THE STRAWBERRY CULTURIST. 



THE STRAWBERRY. 



A genus of low perennial stemless herbs with run- 

 ners, and leaves divided into three leaflets ; calyx open 

 and flat ; petals five, white ; stamens ten to twenty, 

 sometimes more ; pistils numerous, crowded upon a cone- 

 like head in the center of the flower. Seeds naked on 

 the surface of an enlarged pulpy receptacle called the 

 fruit. 



The Strawberry belongs to the great Eose family, and 

 the name of the genus is Fragaria, from the Latin Fraga, 

 its ancient name. The French name of the strawberry 

 is Fraisier ; German, Erdbeerpflanze ; Italian, Planta 

 di fragola ; Dutch, Aadbezie ; Spanish, Freza. The 

 South American Spaniards call the wild Strawberries of 

 the country, Frutila. 



The well-known unstable character of the species 

 makes it rather difficult to determine the limit of varia- 

 tion, but the following classification is in accord with 

 the experience of practical cultivators of the Strawberry 

 as well as with the more recent arrangement of the spe- 

 cies in botanical works. 



Fragaria vesca. The common wild Strawberry of 

 Europe, including both the White and Red Wood, also 

 the annual and Monthly Alpine Strawberries. Of the 

 latter there are varieties with both white and red fruit, 



