274 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



cient in flavour. The " old scarlet strawberry," 

 which was an original introduction from North 

 America, has been an inhabitant of our gardens for 

 nearly two hundred years. The " old black straw- 

 berry," an unproductive sort, has been long known in 

 England. The " Chinese" and the " Surinam" straw- 

 berries are of considerable antiquity amongst us. 

 The " old pine, or Carolina," has been cultivated and 

 highly prized by the English growers, lor many 

 years. 



Since attention began to be paid to the culture 

 of strawberries, the number of varieties has been 

 greatly increased. The British strawberries are di- 

 vided into scarlet, black ; pine, hautbois, green, 

 alpine and wood, according to a classification in a 

 valuable paper in the sixth volume of the Horticultural 

 Transactions. Of these varieties, the pine is the most 

 esteemed. It is a native of Louisiana and of Vir- 

 ginia. Its colour is a deep red on both sides; 

 and it is the most rich and highly flavoured of all 

 strawberries, constituting the most valuable variety 

 that has yet been discovered. 



THE BARBERRY Berbens vulgaris. 



This 'tree is a native originally of the eastern 

 countries, though it is now found in most parts of 

 Europe, where it thrives best upon light and chalky 

 soils. It grew formerly wild, in great quantities, 

 in the hedgerows of England, but has been uni- 

 versally banished, from a general belief that its pre- 

 sence is injurious to the growth of corn. Duhamel, 

 Broussonet, and other scientific writers, treat this be- 

 lief as a vulgar prejudice. It should, however, be 

 remarked, that the fructification of the barberry is 

 incomplete, unless the stamens be irritated by insects 

 when the filaments suddenly contract in a most re- 

 markable manner towards the germ. The flowers 

 are, therefore, by a beautiful arrangement of nature, 



