LUTHER BURBANK 



ing too soon. Unless Nature should produce a 

 chance sport that is without seeds, or nearly so, 

 somewhat like the nearly stoneless plum, the task 

 of removing the seeds of the strawberry by mere 

 selection would prove an arduous one. 



Yet, as I said, it can doubtless be accomplished; 

 and the game is thoroughly worth the candle. 

 ORIGIN OF THE CULTIVATED STRAWBERRY 



Partly because all strawberries are so much 

 alike, it has been unusually difficult to trace the 

 origin of this fruit. But it is known that the mod- 

 ern varieties have been developed in a period of 

 not more than two centuries. 



The strawberry has indeed been under cultiva- 

 tion for an indefinite period. But the ancients 

 were doubtless content, as we know that the 

 moderns were until a few generations ago, with a 

 small berry scarcely superior to the ones that grow 

 wild in many regions of America. The systematic 

 cultivation of the fruit began in England after new 

 species of strawberry were introduced from 

 North and South America. 



But the really notable progress did not take 

 place until the South American species known as 

 Fragaria Chiloensis was introduced early in the 

 eighteenth contury from Chili. 



Nor indeed was there any immediate improve- 

 ment from the introduction of this fruit. But 



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