406 THE SURVIVAL OP THE UNLIKE. [xXV. 



to discover which of the remaining three hypotheses 

 is best supported in the subsequent evolution of the 

 plant itself : Is it a hybrid, a direct development of 

 the Chilian species, or a form of the native variety 

 Illinoensis ? 



It is first necessary, however, to determine from 

 what ancestral type our cultivated strawberry flora has 

 sprung. Barnet, Meriting in 1824, referred all culti- 

 vated strawberries to seven groups or classes, three of 

 which comprise the small European varieties, which 

 are outside this discussion. The remaining four classes 

 comprise all the large -fruited types, and they are as 

 follows : (1) The Scarlet or Virginian strawberries, 

 with twenty -six varieties; (2) The Black strawber- 

 ries or Fragaria tincta of Duchesne, with five varie- 

 ties ; (3) The Pines, with fifteen ; (4) The True 

 Chile strawberries, with three varieties. The Blacks 

 and Pines are so nearly alike that they can be classed 

 as one. Although the Pine class is the most recent 

 of the lot, it had already varied into twenty forms, 

 and, moreover, it contained the choice of the varieties. 

 In this class is Keen's Seedling, which was then coming 

 into prominence. This variety is the first conspicuous 

 and signal contribution to commercial strawberry cul- 

 ture, and it marks an epoch amongst strawberries 

 similar to that made by the Isabella amongst Ameri- 

 can grapes. It was grown from seeds of Keen's 

 Imperial, which, in turn was raised from the White 

 Carolina (known also as Large White Chili), which 

 is regarded by Barnet as a Pine strawberry. Thomas 

 Andrew Knight had made various interesting and 

 successful crosses amongst the Scarlet or Virginian 

 strawberries, but Keen's varieties so far excelled 



