242 On the Production of 



have come to our knowledge, in which this variety has grown 

 vigorously and produced its fruit in perfection, for more than one 

 season, in this country. Several other English varieties are 

 equally as tender as the Keen's seedling, and not to be depended 

 upon for a crop, unless protected through our winters: it is 

 therefore of great importance to possess a variety or varieties of 

 equal or better qualities than those we have just mentioned, and 

 of a character sufficiently hardy to hve through the most rigo- 

 rous cold unhurt. In no way can this be done but through the 

 medium of the seed acted upon by the pollen of the various 

 kinds. 



It is many years since Messrs. Knight, Keen and others, first 

 produced new and superior varieties to those previously in culti- 

 vation; but the great success of their experiments, which were 

 pursued with great zeal, led them to continue them, and the re- 

 sult has been the production of an immense number of new 

 kinds, but of which only ten or twelve can be said to be really 

 worth growing. None of these do well in our climate, unless 

 the Downton, which may be an exception, although it does not 

 flourish with the vigor of the American sorts, but produces a 

 fine fruit, and the vines are much hardier than other kinds. The 

 ]\f ethven castle or Methven scarlet is a large and tolerably hardy 

 strawberry, but it is very destitute of flavor; some new and said 

 to be very remarkable sorts have been made known within a 

 year or two, but they have not yet been introduced, and their 

 value in our chmate not yet ascertained: when, however, we 

 consider the great difference between the climate of this country 

 and that of Great Britain, it is somewhat doubtful whether any of 

 their fine varieties will ever be sufiiciently hardy to stand our 

 winters. 



Convinced, from such conclusions, that we must look to our 

 own gardens for hardy varieties of strawberries, we attempted, 

 about four years since, to raise a number of plants from seeds, 

 with the hope of selecting some one or two which would pos- 

 sess all the good properties of a strawberry, and of a character 

 sufficiently hardy to stand our winters unprotected; and although 

 at the present moment our plants have not been fully tested, 

 they have so far that we are assured of something much better 

 than any of our previously known American kinds, and we are 

 not yet certain but what equally as fine in flavor as the best 

 English varieties. From want of room to arrange the plants, a 

 year has been lost in ascertaining their respective merits; but, 

 another season, we anticipate a show of some very superior spe- 

 cimens of fruit. 



We had intended to give some hints on the production of 

 new varieties, some time since, in order that amateurs might be 

 induced to try the experiment the present year; but as we have 



