282 Domestic Notices. 



Early Virginia, we did not think it an important addition. Probably soil 

 and cultivation were the cause of its lateness. Some strawberries require 

 peculiar treatment to bring out their true character. It may have been 

 that the specimens we saw were not the true kind. The Boston Pine, we 

 can assure Dr. Bayne, is with us one loeek earlier than the Seedling. — Ed.] 



Aberdeen Beehive Slraivberry. — This variety, now under culture by sev- 

 eral American growers, is unfortunately & staminale variety, and, from this 

 circumstance, but little can be expected from it. If our transatlantic friends 

 will transmit us an estimable pistillate variety, we shall feel in reality 

 under obligations to them, but, until then, we ask them iofavur us with 

 no more staminates similar to the British Queen, Myatt's Pine, Myatt's 

 Eliza, and such trash. In fact, we have new American Tarieties supe- 

 rior to any that England can boast. — W. R. P., May, 1848. 



[This is altogether a premature opinion. Its being staminate is no rea- 

 son why it is not a most valuable variety. We have already stated, (p. 218,) 

 that we have our doubts of its coming up to the description given of it at 

 the page referred to, but by no means because it is staminate. We have 

 had under our care, and have seen under the cultivation of others, enor- 

 mous crops of Keen's Seedling — to this day the best strawberry in Eng- 

 land — a staminate variety. The tendency of the vines to winter-kill and 

 to burn up in summer is the great objection to that variety, otherwise it 

 would be extensively cultivated. To condemn the Beehive in advance of 

 its fruiting because it is staminate, is perfectly absurd. — Ed.] 



Siraiiberry Challenge. — You will perceive, by the Horticulturist, that I 

 have accepted the $500 challenge offered by Nicholas Longworth, Esq., of 

 Cincinnati, for a productive staminate strawberry. I wish now to invite 

 you and all other amateurs of this favorite fruit, and especially our highly 

 intelligent and esteemed friends, Messrs. Wilder and Walker, to visit my 

 collection when in fruit about the 10th to 15th of June. I will guarantee 

 that all shall feel satisfied that the time has not been misspent. I now an- 

 nounce that there does not exist on the earth a collection of strawberries 

 presenting any comparison to my present one, and those who will inspect it 

 will wonder that they should have been misled by cultivating the trash sent 

 out from Europe with high-sounding names during the last ten years, when 

 such superior varieties can be produced on our own soil. Mr. Longworth 

 and myself are perfectly agreed that every European staminate variety has 

 proven comparatively worthless for American culture, and, with regard to 

 any pretended novelties from Europe, the simple inquiry whether it is stam- 

 inate or pistillate, will settle the point as to its value or worthlessness. On 

 our own soil, however, we may produce staminate varieties more congenial 

 o our climate, some of which will produce fair crops, and such has been 

 the case with several of our new seedling varieties. Under this head, I 

 would call especial attention to the new seedling varieties of the Monte 

 Video Pine. These are of stronger growth than any other class, the blos- 

 soms, in many cases, as large as a dollar, and they form the most splendid 

 family of strawberries as regards size, form, flavor, and color of the fruit 

 that has ever been seen. It is a singular fact that no seedling varieties of 



