206 SYSTKMATIC POMOLOCY 



small; borne in a few-flowered cynio :it tlio top of a long, slender, weak, 

 slightly villous scape; calyx sniaii. Fruits small; globular or oblong- 

 conical, usually markedly necked; color light scarlet, sometimes white; 

 flesh usually pink, sprightly acidulous, aromatic; seeds yellow, sunken 

 deeply in angular pits. 



310. Habitat of the Virginian strawberry. — Probably no 

 other fruit grows ^vild under sueii varied conditions and over 

 such an extended area in North America as this wild straw- 

 berry. It is found in every state in the United States, in the 

 mountains of Mexico, and far north into Canada. Naturally 

 plastic, when spread over this vast territory the species runs 

 into many forms, several of wliich liave received specific names 

 from one or another botanist. Among these, var. illinoensis, 

 Gray, a larger, more robust plant than the type with scapes 

 and pedicels more hairy, and larger berries, is the only one 

 which has noteworthy pomological characters different from 

 those of the species. 



311. Cultivation of the Virginian strawberry. — This species 

 has been more or less cultivated almost from the settlement of 

 North America. It was mentioned by Parkinson as under 

 cultivation in England in 1629, though it was little improved 

 either at home or in Europe until early in the nineteenth cen- 

 tury. About 1820, several improved varieties made their ap- 

 pearance, such as Early Hudson, Hudson's Bay, Methven Scar- 

 let, Large Early Scarlet, and Crimson Cone. These and other 

 varieties of this species held the markets until the middle of 

 the century, when improved hybrid sorts began to take their 

 places. 



312. The common garden strawberry described. — For a half 

 century after varieties of the strawberry now gi'own in Ameri- 

 can gardens appeared, botanists and pomologists could not agree 

 as to the species from which they came, but the present opinion 

 is that these varieties come from the species next to be described : 



2. Fragaria chiloensis, Duchesne. (Plate XXIV) Plant large, low, 

 stocky, with thick, fleshy, shallow roots; runners short, stout, appearing 

 after the fruit has matured. Leaves radical; leaflets, 3, large, obovate- 

 wedge-f orm ; round-toothed; thick, leathery, smooth and glossy above, to- 

 mentose below, strongly reticulate. Flowers white; borne in loose cymes on 

 erect silky scapes; calyx leafy. Berry large, globular or conic, firm; dark- 



