WILD STRAWBERRIES 425 



varieties: The Red Meadow, White Meadow, Field, Hudson and 

 Hautboy. Dr. Dwight says: "The Meadow strawberry of this 

 country is the best fruit of the kind which I have seen. It is 

 rather larger than the Chili Sweet, and more prolific. It also 

 improves greatly by culture. I have seen several which were 

 four and a half inches in circumference, many which were four, 

 and bushels which were between three and four." And he futher 

 states: "I have cultivated the Wild Meadow strawberry more 

 than twenty years, and during that time it has increased to 

 twice its original size." 



In regard to the Field strawberry, he says that it "is 

 sweeter, ten days earlier, but much smaller than the Meadow 

 strawberry, and has not increased in size by a cultivation of 

 eight years in my garden. The plants become immediately much 

 larger, but the fruit has not been changed at all." He also 

 mentions the Hautboy and Hudson varieties as having been in 

 cultivation for many years in his garden. The former variety is 

 a well-known European form; the latter is a form I am not 

 familiar with, although I suspect it to be an old cultivated 

 variety common in these days. These statements of Dr. Dwight, 

 who died in 1817, show that the strawberry was in cultivation in 

 New England before the beginning of this century. 



He, moreover, states that the Hautboy strawberrry, Fragaria 

 elatior, has been found growing spontaneously in two distinct 

 and remote localities in Connecticut. This statement, if true, 

 would undoubtedly indicate that they were introduced through 

 the agency of birds.* 



The White Meadow strawberry which he calls attention to 

 is a mere sport or variety of the ordinary Ked strawberry. It is 

 also mentioned by Dr. Dewey, in his "Plants of Massachusetts," 

 1840, page 59, as occurring plentifully in the Berkshire Hills. 



In regard to the abundance of the strawberry in early times, 

 there appears to be some misconception also. Every one is 

 aware that there are few places in Massachusetts where it would 

 be possible now for one to gather more than a few pints of 

 strawberries in a whole day. In early times, however, when 

 there was more virgin soil than there is to-day in New England, 



*The native wild Fragaria vesea Cor F. Americana) was probably confounded 

 with the European Hautbois. !. II. I'.. 



