THE STRAWBERRY. 237 



berry make nearly a dozen species, the most accurate 

 botanists fail to find more than three or four, that are 

 really distinct. The most widely distributed species is 

 Fragaria vesca, the Wood or Alpine strawberry. In 

 this the seeds (really one-seeded seed-vessels) are not 

 sunken in a cavity in the fruit, but are prominent upon 

 the surface. This is the most widely distributed species, 

 being found wild in Europe, Asia, and in this country. 

 From this are derived all the cultivated Alpine strawber- 

 ries, so popular on the Continent of Europe, and so sel- 

 dom grown in this country. 



F. grandiflora, the Large-flowered strawberry, is a 

 native of South America, and on the Pacific coast ex- 

 tends northward to California. The Chilian strawberry 

 (F. Chilensis) is now regarded as a form of this. 



F. Virginiana, the Virginia or Scarlet strawberry is our 

 most common wild strawberry. It is found from the 

 Arctic circle to Florida, and extends northward to Ore- 

 gon and Washington Territory. Occurring in a great 

 variety of localities, several of its forms have been 

 described as species. This and F. grandi flora are the 

 parents of the strawberries generally cultivated. They 

 diifer from the Alpine species in having their seeds in a 

 cavity more or less deep. The other species which have 

 been described as distinct are of no importance to the 

 cultivator. 



The strawberry was apparently known to the Romans 

 only in its wild state, for none of their writers have men- 

 tioned it as among cultivated fruits. It is first mentioned 

 as having been cultivated in England during the reign of 

 Richard III, in 1483. With the exception of a variety 

 of Wood strawberry raised in France about 1 660, no im- 

 proved variety of the strawberry was known until late in 

 the last century, after the introduction of the Large- 

 flowered and the Virginia strawberries. With the pro- 

 duction of improved seedlings, as well as hybrids, new 



