222 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



STRAWBERRIES 



Babes in the woods, in the folklore of various 

 countries, have eaten wild strawberries, and been 

 covered over with strawberry leaves, when their 

 rescuers were slow to find them. The scarlet, or 

 Virginian strawberry was transplanted from the 

 woods and fields into the gardens of the early 

 colonists. In the Middle West, the pioneers 

 found the lusty, wild Illinois variety. On the 

 Pacific Slope two or three native kinds grow at 

 different elevations. In Europe, the wild species 

 are the wood, or alpine perpetual strawberry, the 

 hauibois, or musk strawberry, and one or two 

 beside. All these have been brought into cultiva- 

 tion centuries back. The ease of transplanting 

 or of raising them from seed left no excuse for 

 omitting this delightful fruit from the home gar- 

 den. 



While the American horticulturist was strug- 

 gling to tame the wild strawberry of the east 

 coast, which repaid his efforts only by running to 

 luxurious vines instead of to fruit, a wild species, 

 taken to England by travellers in Chili, suddenly 

 absorbed the attention of all horticulturists. It 

 became the parent of a remarkable line of garden 

 varieties, through crosses with the wild and culti- 



