THE STRAWBERRY 265 



Almost every other fruit has counterparts that 

 suggest close relationship. Peaches and necta- 

 rines, apricots and plums, apples and quinces, 

 oranges and grapefruit, lemons and limes, black- 

 berries and raspberries, watermelons and musk- 

 melons these and sundry other fruits seem to go 

 in pairs, as it were. They show the result of 

 nature's constant tendency to experiment and to 

 find new ways of doing the same thing, each 

 method reasonably well adapted to its purpose. 



But when the scheme of the strawberry had 

 been perfected, it would seem that it must have 

 proved so very admirable that there was little 

 chance to improve upon it and no occasion to 

 vary from it. Hence strawberries are quite in a 

 class by themselves from the botanical stand- 

 point, just as they are from the gastronomic 

 standpoint. 



In admitting this, it does not follow that we 

 must agree with the enthusiast who declared, not 

 long ago, that the strawberry is the one fruit that 

 is past all improvement. 



We shall urge in a moment that there is still 

 very much to do before the strawberry can be 

 considered a really perfect fruit from the stand- 

 point of the consumer. It can be made, and 

 should be made, to give up its seeds altogether, 

 for example. 



