APPENDIX. 113 
immediately, and he placed more vials of staminate 
blossoms in different parts of the bed, and had a fine 
crop. His letter will be found in the Transactions of 
the London Horticultural Society for that year. What 
was true in 1809, will be found still to be true. I 
have further evidence of the character of the plant in 
England. Fifteen years since, I imported several va- 
rieties of strawberries from London, and among them 
I had both staminate and pistillate plants, but not one 
variety in which both organs were perfect in all the 
blossoms. The staminate varieties bore from one- 
tenth to one-third of a crop. Under the name of 
Keen’s Seedling, I got a pistillate plant that, impreg- 
nated, produces abundantly, and the fruit is large and 
fine. By themselves, an acre would not produce a 
perfect berry. It is not what in England is generally 
known by the name of Keen’s Seedling. Mr. Keen 
raised many varieties. The true Keen is a staminate 
plant, and is more perfect in both organs than is usual, 
and produces a partial crop of large fruit. JI incline 
to the belief, that for market, their gardeners cultivate 
the same seedling of his as the one sent me, and pro- 
bably the same kind he impregnated by hand. It is 
truly a valuable kind, and worth twenty of the stam1- 
nate seedlings. The staminate Keen is cultivated for 
forcing, and as the object is large fruit, all the blos- 
soms are picked off, except three or four that set first. 
I have this moment received a letter from Col. Carr, 
an old and experienced horticulturist of Philadelphia. 
He writes me, “I have conversed with Mr. Hobson and 
others, who pay great attention to the cultivation of 
6* 
