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NOTES ON THE STRAWBERRY QUESTION. 



NOTES ON THE STRAV7BERRY QUESTION. 



BY N. LONGWORTH, CINCINNATI, OHIO. 



Dear Sir — The strawberry question at 

 this time gives me little trouble, as the 

 strawberry committee of our Horticultural 

 Society have the subject in charge, and 

 they all have botanical knowledge, joined 

 to personal attention to the cultivation of 

 the fruit ; and they will have ample oppor- 

 tunity the present season, thoroughly to 

 sift the last strong hold of the learned bo- 

 tanists, that " there is a third class of 

 plants, having all the blossoms perfect in 

 both male and female organs, and bearing 

 a full crop of perfect fruit ; and that pis- 

 tillate plants become staminate by run- 

 ning," [No ; that some perfect blossomed 

 sorts have a tendency to vary into barren 

 forms. — Ed.] Among these, are ranked 

 the Boston Pine, Downton, Swainstone 

 Seedling, Keen's Seedling, Ross' Phoenix, 

 Buist's Seedling, Emperor, Myatt's Pine, 

 Wilmot's Superb, British Queen, Grove 

 End Scarlet, Burr's old Seedling, and ma- 

 ny others. Keen and Wilmot made for- 

 tunes by their seedlings, yet not one of the 

 whole class, is possessed of any value with 

 us, further than as an impregnator. A per- 

 fect plant, except of the White and Al- 

 pines, I never expect to see. I have this 

 season, thoroughly tested this strong hold. 

 I obtained the Swainstone and Ross' Phoe- 

 nix from you. Neither of them will, in 

 an average of years, under any cultivation, 

 produce perfect fruit, on one-third of the 

 blossoms, and a large portion will be en- 

 tirely defective in female organs, and en- 

 tirely barren. The fruit of the Swainstone, 

 as far as it bears, is of the largest size. A 

 plant is occasionally produced, with blos- 

 soms on the same stem, wholly defective 



in male organs, and the residue more or 

 less perfect in both organs. In cultivation, 

 I have seen one only, the Duke of Kent, 

 that bears a full crop. The fruit of this 

 plant is small. 



A seedling may be produced, of this 

 character, from the seed of a large fruited 

 variety, of great value, and I Avould re- 

 commend persons to turn their attention to 

 the subject. Eberliri's Seedlings (a new 

 western sort,) is of this character. Such a 

 plant could not be called a perfect plant ; 

 yet it might produce a full crop of fruit, as 

 the pistillates would be impregnated by 

 their staminate neighbors, on the same or 

 adjoining stem. The great advantage 

 would be, that in planting staminates with 

 pistillates, the former increase so rapidly, 

 having no fruit to bear, that they soon 

 crowd the pistillates out of the bed. 



About the true character of the straAvber- 

 ry plant, we shall no longer dispute ; and 

 our only surprise will be, that our horticul- 

 turists could have raised seedlings, and 

 have cultivated them for years, for sale, 

 and be totally ignorant of the true charac- 

 ter of their own progeny. Our intelligent 

 friend Buist, of Philadelphia, required 

 but a single season, after his attention was 

 drawn to the subject, fully to understand 

 and admit my propositions. I name this, that 

 those who still want faith may be led to seek 

 the truth. One cause, why you at the east 

 are so slow of belief, is, that you are sel- 

 dom willing to be instructed from the back- 

 woods. Yet here is the very place where 

 you should look for new discoveries in ag- 

 riculture and horticulture. You are slow 

 in changing long settled opinions. You 



