CULTURE OF THE STRAWBERRY. 127 



fruit in the vicinity to swell immediately, and he placed more 

 vials of staminate blossoms in different parts of the bed, and 

 had a fine crop. His letter will be found in the Transactions 

 of the London Horticultural Society for that year. What 

 was true in 1809, will be found still to be true. I have fur- 

 ther evidence of the character of the plant in England. Fif- 

 teen years since, I imported several varieties of strawberries 

 from London, and among them I had both staminate and pis- 

 tillate plants, but not one variety in which both organs were 

 perfect in all the blossoms. The staminate varieties bore 

 from one-tenth to one-third of a crop. Under the name of 

 Keen's Seedling, I got a pistillate plant, that impregnated, 

 produces abundantly, and the fruit is large and fine. By 

 themselves, an acre would not produce a perfect berry. It is 

 not, what in England is generally known by the name of 

 Keen's Seedling. — Mr. Keen raised many varieties. The true 

 Keen, is a staminate plant, and is more perfect in both organs 

 than is usual, and produces a partial crop of large fruit. I 

 incline to the belief, that for market, their gardeners cultivate 

 the same seedling of his as the one sent me, and probably 

 the same kind he impregnated by hand. It is truly a valu- 

 able kind, and worth twenty of the staminate seedlings. The 

 staminate Keen is cultivated for forcing, and as the object is 

 large fruit, all the blossoms are picked off, except three or 

 four that set first. 



But it will be asked, if true, why is not this known to botan- 

 ists, and to all our nurserymen who raise the plant for sale. 

 The reasons are obvious. The strawberry belongs to a class 

 of plants that have both the male and female organs in the 

 same blossom. In all the white varieties I have seen, and in 

 the Alpines, both organs are always perfect in the same blos- 

 som. Both organs existing in all other varieties, though not 

 both perfect in all the blossoms, the attention of botanists is 

 not directed to it, or where noticed, is supposed to be an ac- 

 cidental defect. In all the other species and varieties I have 



