204 OTJE, COMMON 



originally a native of Bohemia, and brought to us, as its 

 name indicates, from Prance, though in that country it is 

 now called the Capiton, and its fruit, which is not much 

 esteemed, the Capron. The characteristic from which it 

 derives its " high-wood" title, is the peculiarly lengthy 

 stem, which lifts the fruit above even the long-stalked 

 'leaves. Its flowers, like those of the Chili, are considered 

 to be of different sexes, for though seldom quite imper- 

 fect, some have so few stamens, and others so few pistils, 

 that unless great care be taken to balance the kinds, many 

 blossoms wither unproductively, and scanty crops in- 

 evitably result. In days when this kind of floral struc- 

 ture was less understood than at present, the Hauilois 

 soon gained a bad character as a scanty bearer, and fell 

 irrevocably into disrepute, except so far as its name is con- 

 cerned, for that at least is as regularly appended in the 

 street cries to strawberries of any and every kind as the 

 title of " St. Michael's " is indiscriminately applied by the 

 same popular authorities to all varieties of oranges. The 

 real Hauibois, the first of our larger varieties, is of very 

 high flavour, has particularly solid flesh, with no central 

 -cavity, and adheres firmly to the calyx. 



In 1766, the Alpine or Everlasting Strawberry had been 

 cultivated for three or four years past near London, and 

 it was believed that the King of England had received the 

 seeds first from Turin. Though sold at a guinea a pinch, 

 many purchasers were found anxious to obtain the novelty, 

 and it soon spread so prodigiously that in the course of 

 a few years beds of it were to be seen in almost every 

 garden. It went from our shores to Holland, and thence 

 to Prance, where, to this day, it is preferred on the whole 

 to all other kinds. The royal table was always furnished 

 with it, from the Versailles kitchen garden from June to 

 October, and during the greater part of the rest of the 

 year from hotbeds ; but thisV hardy and indefatigable 

 bearer, even in the open garden, never stops yielding an 

 ever- renewed harvest until actual frost, with a voice that 

 must be obeyed, cries sternly, " Hold, enough ! " The 

 reason is to be traced in the fact of its runners taking 

 root, and then at once blossoming and bearing fruit even 



