The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-10-08
STRAWBERRY FLOWERS.
RULES TO DETERMINE THE PROPER
MODE OF TREATMENT.

ners Looked After to Prevent Too
Rapid Growth of Vine at the Cost of
Fruit Buds.
Few understand the strawberry in its
peculiar mode of growth and self propa-
CATION. A few points in explanation
may prove of value. Strawberry flowers
as we usually see them are of two very
different kinds. These are pistillate va
rieties, having pistils - female organs
only. The other, bi-sexual, or with
stamens-the male organs-and pistils
IN the same flower. Plants of these two
kinds have very different modes of
growth and If this is not taken into con-
slderatlon in the management and cu1-
ture the result Is entire or at least par
tial failure. A variety with perfect pis-
t1llate flowers Can bear no fruit as a
rule unless 1T is near staminate to be
poll1nated. There are rarely varieties
with perfect staminate or male flowers
with no pistils and such cannot bear
fru1t under any circumstances.
Plstlllate varieties are usually much
more fruitful if they are supplied with
pollen than varieties with bi-sexual
flowers. They are also more prolific of
young plants, called stolons, off shoots
or runners. As some may not know how
the strawberry propagates itself natur-
ally it may be explained. They grow
readily from seeds but the seeds and
young plants are very small, delicate
and tender. Therefore nature has pro-
v1ded more hardy and surer method
of self propagation for such seedlings as
get start in life. This is by stolons OF
runners. The first effort of the young
seeding is growth. Plants started
from seed July first, by September reach
full growth. 1t then forms what is
called a "fruiting head, which is SIM
ply cluster of flowers in embryo COW
cred with their envelopes. Then if the
season continues warm with moisture it
may form one or two more fruiting
heads, if it is of the bi-sexual class. and
the plant viii show the next spring one,
two or three fruiting stems crowned
with flowers. Usually bi-sexual seed
Ling forms only one fruiting head-which
is the same as flower bud on a fruit
tree-and then goes to rest.
With the pistillate plant it is differ
ent and ignorance of this difference
leads to mistakes in culture If the seed
ling is a pistillate it usually forms one
fruit bud and then starts out from its
base slender straw like growth which
grows to a length of several inches and
forms plant at its outer end which. if
the ground is moist, takes root and soon
forms strong independent plant. IF
the season is late this will send out an
other straw or straws and form other
plants and the original mother plant
may grow other straws and plants and
expend her force in growth of plants.
Here is the point wish to. make. If
these straws are pulled off from the
mother plant as fast as they start, her
force viii be expended in forming fruit
buds and so many of these will be
formed, clustered closely together, in
many instances all throwing up flower
stems in the spring, that none will have
room or nutrition to give any good fruit.
1 once planted in May lot of seeds of
the first fruits to ripen. They came up
at once and the season being fine thew
grew wonderfully and soon began to
make runners. These 1 kept carefully
pulled off. By autumn 1 had a grand
looking lot of plants. Some of them had
crowns of fruit buds as large as a saucer
and by actual count the number of buds
ranged from five to twenty-seven. When
I'LL OAlOco Win NUMEROUS
fruit buds Were pistillate and from this
fact'i is demonstrated that pistiIlate va
rieties are not well adapted to culture in
hills. If the runners are kept off clean
so many fruit buds are formed that but
little fruit is matured and that of small
size. This is owing to the crowded con-
dition of the stalks. Second, many BIZ
sexual varieties with pollen enough to
acteristics of strictly pistillate plants,
of making very numerous young plants,
and are likewise not adapted to culture
in hills. Third, the strong stalninate or
bi-sexual plants make less number of
new plants and fruit buds and are far
less productive than pistillate varieties.
Such varieties are the old Wilson's, Al
bany, LOngfellow Prolific, etc., and all
the fine English and: European strawber-
ries
In the East but few experts grow the
strawberry in hills. e. with the runners
kept off-but grow them in matted
rows. The rows. three and a half feet
apart, are carefully cultivated and when
the runners begin to form they are
trained along the rows and there rooted
thinly. By autumn half the ground is
coNSreo Will young piaHtS- aEach one
has room to develop. They form from
one to three fruit buds each and give an
enormous yield the next season. The
usual practice is to plow them under as
soon as the fruit is gathered Others
cross harrow the patch with sharp har-
row several times, break up the ground
between the rows deeply and finely with
bull tongue shovel plow, cross harrow
again and let the young plants spread
over the new ground. Then IN the aut-
umn plow up the old matted row. This
last was my favorite plan. 1 had bed