130 THE STRAWBERRY IN NORTH AMERICA 



Monarch, which originated in 1867, is but two generations 

 from the Hovey ; it is still grown in California and Col- 

 orado. The Hovey was also one of the probable parents 

 of the Longworth, which originated in 1848 and is still a 

 commercial variety in California, being the oldest North 

 American variety in cultivation. Another probable parent 

 of the Longworth was Taylor's Seedling, a variety of F. 

 illinoensis, the prairie form of F. virginiana. 



The parents of the three other varieties that have 

 entered most largely into the lineage of modern North 

 American sorts are equally in doubt. In 1851 James 

 Wilson, a gardener near Albany, New York, sowed seeds 

 of the Hovey, Black Prince, and Ross* Phoenix. Both of 

 the latter were Pines, Black Prince being a seedling of 

 Keens' Imperial and a direct descendant of the original 

 Pineapple strawberry, while Ross' Phoenix w^as a seedling 

 of Keens' Seedling. These seeds were the result of 

 natural pollination, not of hand crossing. James Wilson 

 was confident that his seedling was Hovey X Black Prince, 

 according to a statement made after his death by his son, 

 John Wilson, and this opinion was shared by his contem- 

 poraries. This surmise was based upon the appearance 

 and behavior of the Wilson and its seedlings, not upon 

 authentic records. If w^e assume that the Hovey was 

 one of the parents of the Wilson, then the forty-eight 

 varieties that are known to have descended from the Wilson 

 are of the same lineage. These are listed on page 190. 



The Sharpless was originated in 1872 by J. K. Sharpless, 

 Catawissa, Pennsylvania, from hand-sown mixed seed of 

 Jucunda, Charles Downing, Wilson and Col. Cheney. 

 The originator believed that it was a seedling of the Charles 

 Downing, but this must remain a matter for speculation. 

 The Charles Downing was a seedling of Downer's Prolific, 



