry-worm should be care fully hand-picked, and killed by crushing, from the vines several times during the season of cul tivation. This practice, which costs but little, will if carefully and persistently carried out, keep these pests well in check. The strawberry leaf folder is almost everywhere present among the vines, and sometimes so numerous as to almost entirely defoliate them. His attacks, unlike those of the strawberry-worm, are not made until after the crop is gathered; and hence he can be more surely destroyed. It has been recommended by some writers, and practiced to a small extent in the West, to cover the vines during a dry time and just before the earliest leaf-folders change from the larval to the pupal state by spreading straw over the plants, and burn straw, plants and insects together. This seems harsh treatment. It would not seem safe to pradtice this destructive cultivation, during a drought, but only when the condition of the soil is such as to insure a quick succeeding growth. He finds with nearly all varieties the best fruit is obtained from rows not more than eighteen inches wide; and where the best berries will command extra prices. He would confine them to one foot in width, so as to, give more light and a better circulation of air for the fruit and foli age. With such rank, dense growers as Cres cent, Windsor Chief, Miner, Crystal City, Cen tennial Favorite, Sharpless,, Duncan, Glendale, Cumberland Triumph and Star of the West, full exposure in narrow rows is essential to secure large fine fruit; while Wilson, Kentucky,Down ing, Pioneer, Duchess, Col. Cheney, Durand's
Beauty, Cinderella, Continental, Seth Boyden, Forest Rose may be grown with profit if planted three and a half to four feet apart and allowed to occupy strips two to two and a half feet. There is no species of fruit grown in our country of which there is such a diversity of opinions in respect to the real or comparative value of varieties as the strawberry; is safe to say that nine-tenths of this c_ifference , is 'due to the fact that this fruit is more capricious or rather more particular and discriminating as to soils and modes of culture than any other. This holds good in respect to nearly all vareties in cultiva tion. Varieties of first berries ripened in central, Illinois as follows; but the first genera] picking of each was five or six days later: May 26, Charles Downing; May 27, Crescent, Black Defiance; May 28, Cumberland Triumph ; May 21, Prouty, Duchess; June 1, Capt. Jack, Champion,Duncan, Cinderella, Col. Cheney, Monarch of the West; June 4, Centennial Favorite, Wilson; June 5, Continental, Forest Rose, Springdale, Windsor Chief; June 7, Great American, Miner's Great Prolific; June 8, Kentucky. Cowing's Seed ling, Sterling, Pioneer, Star of the West, and Seth Boyden ripened their first fruit about medium season. The following varieties, in the order named, will generally be found valuable in the West. For strong clayey, Loess and rich prairie soils, for near market and home use: Crescent, Miner, Charles Downing, Duchess, Windsor Chief,Cumberland Triumph, Sharpless, Champion, Captain Jack, Duncan, Continental, Seth Boyden, Great American, Prouty. For sandy-loam soils, near market and home use: Crescent, Charles Downing, Windsor Chief, Duchess, Black Defiance (home use), Centen nial Favorite, Miner, Kentucky, Sharpless, Cin derella, Champion, Crystal City, Capt. Jack, Col. Cheney, Seth Boyden, Cowing,'s Seedling. For distant market: Sharpless, 'Capt. Jack, Chas. Downing, Wilson, Continental, Prouty. For high cultivation in hills or single rows for home use and for fancy berries: Sharpless, Great American, Crescent, Seth -Boyden, Miner, Monarch of the West, Essex Beauty, Centennial Favorite. There are other varieties which pro duce large, fine fruit, and have high local repu tation; among which are Pioneer, Star of the West, Springdale, Sterling, Forest Rose, etc. The tables, pages 914 and 915, show varieties in general cultivation in the several States of the Union as reported at a late meeting of the Amer ican Pomological Society The columns ex plain: Size-1., large; s., small; m., medium. Sex—H., hermaphrodite; P., pistillate. Color d. c., deep crimson; d. s., deep scarlet; b. s., bright scarlet; w. t., whitish tinted with red; 1. c., light crimson. Form—r. c., roundish coni cal; o. c., obtuse conical or coxcomb form; c. conical; r., roundish ; r. o. c., roundish obtuse conical. Flesh—s., soft; f., firm. Season—E., early; M., medium; L., late; E. L., early to late. Origin—Am., American ; F., foreign. *, signifies doing well; 'He, great superiority and value; f, new and recently introduced for trial. The strawberry of late years, especially where cultivated extensively for market, has been sub ject to very numerous insect enemies, among the most destructive of these is the Strawberry Crown Borer, Analcis fragaria, see cut, a, larva; b, beetle, side view; c, beetle, back view, the hair lines showing the natural size of the insect. As the name indicates, it bores into and kills the plant by destroying the crown. The best reme dy is to dig out infested plants and burn them. Another injurious insect, and much more wide ly distributed than the crown borer is, what is familiarly called the Strawberry worm, Emphy tag marulatuR. The cut, shows, at 1, ventral or lowerside of pupa; 2, side view, hair lines show ing natural size; 3, perfect fly enlarged ; 4, larva, natural size; 5, perfect fly, natural size; 6, larva on leaf, at rest; 7, cocoon ; 8, antenna enlarged, showing joints; 9 egg, enlarged. The flies gather over the vines in the spring, the female deposits the eggs in the stems of the plant, and when hatched, the young feed on the leaves, making innumerable small holes, the maggots conveniently used; but, as the action of the animal is very quickly reduced by continued exertion, it is more usual to estimate it according to the amount of daily labor performed. Des aguliers and Smeaton estimate the strength of a horse as equivalent to that of five men; the French authors hive commonly stated it as equal to seven men; and Schulze makes it equal to fourteen men in drawing horizontally. According to Desaguliers, a horse's power is equal to forty-four pounds, raised one foot high in one minute. Smeaton makes this number 22.916; Hachett 28; and Watt 33. The last estimate is commonly understood by the term horse-power as applied to steam engines. The quantity of action which a horse can exert diminishes as the duration of the labor is pro longed. Tredgold gives the following table, showing the average maximum velocity with which a horse unloaded can travel according to the number of hours per day: often changing their skin four times ; and when fully grown, measuring three-quarters of an inch in length.