CHAPTER II. THE STRAWBERRY.-FRAGARIA NATURAL FAMILY Rosacea. [Name derived from fragrans, perfumed in reference to the fragrance of the fruit. French, Frasier; German, Erdbeerpflanze; Dutch, Aadbezie; Italian, Planta di fragola; Spanish, Freza. The name of Strawberry is said by Pryor to be derived from the Anglo Saxon "Streoberie," either from its straw-liks haulms, or from their laying strown upon the ground. Other authors give differ ent derivations.] GENERAL CHARACTERS. Calyx flat or reflexed, deeply five-cleft, with the same number of bractlets, thus appearing to be ten-cleft. Petals five, white, erect, spreading. Stamens many, usually about twenty. Pistils numerous, adhering at the base to the small seed-like fruits, these are situated on the fleshy receptacle, which enlarges and becomes what is generally called the fruit or berry. Increased by seeds, runners and divisions of the roots. Stemless perennials, with or without runners. Leaves radical, divided into three leaflets, obovate wedge-form, coarsely serrate, evergreen. Root fibrous, rather woody, perennial. SPECIES Fragaria vesca.-Edible Strawberry, Alpine Straw. berry, Wood Strawberry, &c.-Seeds superficial, on the conical or hemispherical fruiting receptacle (not sunk in a cavity). Flower stalks longer than the leaves, erect, hairy, hairs closely pressed upward. Fruit drooping, usually conical, sometimes globular. Leaves thin, pale green; upper surface uneven, slightly wavy. Native of Europe and America. Fragaria collina.-Green Strawberry.-This is consid ered by some botanists as a species, but the only really distinct character is in its fruit, which is greenish-brown when ripe. Fragaria elatior.-Hautbois Strawberry.--Calyx reflexed. Seeds superficial. Flower stalks longer than the leaves, erect. Fruit round or oblate, usually drooping, but sometimes erect, possessing a strong musky flavor. Hairs on both leaf and flower-stalks long, and widely spreading, somewhat reflexed. Leaves larger than in F. vesca, and more or less pubescent, covered with short hairs on both upper and lower surface, giving them a rough appearance. Native of Germany. Fragaria Indica.-India Strawberry.-A species with yellow flowers. Fruit not edible. Native of India. Fragaria Virginiana.-Virginian Strawberry.-Seeds imbedded in the deeply pitted receptacle. Fruit roundish, ovoid to conical, highly perfumed. Flower stalks shorter than the leaves, hairy; hairs spreading, more or less erect. Leaves obovate, wedge form, variable, coarsely serrate, usually dark green; upper surface smooth, often shining. Native of North America. Chiefly in the United States and southern portions of Canada. Fragaria grandiflora.-Large flowering Strawberry.Calyx erect, slightly spreading. Seeds set in a shallow de pression. Flowers larger than in other species. Fruit sweet, perfumed. Flesh firm. Flower stalks shorter than the leaves. Leaves smooth, usually deep green. Serra tures broadly ovate. Native of South America. HISTORY. It is of little consequence to the horticulturist of the present day whether any particular kind of fruit familiar to us was known in ancient times. Still, we often find our selves sending a thought back into the dim and uncertain past, picking up here and there a stray word or line that informs us that some of the fruits now cultivated by us were also known to those of former ages. The number of such old time fruits is quite limited, and most of them are of quality so inferior that we would hardly be willing to exchange those of our time for the productions of any period. The Strawberry was probably not cultivated in olden times, as it is scarcely mentioned by the Roman writers on agriculture. Some who are most explicit in other matters pertaining to fruit-culture do not mention it, while Pliny, Ovid and Virgil only casually refer to it, and this reference is not for the purpose of aiding its culture. From a few lines in one of those old works, we infer that the children in ancient times had similar tastes to those of the present, and that they found no day so hot, or hill so steep, as to deter them from seeking the little gems in the tall grass, or through bramble and wood. We, who were so fortunate as to spend our youthful days in the country, can appreciate the following lines of Virgil, as translated by Warton, as they touch a heart-string whose vibrations send memory back to joyful days in the past: "Ye boys that gather flowers and strawberries, We learn from the ancient writers nothing in relation to Strawberry culture that is of any practical value. We are, therefore, compelled to turn to those of modern times for any reliable information. There are facts connected with the history of the Strawberry that it is important for us to know. For instance, from what country, climate or situation were certain species derived? If a species came originally from a very warm country, it is doubtful if it will ever be so well adapted to a cold latitude as one obtained from a climate similar to the one in which it is to be cultivated. By hybridizing, we may so intermingle species that it will be difficult to tell from what particular source they originated. Yet, if there be any feeble or tender element in their composition, it will be constantly showing itself, and a continual source of annoyance to the cultivator. It is for this reason that it is always desirable to know as much of the history and origin of a fruit as possible, specially if it is to be selected as the parent from which new varieties are to be produced. There are instances where a species has succeeded better in a foreign country than at home; but such cases are only exceptional, and where the climates are similar, or the spe cies naturally had a very wide range in latitude. The Strawberry is probably more widely distributed than any other plant we cultivate. The Fragaria vesca, or Alpine Strawberry, grows in the mountains of Greece and northward to Britain, where, in the latter country, it assumes a different form, and is there called the Wood Strawberry. The principal difference between the two is in the form of the fruit, the Alpine being conical, while the Wood varieties are round. The Alpine Strawberry is also a native of North America, being found in high woods and fields in most of the Northern States, and far to the North in the Canadas. There appear to be several natural varieties of this species in Europe, which have been known for several centuries. In 1483, the garden of the Bishop of Ely, at Holborn, in England, was celebrated for its excellent Strawberries. They were probably the common Wood Strawberries of the country-one with red fruit, the other white. The Alpines were introduced into England some two hundred years later. There are two original varieties the same in color as the Wood Strawberries. There are also monthly varieties, and those which do not produce runners. The original species or varieties appear to persistently retain their normal characteristics under all the varied changes which they have been subjected to in cultivation. This constancy of the F. vesca may account for the fact that no advance, of any importance, was made in Strawberry culture in Europe until other and more variable, as well as valuable, species were introduced. In 1578, Lyte, in his translation of "Dodoens Herball," mentions only the Wood Strawberry. Gerarde, in 1597, named the White and Red Wood Strawberry. In 1623, Casper Bauhin, in his "Pinax," mentions the White and Red Wood, Alpine, and Hautboy or Haarbeer Strawberries. Parkinson, in his Paradisus, 1629, page 528, says that there are divers sorts in cultivation, and names the Red and White Wood, Green, Virginia, and another variety, which he called the Bohemian. In his Theatrum Botanicum, issued in 1640, page 758, he mentions a variety of the Alpine, which, he says, is barren, producing no fruit. It was probably one of the Potentillas, and not a Strawberry, for he also describes another variety which, he says, has yellow flowers, and the seeds are in a dry, compact head, and the plant has smaller leaves, and creeps along the ground with many fine stems. About 1660 a Strawberry grower at Montreuil, in France, is said to have produced a new variety from the seed of the Wood Strawberry. It was called the Cappron, but afterwards the Fressant. This is the first improved variety of which we have any account. It was in cultivation at the time that Evelyn translated Quintinies "French Gardiner,” in 1682; also mentioned by Duchesne, about a hundred years later. The persistency with which some species reproduce themselves is quite remarkable, but not more so than the equally great variations that are constantly being developed In others. Those species from which we have produced the greatest number of valuable varieties, generally show the greatest diversity of character in their natural or normal condition, |