262 



THE GENESEE FARMER 



August 20, 1S3I 



STRAWBERRY. 

 As the season has nearly arrived for planting 

 out beds of strawberries, and as this fruit is now 

 cultivated to considerable extent in gardens we 

 propose to copy from Loudon's Encyclopaedia of 

 Gardening, such obeervations as may be useful 

 to those who are unacquainted with, and wish to 

 cultivate this fruit. In some parts of our coun- 

 try, the cultivation of strawberries in gardens is 

 unneceseary, as they are natives of the soil, and 

 grow in such abundance in the fields that nothing 

 more than picking them is necessary : but in oth- 

 er parts the supply from the fields is altogether 

 uncertain, and what is furnished are small. As 

 the fruit is generally liked, those who would have 

 it in perfection must expect to bestow upon its cul- 

 tivation some little time or expense. The kinds 

 cultivated in gardens, are those which have been 

 selected for extra qualities, either for size or fla- 

 vor, or as being abundant bearers, and any of 

 them are capable of being increased very rapidly. 



Strawberry. — Fragaria, L. Icos. Polyg. L. 

 and Rosacea, J. Frasier, Fr. ; Erdbeerp- 

 flanze, Gei. ; and Pianta di fragola, Ital. | 

 The strawberry is a small creeping plant, 

 with a perennial root, and in general ter- 

 nate leaves. There are numerous sorts 

 by some botanists distinguished as species, 

 by others considered as only varieties. — j 

 Knight (Hort Trans, vol. iii. 207.) consid- 

 ers the grandiflora or pine, the Chiloensis or 

 Chili, and the Virginiana or common scar- 

 let, (the first supposed to be a native o! Sur- 

 inam, the second of Chili, and the third of 

 Virginia,) to be varieties only of one species ; 

 as all may be made to breed together indis- 

 criminately. The fruit has received its 

 name from the ancient practice of laying 

 straw between the rows, which keeps the 

 ground moist and the fruit clean. They are 

 natives of temperate or cold climates, as of 

 Europe and America. The fruit, though 

 termed a berry, is in correct and botanical 

 language, a fleshy receptacle, studded with 

 seeds. 



Use. The fruit is fragrant (whence fra- 

 garia,) delicious, and universally esteemed. 

 It consists amost entirely of matter soluble 

 in the stomach, and neither there nor when 

 laid in heaps and left to rot, does it undergo 

 the acetous fermentation. Hence it is very 

 nourishing, and may be safely eaten by gou- 

 ty and rheumatic persons. " In addition to 

 its grateful flavor, the subacid juice has a 

 cooling quality, particularly acceptable in 

 summer. Eaten either alone, or with sugar 

 and cream, there are few constitutions with 

 which strawberries, even when taken in large 

 quantities, are found to disagree. Further, 

 they have properties which render them, in 

 most conditions of the animal frame, posi- 

 tively salutary ; and physicians concur in 

 placing them in their small catalogue of 

 pleasant remedies. They dissolve the 

 tartareous incrustations of the teeth. — 

 They promote perspiration. Persons afflict- 

 ed with the gout have found relief from us- 

 ing them very largely : so have patients in 

 cases of the stone ; and Hoffman states, that 

 he has known consumptive people cured by 

 them. The bark of the root is astringent. - ' 

 (/l&ercromiie.) 



The species and varieties are — 

 The wood-strawberry (F. vesca) {Eng. 

 Bot. 1524. ;) with oval seriated leaves; the 

 fruit round and small, red, white, and green. 

 A native of Britain. 



The scarlet (F, virginiana) (Duh.arb. 1. 

 t. 5.) with leaves like the preceding; the 

 fruit roundish and scarlet-colored. A na- 

 tive of Virginia. Varieties. Early scarlet, 

 Wilinot's late, common late, VVilmot's cox- 

 comb scarlet. (Hort. Trans', v. 262.) 



The roseberry (F. virg. var.) (Hort. 

 Trans, ii. pi. 27. ;) an Aberdeen seedling, 

 introduced in 1G10. The plants have few 

 roundish leaves ; larger fruit than the scar- 

 let, and are very prolific. Continues bear- 

 ing till August. 



The Downton (F. vir. var. Hort. Trans. 

 ii. pi. 15.) The fruit is large, irregular, and 

 coxcomb-like; leaves large; plant hardy 

 and prolific. 



The Carolina ( F. caroliniensis ;) red, from 

 North America. Bostock. 



The musky or hautbov (F. elatior. Eng. 

 Bot 2177.;,) with oval rough javelin edged 

 leaves ; the fruit large, of a pale red color. A 

 enativ of Britain. 



The Chili (F, Chiloensis Duh arb. l.t. 

 3. ;) with large, oval, thick haiiy leaves and 

 large flowers ; the fruit large and very firm. 

 A native of South America. Keen's im- 

 perial, or new Chili (F. Chil. var. Hort. 

 Trans.ri.pl. 7.;) a large showy fruit. — 

 Keen's seedling. (Hort. Trans, v. pi. 12.^ 



The pine (F. grandiflora. Miller, icon.%. 

 t. 288 ;) the lea es small and delicate ; there 

 are two sorts the red and the white, or 

 greenish-tinted, of the most rich flavored 

 fruit. South America. Mathven castle. 

 Pincess Charlotte. 

 The Alpine or prolific (F. Collina;) which 

 commonly la«ts from June till November, 

 and in a mild season, till near Christmas; 

 two sorts of the fruit, the red and the white. 

 Alps of Europe. 



The one-leaved (F. monophylla. Bot. 

 Mag. t>3. :) the pulp of the fruit pink-col- 

 ored. South America. 



PEACHES. 



From Prince's Pumological Manual. 



EARLY CHEVREUSE. Pr. cat- 

 The flower of this tree is small; the fruit 

 of fine size, rather oblong, divided on one 

 of its sides by a very distinct^groove. one 

 bolder of which is more elevated than the 

 other ; it is terminated at the summit by a 

 small pointed nipple, and the surface is of- 

 ten scattered over with little protuberances, 

 especially towards its base ; the skin is tin- 

 ged with blight red on the sunny side; the 

 flesh is melting, replete with juice, which is 

 sweet and of very agreeable flavor, and it is 

 white except around the stone, where it be- 

 comes red ; the color of the stone is a brow- 

 nish red, and it is of a moderate size, some- 

 what elongated. This peach ripens towards 

 the middle or end of August, and the tree 

 generally yields abundant crops. 



LATE CHEVREUSE. Pr. cat. 

 The leaves of this tree are furnished at 

 their base with reniform glands ; the flow- 

 ers are rose-colored, and about ten lines in 

 breadih; the fruit is not exactly round, but 

 is sometimes a little compressed, and fre- 

 quently presents small elevations forming a 

 kind of protuberances; it is twenty-six lines 

 in diameter, and twenty-four in height; the 

 longitudinal groove, which divides it into 

 two sections, is always very distinct, and it 

 frequently happens that one side of it is 

 more swollen than the other ; the summit is 

 terminated by a very distinct nipple; the 

 skin is pale where shaded, and a line dirk 

 red where exposed to the" sun ; the flesh is 



somewhat red around the stone, but the res 

 idue is white — it is melting, and pretty a- 

 bundantin juice, which is bland, sweet, and 

 of a pleasant taste ; the stone is very elon- 

 gated, sixteen lines in length, and ten to 

 eleven broad — the point which terminates 

 it is often a line in length. This peach at- 

 tains to maturity at the end of Septem- 

 ber. 



EARLY YELLOW ALBERGE. Pr. cat 



This peach is distinguished from the pre- 

 ceding, by its being much smaller in size, 

 and ripening at a much earlier period, but 

 its flowers and leaves do not differ; it is 

 sixteen lines in diameter, and seventeen in 

 height, divided by a shallow longitudinal 

 groove, and terminated by a large pointed 

 and curved mamelon ; the skin is covered 

 with thick down, is yelljw on the side that 

 is shaded, and colored with dark red on the 

 side exposed to the sun ; the flesh is melt- 

 ing, of a fine golden yellow color, tinged 

 with red around the stone, and of a sweet 

 I flavor; the stone is brownish red, termina- 

 ting in an obtuse point, and about seven 

 I lines long and six broad. In early seasons 

 this fruit is in eating at the end of July, and 

 in ordinary years towards the middle of Au- 

 gust. I have no doubt the title adopt- 

 ed and the synonymes apply to the same 

 fruit, and I have been guided by own judg- 

 ment in their arrangement. 



MADELEINE DE COURSON. Pom. 

 mag. Pr. cat. 



L-- l. Pom. Fr. p. 292. G. Lind. in Hort. 



TRANS. VOL. V. P. 539. HoRT. SoC FRUIT. 



Cat. no. 84. 



An excellent freestone variety, ripening 

 in the end of August or beginning of Sep- 

 tember, about the time of the Grosse Mig- 

 noiine. It is very different from the Red 

 Magdalen peach of the [English] nurseries, 

 which is a larger fruit, with more color, and 

 small flowers. The tree is rather subject 

 to mildew. According to Mr Lindlev, this 

 is the true Red Magdalen peach of Miller. 

 It is remarkable for its fine, rich, vinous fla- 

 vor. 



Leaves dark green, coarsely and doubly 

 serrated, glandless; flowers large, pale 

 blush ; fruit small, globular, flattened, deep- 

 ly cleft on one side; color pale yellow, with 

 a blush of clear pink where exposed ; flesh 

 quite white, not stained at the stone, from 

 which it parts fieelv, very melting, juicy, vin- 

 ous. and rich; stone blunt, rathei large for so 

 small a fruit. — Pom. Mag. 



The worst of all. — A zealous, and in his 

 way a very eminent preacher, happened to 

 miss a constant auditor from his congrega- 

 tion. Schism had already made some dep- 

 redations on the fold, which was not so large, 

 but to a practised eye the reduction of even 

 one was perceptible. ' What keeps 0111 

 friend, farmer B. away from us?' was the 

 anxious question proposed by our vigilant 

 minister to his clerk ; 'I have not seen him 

 among us these three weeks; I hope it is 

 not Socinianism that keeps him away.' — 

 ' No, your honor,' replied the clerk, * it is 

 something worse than Socinianism!' 'God 

 forbid it shoul.l be Deism.' *No, your hon- 

 or, it is something worse than that.' 



' Worse than Deism ! Good heavens ! 1 

 trust it is not Atht ism.' ' No, your honor.it 

 is something worse than that.' ' Worse, 

 than Atheism ! impossible : nothing can be 

 worse than Atheism. 1 ' Yes it is, your hon- 

 or — it is Rheumatism.' 



