334 HISTORY OF FRUITS. 



In the monastery of Bathalla, in Portugal, is the 

 tomb of Don John, son of King John the First, of Por- 

 tugal, which is ornamented by the representation of 

 strawberries ; this prince having chosen them for his crest, 

 to shew his devotion to St. John the Baptist, who lived 

 on fruits. 



The yellow-flowered strawberry, fragaria indie a, is a 

 native of the mountains of the Indian continent ; it was 

 first discovered by Dr. Buchanan on the sand by the sides 

 of rivers in Nepaul ; and was introduced into this country 

 by Mr. Charles Grevill, who cultivated it at Paddington 

 in 1804. We have tasted this fruit in the nursery- 

 grounds of Mr. Hugh Ronalds at Brentford, but found 

 the strawberry pithy and still more disagreeable than 

 insipid ; its only merit as a fruit is novelty : as a plant it 

 is curious, possessing the bloom of the cinquefoil and the 

 fruit of the strawberry, which is of a bright poppy colour, 

 and in shape more like the fruit of the arbutus than that 

 of the strawberry, being quite globular. In the green- 

 house it is ornamental, as its red tendrils trail over the 

 shelves, and embellish them with its bright yellow flowers 

 and glowing red fruit at the same time. 





