XX v]. BEGINNING OP AMERICAN BERRIES. 407 



them that Knight's productions were soon lost. From 

 Keen's Seedling the present English strawberries have 

 largely descended. The fruit of his remarkable straw- 

 berry was first shown in London in 1821. At this 

 time there were apparently no important varieties in 

 this country of American origin. Prince,* writing in 

 1828, enumerates thirty strawberries of American gar- 

 dens, of which all, or all but one, are of foreign 

 origin. The two important varieties, and the ones 

 which supplied "the principal bulk of this fruit sold 

 in the New York market," were Red Chili (referred 

 by Barnet and by George Lindleyt to the Pines), and 

 Early Hudson, probably a variety of Fragaria Vir- 

 giniana. Keen's berries are in the list, but these, 

 according to Hovey and other later writers, did not 

 thrive in America. As late as 1837, Hovey wrotet 

 that "as yet the plants of nearly all the kinds in 

 cultivation have been introduced from the English 

 gardens, and are not suited to the severity of our 

 climate." Mr. Hovey resolved to produce an Ameri- 

 can strawberry, and with a shrewdness which has 

 rarely been equaled in the breeding of plants, he 

 selected parents representing distinct ideals and the 

 best adaptations to American conditions. Four varie- 

 ties entered into a certain batch of crosses which he 

 made. These were Keen's Seedling and Mulberry, 

 both Pines, Melon, probably a Pine, and Methven 

 Scarlet, a variety of the Virginian. From these 

 crosses, two varieties were obtained, § one of which 



*Short Treatise on Horticulture, 72. New York. 



tA Guide to the Orchard and Kitchen Garden, 487. London, 1831. 



iMag. Hort. iii. 246. 



§Mag. Hort. vi. 284 (1840). Fruits of America, i. 25. 27. 



