136 STRAWBERRY. 



STRAWBERRY. 

 FRAISIER. Fragaria. 



THIS is a genus of fruit-bearing herbaceous plants, of 

 which there are few in the vegetable kingdom that can 

 equal the Strawberry in wholesomeness and excellence. 

 The fruit is supposed to receive its name from the ancient 

 practice of laying straw between the rows, which keeps the 

 ground moist and the fruit clean. They are natives of tem- 

 perate, or cold climates, as of Europe and America. The 

 fruit, though termed a berry, is, in correct botanical lan- 

 guage, a fleshy receptacle, studded with seeds. It is univer- 

 sally grateful alone, or with sugar, cream, or wine, and has 

 the property, so valuable for acid stomachs, of not under- 

 going the acetous fermentation. Physicians concur in 

 placing Strawberries in their small catalogue of pleasant 

 remedies; as having properties which render them, in most 

 conditions of the animal frame, positively salutary ; they 

 dissolve the tartareous incrustations of the teeth, and pro- 

 mote perspiration. Persons afflicted with the gout have 

 found relief from using them very largely ; so have patients 

 in case of the stone ; and Hoffman states, that he has known 

 consumptive people cured by them. The bark of the root 

 is astringent. 



In cultivating the Strawberry, an open situation and rich 

 loamy soil, rather strong, is required for most varieties; and 

 from their large mass of foliage and flowers, they must, till 

 the fruit is set, have copious supplies of water. The row 

 culture is best calculated to produce fruit; and frequent 

 renewal insures vigorous plants, as well as large fruit. Some 

 plant them in single rows, from twelve to eighteen inches 

 apart, according to the sorts ; others form a bed with four 

 rows. If several beds be intended, a space of two or three 

 feet may be left between each bed as a path ; and in the 

 second or third season, the paths may be manured and dug 



