Where the Strawberry Comes From 



MOST popular of all the fruits, the 

 strawberry has a history of large 

 interes. although its earlier rec- 

 ords are veiled in uncertainty. Botani- 

 cally a member of the great rose family, it 

 is of the order Fragaria, a Latin word 

 from which we derive the English 

 "fragrant," or a plant with sweet odors. 

 The Fragaria family is divided into five 

 species, namely, Fragaria vesca, or Al- 

 pine", F. Flatior, or "Hautbois"; F. In- 

 dica, or "Indian"; F. Chiloensis, or 

 "Chilian"; F. Virginiana, or "Virginian." 

 The Hautbois and Alpine varieties are 

 little known in this country except among 

 amateurs. 1'hey are never grown for 

 commercial purposes here. In Europe, 

 however, they are prized highly as dessert 

 fruits. They are found to some extent 

 in the more northern latitudes of North 

 America, and in some of the states west 

 of the Rocky Mountains. The seeds are 

 on the surface of the fruit, and never de- 

 pressed or sunken within a cavity. 



The Virginian strawberrj' is the most 

 common species found in our country, 

 and prevails quite extensively in all sec- 

 tions east of the Rocky Mountains. It 

 is the most fragrant strawberry known, 

 and is celebrated for its highly aromatic 

 perfume, while the fruit is rich, sweet, 

 and firm. The seeds in this species are 

 deeply imbedded in a cavity or pit. 



1 he South American species is widely 

 distributed throughout the west coast of 

 America, from as far north as Alaska, to 

 Chile and other countries of South Amer- 

 ica. The seeds are imbedded, but not so 

 deeply as those of the Virginian, and the 

 fruit is larger and sweeter than that of any 

 other species. Many varieties of it have 

 been grown in this country, but in recent 

 years, have become so mixed and improved 

 by cultivation and by crossing with the F. 

 Virginiana that it would now be a difficult 

 matter to find either species in its typical 

 form. 



F. Indica is a native of northern India. 

 It has a yellow bloom and does verj' well 

 in window baskets, but the fruit is dry 

 and tasteless. 



Historians do not agree upon many 

 points concerning the strawberr)', but from 

 an interesting paper recently read by 

 Prof. George A. Cole of the Arkansas 

 Experiment Station we are indebted for 

 the facts which appear below. Prof. 

 Cole calls attention to the fact that the 

 improved varieties of today are the de- 

 scendants of Virginiana and Chiloensis 

 forbears, the latter being the favorite 

 stock of the European gardeners. The 

 varieties evoluted from this species are 

 not so hardy as from the Virginiana. 

 1 he mild climate of France and England 

 and the intensive culture practiced by the 

 gardeners of those countries, causes the 

 Chiloensis and its varieties to respond 



bountifully. It is asserted by a well- 

 known writer on horticulture that ninety- 

 nine-hundredths of all the strawberries of 

 commerce are from the two species, the 

 Virginiana and the Chiloensis. 



It is said that the law of race extends 

 to strawberry plants. As in the most re- 

 fined and cultivated peoples there is a 

 strain of the old native stock, which ever 

 remains a source of weakness or strength, 

 so the new varieties indicate in the ordi- 

 nary rough and timible of field culture, 

 as practiced in this locality, whether they 

 have derived their life from the hardy F. 

 Virginiana or the tender and fastidious F. 

 Chiloensis. A variety from the former 

 adapts itself to conditions extremely var- 



Taking Their Winter Sleep 



By Ralph Schepers 



NEATH a blanket of mulch and 

 a snowy white spread. 

 The plants are asleep in the strawberry 



bed; 

 The mother plants dormant, the chil- 

 dren a-doze 

 All safe and secure in the well matted 

 rows. 



While the plants are thus sleeping, the 



owners may dream, 

 Of coming big berries, of sugar 'and 



cream: 

 Of reward for all toil in the fruit they 



will yield; 

 For no labor is lost in the strawberry 



field. 



Holland, Mich. 



led; while a variety from the latter needs 

 all the care of an expert gardener to make 

 it remunerative. 



The capacity of the Virginiana straw- 

 berry for improvement is shown by the pro- 

 duction of the older but excellent varie- 

 ties, such as Hovey's Seedling, \Vilson's 

 Seedling, Charles Downing and Sharpless. 

 In our own time Michel's Early, the 

 Crescent and Lady Thompson exemplify 

 its usefulness as a stock from which to 

 evolve commercial varieties. 



Prof. Cole sa\s that historically the 

 fragaria vesca or "Alpine" strawberry is 

 the first on record. It is the strawberry 

 of the ancients. I am not sure but that 

 Adam's fall was caused by this straw- 

 berry rather than an apple. It is the 

 "Alpine" that Virgil kriew when he 

 wrote the following lines: 



"Ye boys that gather flowers and strawberries, 

 Lo hid within the grass an adder lies." 



This species grows wild throughout 

 northern and central Europe. In Amer- 

 ica it is found in all the mountain re- 

 gions from the northern Atlantic to the 

 Pacific. 



The "wood strawberrj'" of England 

 is a variety of the "Alpine," the only dif- 



P»«e 37 



ference being in the shape of the fruit. 

 The "wood" is round, while the "Al- 

 pine" is conical. 



One of the earliest pastimes of the 

 English people was to go "a-strawberry- 

 ing. In the "Fairie Queen" we find 

 these lines- 



"One day as they all three altogether went 

 To the green wood to gather strawberries, 

 There chanst to them a dangerous accident. " 



Shakespeare alludes to the strawberry 

 in the play of "Henry V." An earlier 

 bishop of Ely says: "The straw- 

 berry grows underneath the nettle, and 

 wholesome berries thrive and ripen best 

 neighbored by fruit of baser quality." 



The Alpine and the wood strawberries 

 tend to reproduce themselves with such 

 unvarying exactness that they remain 

 about what they were centuries ago. 

 Cultivation does not change them. 



In connection with the white and red 

 wood strawberries and Alpine straw- 

 berries, the Elatior or "Hautbois" is men- 

 tioned in the year 1623. This latter 

 species is native of Germany and does 

 not differ materially from the "Alpine 

 in its tenacity to hold on to its "old self." 

 It, like the others mentioned, is incapa- 

 ble of being improved by the best culti- 

 vation, nor do the seedlings from it vary 

 from the parent. Cross-fertilization 

 would doubtless effect a change and 

 thereby give us a hardy if not a prolific 

 variety. 



The horticulturist is at the end of his 

 row to improve a species when it fails to 

 vary from the original. It is his province 

 to assist nature in causing the "fittest to 

 survive." 



From reliable records we find that the 

 English and French gardeners cultivated 

 the strawberry as far back as the fifteenth 

 century. As there were plenty of wild 

 strawberries of good size, and of the very 

 finest flavor, along the Atlantic slope, it 

 was not necessary for the early settlers to 

 cultivate them. But as towns and cities 

 grew up these furnished a market for 

 more than nature unassisted could supplw 

 Hence the farseeing gardener transplanted 

 the wild Virginiana into his grounds. As 

 close cultivation made larger berries, and 

 as larger berries commanded higher prices, 

 it was a short step of reason to demand 

 the best and biggest berry. The busi- 

 ness of raising strawberries for the market 

 first started with the gardeners around 

 New York, Washington, Norfolk, Rich- 

 mond and other coast cities and towns of 

 the eastern states. 



The cities of New York and Washing- 

 ton demanded berries before they ripened in 

 their own gardens, hence the business of 

 raising the berry farther south became 

 more remunerative about Norfolk and 

 Portsmouth than farther north. It was 



