STRA WBERRIES— ORIGIN AND HIS TOR V. 5 I 



cies, and little advance was made in strawberry culture in 

 Europe until after the introduction of other species more 

 capable of variation and improvement. Still, attempts were 

 made from time to time. As the Alpine differed somewhat 

 from the Wood strawberry, they were brought to England 

 about 200 years later than the tragedy of Lord Hastings' 

 death, which has been referred to. 



In connection with the White and Red Wood and Alpine 

 strawberries, we find in 1623 the name of the Hautbois or 

 Haarbeer strawberry, the Fragaria elatior of the botanists. 

 This second species, a native of Germany, resembles the 

 Alpine in some respects, but is a larger and stockier plant. 

 Like the Fragaria vesca, its fruit-stalks are erect and longer 

 than the leaves, but the latter are larger than the foliage 

 of the Alpine, and are covered with short hairs, both on 

 the upper and under surface, which give them a rough ap- 

 pearance. As far as I can learn, this species still further 

 resembled the Alpines in possessing Httle capability of 

 improvement and variation. Even at this late day the 

 various named kinds are said to differ from each other but 

 slightly. There is a very marked contrast, however, be- 

 tween the fmit of the Hautbois and Alpine species, for the 

 former has a peculiar musky flavor which has never found 

 much favor in this country. It is, therefore, a comparatively 

 rare fruit in our gardens, nor do we find much said of it in 

 the past. 



There is scarcely any record of progress until after the 

 introduction of the two great American species. It is true 

 that in 1660 a fruit grower at Montreuil, France, is "said 

 to have produced a new variety from the seed of the Wood 

 strawberry," which was called the " Cappron," and after- 

 ward the " Fressant." It was named as a distinct variety 

 one hundred years later, but it may be doubted whether it 



