HOVEY'S SEEDLING STRAWBERRY. 



fertilized, and, when the berries were mature, they were gathered, the 

 seeds washed out, and put away in bags. In Februaiy, 1834, the seeds 

 were planted in boxes in the greenhouse, and the young plants removed 

 to the open ground in June. In 1835, the plants produced some fruit, 

 and, in 1836, they came into fuU bearing. The beds were then carefully 

 looked over, and the qualities of more than thu'ty sorts noted down : 

 among them was the Seedling, but the berries of this were so remark- 

 able, that it was at once selected from the others and set out by itself. 

 The remaining kinds were planted out for further trial, and the old beds 

 dug up and destroyed. The single plant made only twelve runners the 

 first year ; these were removed to a bed twelve feet long, setting them a 

 foot apart, and during the season the young runners covered the ground. 

 In 1838, it produced one of the most remarkable crops of remarkable 

 strawberries we ever saw. 



Under the most ordinary cultivation, this variety produces a fine crop 

 of large, handsome fruit. But it is absolutely necessary that the plants 

 should be near some staminate variety, that the fertilization may be 

 complete ; otherwise, a veiy small crop will be the result. For this pur- 

 pose, we use only the Boston Pine, setting out alternate beds of each. 



Vines. — ^Veiy vigorous, more so than any other variety, except the 

 Boston Pine, perfectly hardy, forming numerous runners. 



Leaves. — Large; leaflets roundish, generally convex, obtusely ser- 

 rated, with about twenty serratures ; surface rather smooth, deep bi'ill- 

 iant glossy green, and rarely ever spotted with brown ; petioles short ; 

 leaf- stalks upright, medium length, moderately strong. 



Flowers. — Rather small, veiy regular in form ; /^'"'^'^^^rf 

 petals roundish, slightly imbricated and cupped; sta- 

 mens very short and imperfect, deficient in anthers ; 

 calyx very small, finely divided, and quite reflexed; 

 scapes moderately strong, about the same length as 

 the leaf-stalks, elevating the fruit from the ground ; pe- 

 duncles rather long and slender. Every flower, when 

 properly fertilized, is succeeded by a perfect beriy. Our engraving 

 represents the exact size and form of the flower. 



Fruit. — Very large, often measuring five and a half inches in circum- 

 ference, roundish ovate, shghtly conical, with a short neck, never cox- 

 comb-shaped, even in the largest berries : Color, dark rich shining red, 

 paler when grown in the shade : Seeds, dark, and imbedded in a smaU 

 cavity : Flesh, scarlet, firm, nearly solid, abouncUng with a most agree- 

 able acid, and exceedingly dehcious and high-flavored juice. 



PiirE about a week after the Boston Pine, and continues in perfection 

 durmg the whole strawberry season. 



[2G] 



