13° 



HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE-GO SSI P. 



latter part of this reign, in his advice to the farmer 

 in giving directions to his wife, says — 



"Wife, into the garden, and set me a plot 

 With strawberry roots of the best to be got ; 

 Such growing abroad among the thorns of the wood 

 Well chosen and picked, prove excellent good." 



This same old author mentions that when thus 

 transplanted the best spot in the garden to cultivate 

 them is under other shrubs ; thus he says — 



"The gooseberry, respis, and roses all three. 

 With strawberries under them fitly agree." 



Thomas Hyde, writing in 1523, informs us that " this 

 fruit be much eaten at all men's tables in summer, 

 and they grow in gardens unto the largeness of a 

 mulbury." 



At the beginning of the seventeenth century there 

 was another celebrated garden in Holborn, which was 

 then the most aristocratic portion of London, belong- 

 ing to Gerard, where he appears to have cultivated 

 this plant. In his Herbal he says " Strawberries grow 

 upon hills and valleys, likewise in woods and other 

 places which be somewhat shadowie. They prosper 

 well in gardens." He also mentions white and green 

 varieties, but which are only to be found in gardens. 

 Strawberries are mentioned by Spenser in "The 

 Faerie Queene ; " and Shakespeare says 



"The strawberry grows underneath the nettle; 

 And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best 

 Neighboured by fruit of baser quality." 



This occurs in "Henry V." (act. i. sc. 1). The 

 Bishop of Ely, in speaking of the young king, likens 

 his good qualities, which lie beneath the surface, to the 

 charms of the fruit which are overshadowed by noxious 

 weeds. 



In an article on this fruit in the "Gentleman's 

 Magazine" for 1879, by W. Collett Sanders, he 

 informs us that Sir Philip Sidney, in his "Arcadia," 

 published 1590, was the first writer who mentions the 

 inimitable combination of strawberries and cream. 

 In describing a milk-white horse, Sir Philip says that 

 upon his shoulders and withers he was freckled with 

 red stains, as when a few strawberries are scattered 

 into a dish of cream. 



We find one of Ben Jonson's personages saying, 

 "My son hath sent you a pot of strawberries, ga- 

 thered in the wood, to mingle with your cream." The 

 strawberry at this period must have been generally 

 cultivated ; and it appears a strange statement that 

 John Tradescant the elder, who was gardener to 

 Charles I., and the Paxton of England in those days, 

 first saw the strawberry as a cultivated and cherished 

 plant in a woman's garden near Plymouth, whose 

 little daughter had transplanted it from the woods 

 for the sake of its beautiful flower and fruit. Forced 

 strawberries and cherries are mentioned as being 

 served at an installation dinner at Windsor, 23rd of 

 April, 1667. 



[To be continued.) 



NOTES ON NEW BOOKS. 



~T}EES and Bee-Keeping : Scientific and Practical, 

 J—) Vol. i. Scientific, by Frank R. Cheshire, F.L.S., 

 etc. (London : L. Upcott Gill). Of late years bee- 

 lovers cannot complain of want of literature. Almost 

 every bee-master has thought it necessary to write a 

 little book on the subject. The consequence is there 

 are few good ones. Mr. Cheshire is well known for 

 his scientific as well as practical knowledge of bees 

 and their diseases, and this volume presents us with 

 the scientific aspect of bee-life. It is a beautifully 

 got-up work, full of original and well-drawn illustra- 

 tions. In short, it really deals with the physiology 

 and natural history of the bee, and we have sincere 

 pleasure in recommending it to both naturalists and 

 apiculturists as by far the best manual of the subject 

 extant. 



Outlines of Geology, by James Geikie, LL.D. 

 (London : Edward Stanford). From a comparative 

 dearth of really good manuals on geology, all of a 

 sudden there has issued a rush. Perhaps this was 

 because so many good geologists and teachers found 

 out the want at the same time. Thus we have had 

 manuals from Duncan, Seeley, Ftheridge, Prestwich, 

 A. Geikie, and now another from James Geikie. AH 

 of them are excellent, and in no science is the student 

 now better off for guides than in geology. Dr. James 

 Geikie's new book is specially calculated for young 

 beginners, and the patient, thoughtful manner in 

 which he has laid himself out to fully explain those 

 parts which beginners find it most difficult to under- 

 stand, will earn him the gratitude of the latter. No 

 better "introduction" to the science of geology 

 exists in our language. 



Upland and Meadow: a Poaetquissing's Chronicle, 

 by Charles C.Abbott, M.D. (London : Sampson Low 

 & Co.).. Dr. Abbott is an old friend and contributor 

 to Science-Gossip, and his pleasant papers will be 

 remembered by hosts of our readers. We are there- 

 fore all the more pleased to congratulate him on the 

 great success which the present volume has obtained 

 on this side the Atlantic. It is altogether a delight- 

 ful book, reminding one of Thoreau, but containing 

 more accurate zoological and botanical knowledge, 

 and possessed besides of a peculiar humour, not 

 American after the common use of the term, but the 

 overflowing pleasure which breaks into laughter. 

 We cordially recommend our readers to forthwith 

 procure this charming volume of natural history 

 essays for themselves. 



British Fungi, by the Rev. John Stevenson, in two 

 vols. Vol. i. Agaricus-Bolbitus (London and Edin- 

 burgh : William Blackwood & Sons). The author is 

 the author of " Mycologia Scotica," and Hon. Sec. 

 of the Cryptogamic Society of Scotland, so that he 

 comes before the public with good credentials. This 

 is a first-class manual, intended for earnest students, 

 not mere dilettanti ; but an excellent work of refer- 



