

s^my 



STRAWBERRIES. 



Those of us who are now actively engaged in strawberr}'-culture can 

 remember when there were only two varieties of this fruit in cultivation in 

 the best gardens of INIassachusetts, and when it was grown in very limited 

 quantities for the market. We well remember when some of our neighbors 

 picked daily fifty to a hundred boxes ; and that was all that could well be 

 disposed of at fair prices. The varieties then cultivated were the Wood 

 and Early Virginia ; the former an imported variety, the latter an American 

 sort. Neither of these was large : but the Wood had at least two points 

 of merit, — it parted freely from the hull, so that it could be picked directly 

 into the boxes ; and it also possessed a flavor much admired by the lovers 

 of this fruit. In time, some more foreign sorts were introduced ; but they 

 were not hardy enough to withstand the scorching suns of summer and blast- 

 ing colds of winter, and they were not successfully or extensively cultivated. 

 In 1834, our esteemed friend C. M. Hovey conceived the idea of crossing 

 some of the foreign varieties, with the hope of producing a variety that should 

 be hardy enough to endure our seasons, and productive enough to warrant 



