Popenoe: The Chilean Strawberry 



46, 



ber and January the fruits are occa- 

 sionally offered in the markets of that 

 city, prepared for sale in a unique 

 fashion: they are gathered with long 

 stems, and then tied together one 

 above the other to form strings a foot 

 or two in length. The common name 

 fntki de Chile is applied to the species 

 in this region. 



I have not seen the species in the 

 western part of Colombia, but farther 

 south, in the highlands of Ecuador, it 

 is extensively cultivated, mainly in the 

 region of Guachi, a settlement not more 

 than six or seven miles from Ambato. 

 Here the plants bear fruit throughout 

 the year, — a characteristic which they 

 do not exhibit in Peru and Chile, prob- 

 ably because of the utter lack, in 

 Ecuador, of well-defined seasons. 



Guachi lies at an elevation of 9500 

 to 10,000 feet, and is a series of rolling 

 hills, almost devoid of trees, with a soil 

 which can be characterised as a very 

 loose, fine, sandy loam of volcanic 

 origin. The strawberry plantations 

 cover an area of at least 60 acres; the 

 plants are never irrigated, and the rain- 

 fall is probably not more than 15 inches 

 per annum. The temperature is rarely 

 higher than 65° or 70°; and seldom 

 lower than 35° F. above zero. Severe 

 frosts are unknown. Three times a year 

 the fields are cleaned of weeds with a 

 heavy hoe, this being the only cultural 

 attention which they receive. The 

 plants never grow to large size. The 

 natives assert that when irrigated they 

 make luxuriant growth, but do not 

 yield abundantly nor is the fruit large 

 and sweet; and this has, indeed, been 

 observed by me to be the case when 

 plants from Guachi are taken to Am- 

 bato and there grown on rich loamy soil 

 under good cultural conditions. 



The fruit is harvested at Guachi 

 once a week throughout the year. 

 There are, however, three seasons 

 when the most abundant yield is 

 obtained, these being in February, in 

 August, and in December. The method 

 of handling the berries is primitive; 

 they are carried to Ambato in wooden 

 boxes holding 30 to 35 quarts. Women 

 in the market place grade them by 

 hand, and pack them in baskets of 



varying sizes, for sale to passengers on 

 the Guayaquil — Quito trains which 

 pass through the town, or for shipment 

 to these and a few other points. 



In size, shape and other characteris- 

 tics the strawberries of this region are 

 remarkably uniform. They are oblong- 

 conical in outline, sometimes oblong- 

 ovoid, and from one to two inches in 

 length. When fully ripe they are light 

 red in color, with firm, meaty, pinkish 

 white flesh. The flavor is perhaps not 

 quite so aromatic and sprightly as 

 that of some of our best North Ameri- 

 can and European strawberries, but 

 it is very delicate and pleasant. For 

 canning and shipping purposes the 

 Guachi strawberry far excels any of 

 our own. What sorts have we, may I 

 ask, which could be thrown into boxes 

 holding 30 to 35 quarts, carried seven 

 or eight miles on mule back, worked 

 over by hand and packed in two to 

 six-quart baskets, and then shipped 

 down to a tropical seaport, there to be 

 kept in the market for two or three 

 days at a temperature of 70 to 85 

 degrees? Even with such treatment as 

 this, the Guachi strawberry holds up 

 well, retaining its shape and texture to 

 an extent altogether unknow^i among 

 northern strawberries. This same char- 

 acteristic shows up strongly when the 

 fruit is canned or preserved; the 

 berries retain their form and size nearly 

 as well as do peaches, — far surpassing 

 in this respect any of our North Ameri- 

 can strawberries — and have a very deli- 

 cate flavor. In comparing a tin of the 

 preserved fruits brought from Chile, 

 however, with a good North American 

 pack, and with preserved strawberries 

 of the Portia variety, George M. Dar- 

 row and myself both thought chiloensis, 

 as represented by this sample, not so 

 richly flavored as the best of our own 

 sorts. It has delicacy, and, in the 

 fresh state, a delightful, though rather 

 faint, aroma; but it has not sufficient 

 acidity to make a really excellent canned 

 fruit. 



CULTIVATED IN THE HIGHLANDS OF 

 PERU 



In Peru, there are numerous planta- 

 tions of chiloensis in the valley of the 



