Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/717

* STRAWBERRY. 619 STRAW MANUFACTURES. in spring or in late summer, and are allowed to form matted rows from their runners or are grown in so-called hills, in which case the runners are cut oil', and the plants made to form stools. The former method is hy far the most popular, hut liner and larger individual fruits, though in smaller number, are obtained hy the latter meth- od. The land may be any rich soil suitable for corn or potatoes, and should have been in culti- vation for at least one year, preferably two or three, previous to the planting of the strawber- ries, in order to be free from the larvoe of certain insects that feed on the roots especially of grasses. The plants are usually set about 18 inches asunder, in rows three feet apart, and COMMON WTi.D STRAWBERRY {Fragaria Virgininna). given clean culture throughout the season. When the ground has frozen hard straw, marsh hay, or similar substance free from weeds is spread upon the plants as a winter mulch. This is raked between the rows when growth starts in the spring and allowed to remain to protect the berries from dirt during rains. Usually. in the spring of the second year complete fertilizers are applied, but no cultivation is given. After the crop is gathered, the plants are plowed under and the land used for some crop such as cabbage, which will mature before frost. Land cropped with strawberries should be planted to other crops for two or three years before strawberries are again planted. Since the introduction Of refrigerator trans- portation the strawberry industry has vastly in- creased. Large areas in the Gulf States are de- voted to the crop, shipments are made to the Nortli in early spring, and as they cease areas farther to the north supply the demand until midsummer, wlien the market is furnished from northern localities. The whole industry has been developed since the introduction, in 18.34, of the Hovey strawberry, a variety which originated in Vol. XVIH.— 40. Massachusetts. Since that date thousands of varieties have been introduced, tested, and even if they were popular for a short time have been supplanted by superior ones. .'Nlrawberries are cultivated to a small extent under glass to sup- l)ly a demand for forced fruits in some cities. The principal disease to which the strawberry plant is subject is the blight or rust (Sphmrella frngiirirr) . which appears on the leaves as small pur])le spots which increase in size and become brown with purple margins. Serious losses may follow severe attacks. Since (he disease is car- ried over winter in the old leaves, all such should he collected and burned and the young foliage protected by two or three sprayings of IJordeaux mixture or other fungicide (q.v.). A rail- dew {Sphcerolhcca raslarinci) sometimes appears on the leaves as a delicate cobweb which causes the crumpling of the. leaves. It seldom causes much injury and is read- ily controlled as above indicated. Consult: Fuller, The Strawberry Cultnrist (New York, 1807) ; Terry and Root, A li V, of Strairhirrji CiiUiiir (Medina, Ohio, 1!)02). STRAWBERRY BUSH. See Spindle Tree. STRAWBERRY INSECTS. The prin- cipal insect enemy of the strawberry in the Eastern L^nited States is the straw- berry weevil (Anthunumiis signatus), which appears just before the blossoms ex- pand lays an egg in the bud usually of the staminate varieties or those pistillate varieties rich in i)ollen, and then punc- tures the stem so that in a few days the bud drops to the ground. The larva de- velops within the severed bud and after pupation emerges as a dull red or nearly black beetle, about one-tenth of an inch long. Both larv.T and adults feed upon the pollen. Covering the beds, cultivating pistillate varieties, and clean culture are the remedies recommended. The larva of the strawberry leaf-roller, a small reddish brown tortrieid moth {An- cylis comptonn), rolls the leaves of the strawberry into cylindrical cases during June, becomes a chrysalis within the folded leaf, and appears as a moth in .Tuly. A second generation occurs during August. An arsenical spray is the remedy. The strawberry sawfly {Ilarpiphortis macuUi- tns) , a small, black insect, lays its eggs in the sub.stance of the leaf early in May. The pale green larv.ne, which feed upon the leaves, and when full-grown are nearly three-fourths of an inch long, burrow in the groinid and form minute cocoons. A second generation appears in the late summer and hibernates under ground. Hellebore is recommended as a remedy. Consult: Saunders, Insects Injurious to Frtdts (Philad<'lphia, 1889) ; Chittenden, The Strawberry Weevil (Washington. 1807). STRAW MANUFACTURES (AS. strea, strritir, strrin, DUG. stro, Ger. Sfroh, straw; connected with AS. strrnnnan, streowian, Goth. strnvjan, OlIG. stretren. Ger. streticn. to strew, and with Lat. sternere, Gk. aTopewinmi, slnren- nynai, arpuvvvvat, strnnnynai, OChurch Slav. streti, Skt. star, to scatter). Resides the use of straw for the manufacture of paper (q.v.), straw is woven into a great varietj' of forms, as hats,