No. 7. 



The Grape and Strawberry. 



213 



berry, though his own declarations in the 

 next sentence, prove the truth of my obser- 

 vation, from his own want of information on 

 the subject. I wrote to the Horticultural 

 Society of London, on this subject, and drew 

 their attention to it, about four years since, 

 and discover that some of their late publica- 

 tions sustain my views. I do not state what 

 I merely believe, but what I knoio, after 

 twenty-five years' experience, that it is in 

 vain to attempt the cultivation of the largest 

 and finest varieties of strawberries, without 

 regarding the sexes of the plants. In the 

 Hudson, which is admitted to be the most 

 valuable of all strawberries, it amounts to a 

 complete separation of the sexes, and one 

 acre of either alone, would not perfect a 

 single fruit. 



Hovey's Seedling, without male plants, is 

 so defective in the male organs, as not to 

 produce by itself, a perfect full-sized fruit. 

 In the White and in the Monthly varieties, 

 the male and female organs are perfect in 

 the same blossom ; but when this is the case, 

 the fruit is never of the largest size. Wil- 

 mot's superb, and some other large varieties, 

 are perfect in the male organs, and so far 

 perfect in the female organs, as to produce 

 some large and perfect fruit, with many 

 small deformed ones. The female of the 

 Virginia Scarlet, will not, by itself, produce 

 fruit — its male will produce about half a 

 crop, of small fruit. Mr. Allen appears to 

 deem that my plan might answer, when the 

 object is to raise a few strawberries only, 

 (as he presumes we do in the West,) but 

 would not do at the East, where the object 

 is to raise 25 or 30 bushels. My tenants 

 pay but little attention to the strawberry, 

 and merely cultivate some between their 

 grape yines, in parts of the vineyard, but 

 one of them sells yearly, more than four 

 times the quantity named by Mr. Allen 

 But we have some individuals that I pre- 

 sume may compete with any Horticulturist 

 about Winchester. Mr. Culbertson sold from 

 his own ground, in our market last summer, 

 some days, 100 bushels of strawberries, prin- 

 cipally the Hudson, and he was enabled to 

 do this by his knowledge of the male and 

 female plants, and his attention to the sub- 

 ject. I am truly surprised that Mr. Allen, 

 or any other horticulturist, should doubt the 

 principle, for it is not a new theory, origi- 

 nating with me, but learnt from an ignorant 

 German female market gardener, who for 

 thirty years, both at Philadelphia and in our 

 own vicinitv, had been celebrated for raising 

 five times as many strawberries as her neigh- 

 bours, from the same quantity of ground, and 

 of much larger size. 

 On investigating the subject, I was sur- 



prised to find that Duchesne, Ehrhart, and 

 Duhamel, and all botanical writers on the 

 strawberry, since the days of Linnseus, fully 

 sustained the theory and practice of the old 

 woman, though I could not find a botanist 

 among my acquaintance, aware of the fact. 

 For years I could not from one-eighth of an 

 acre, raise enough of the Hudson strawberry 

 for my own family. I can now do it from 

 one-tenth part of the ground. There is one 

 variety of strawberry, and one only, that I 

 am acquainted with, that produces large 

 fruit, that is perfect in both the male and 

 female organs. It is of the Pine-apple fami- 

 ly, and came from the garden of Lafayette. 

 There are but few who would admire the 

 fruit. I send a sketch of the male and fe- 

 male blossom of the Hudson, which will 

 equally apply to other varieties, though the 

 same difference in the size of the blossom 

 does not exist in all species or varieties. 

 The most careless observer will at once dis- 

 cover the difference when the plants are in 

 blossom. About one male plant will be re- 

 quired for ten of the female, and there will 

 be a saving to have such males as will pro- 

 duce some fruit. I have a new variety from 

 the prairies of Iowa, perfect in the male or- 

 gans, and so far perfect in the female, as to 

 produce a fair crop of very large fruit. I 

 shall send some to Mr. Buist, of Philadel- 

 phia, Mr. Thorburn, of New York, and 

 Mr. Hovey, of Boston, and shall, with plea- 

 sure, send plants to any person who would 

 wish to procure them, if they have friends 

 here who will call for and forward them. 



Female Hudson. 



Male Hudson. 



The male organs are always attached to 

 the hull, and the female to the stem. By 

 separating the hull from the stem of the fe- 

 male, the male organs will be discovered, 

 though not before perceptible; whilst in the 

 male, they may be seen at the distance of 

 20 feet. I would recommend all persons 

 wanting faith, to refer to Rees's Encyclopae- 

 dia; article, Fragraria. 



With regard, yours, 



N. LONGWORTH. 



" For every evil under the sun, 

 There is a remedy, or there is none ; 

 If there be one, seek and find it ; 

 If there be none, never mind it." 



