164 MODERN STRAWBERRY GROWING 



"It was within a week of the close of July 

 last year when I came upon a large bed of 

 these berries. I was on a flower quest that 

 hot and sultry day, and I confess that the 

 last thing I expected to be offered was straw- 

 berries. But I was offered some, right from 

 the plants, and ate thereof with a satisfac- 

 tion that was a satisfaction. 



"Then I began asking many questions; I 

 ascertained, first of all, that these long rows 

 of very flourishing strawberry plants, with a 

 considerable amount of ripe and ripening 

 fruit on them, were all seedlings. The seed 

 had been picked in Switzerland by the grower, 

 from plants of the ^Quatre Saisons' type. 

 This is the small strawberry that is so abun- 

 dant in Paris, where it is no uncommon 

 sight to see the little hand-carts of street 

 vendors piled high with the much admired 

 fruit. It is simply one of the Alpine varie- 

 ties bred up in size and general perfection. 



"I found also that from this patch of 

 'Four'Seasons' the family had been kept fully 

 supplied with fruit all through July — the 

 Alpines coming in when the ordinary garden 

 berries gave out. The fruit, which is a sort 

 of glorified edition of the American wild 



