CHAPTER VI 

 BREEDING 



A FRUIT is improved either by the raising of seedlings 

 from band-sown seeds, whether hand-crossed or not, or 

 by the discovery of superior chance seedlings. In either 

 case the improvement results from interest and effort 

 on the part of man. A superior chance seedling does 

 not contribute to the improvement of the species unless 

 some one is alert to detect it, and takes the trouble to 

 protect and propagate it. 



Notwithstanding the ease with which new varieties 

 of strawberry may be raised, most of the older varieties 

 were chance seedlings. The parentage is known of only 

 about one-sixth of the 1879 North American varieties. 

 Many of the most prominent commercial varieties were 

 chance seedlings. The list includes such standard sorts 

 as Crescent, Warfield, Bubach, Michel, Marshall and 

 Brandywine. On the other hand, the Hovey, Wilson, 

 Sharpless, Dunlap, Haverland, Gandy, Aroma and Klon- 

 dike were produced from hand-sown seeds. It must 

 be admitted that wayside seedlings have contributed 

 almost as much to the improvement of the garden straw- 

 berry as varieties produced by definite breeding. The 

 strawberry escapes from cultivation so easily and pro- 

 duces self-sown seedlings so readily that this will continue 

 to be a prolific source of new varieties. During the past 

 ten years the varieties produced by breeders have in- 

 188 



