SB 35 



FT 

 IW 



PBEFACE. 



It is now twenty-five years since I wrote the first 

 edition of the STRAWBERRY CULTURIST. At that time 

 but little attention had been paid to the cultivation of 

 this best of all berries, and, with the exception of an oc- 

 casional basket or crate of the Hovey and Wilson, New 

 York markets were mostly supplied with the little Crim- 

 son Cone and Scotch Runner raised in New Jersey. 



From time to time new varieties had been intro- 

 duced at home and from abroad, and by copying all the 

 names found in both European and American nursery- 

 men's catalogues, 1 was enabled to make a list of nearly 

 five hundred varieties, of which only a few survive. 

 Among these may be named the Hovey, Wilson, Triom- 

 phe de Gand, Leimig's White, Downer's Prolific and the 

 Monthly Alpines, but, with one or two exceptions, these 

 are very sparingly cultivated. The others have been dis- 

 carded for inferiority of size or flavor, lack of produc- 

 tiveness, want of adaptability to a wide range of climate 

 and soils, or for other good and sufficient reasons, and 

 their places have been filled by varieties supposed to be 

 better, and in such numbers as to confuse seekers after 

 the best. But which is or are the best of all the varieties 

 known would be a difficult question to answer ; for the 

 one that gives entire satisfaction in one section often 

 proves a failure in another, and only experiments or 

 close observation will teach one how to choose. Much 

 credit is certainly due to those who have aided in pro- 

 ducing new varieties, but the perfect Strawberry, equally 





