32 Haiitbois and Hudsoji Bay Strawberries. 



We will take it for granted that a new variety of straw- 

 berry is raised from seed — that it comes into bearing, and 

 is found to be sterile when placed by itself — but that in the 

 vicinity of male plants it produces fruit. Now will it ever 

 depart from its sterile character? Will the runners, which 

 are emitted from the old plant, prove to be both male and 

 female, or will they take the habit of the parenf '? Mr. 

 Longworth states himself that they would not '• produce a 

 plant of a different character were they to run for fifty 

 years r' (Vol. VIII. p. 259.) 



If it is argued that of course the variety will not change, 

 how comes it that there are male and female Hudson Bay, 

 and, as Mr. liOngworth states, also male and female Keen's 

 Seedling? How happens this deviation from a known law? 

 AVill it not be more reasonable to suppose that they are 

 two different strawberries : that only one is the Hudson 

 Bay, and the oiher some different and worthless variety, 

 which, by carelessness, has become intermixed. To us this 

 seems very probable. It is well known that Mr. Keen nev- 

 er produced but one plant originally of his seedling, and 

 yet we hear of male and female Keen's seedling. 



Here we have a direct contradiction. A plant will not 

 be produced of a different character were they to run fifty 

 years., and yet Keen's Seedling, raised from a single seed in 

 IS21, has male and female plants. Before making state- 

 ments on this subject, would it not be well to ascertain cor- 

 rectly, if possible, what the variety really is upon which 

 such experiments are tried? It would certainly tend to 

 give such statements more weight. Mr. Longworth had 

 his Keen's Seedlings from Philadelphia, and the Keen's 

 Seedling of most of the Philadelphia Gardens is the Meth- 

 ven Scarlet. Here we think we have some idea of his 

 male and female plants; one being the Methven, which is 

 known to often produce sterile plants, and the other some 

 different kind. Mr. Longworth's theory is exploded by his 

 own assertion, that a strawberry will not produce a plant 

 of a different character " were it to run for fifty years.'' If 

 there is in reality such a thing as one variety all fertile and 

 another all sterile, there is no such thing as male and female 

 of the same variety. 



The barrenness of the Hautbois strawberry, under the 

 experiment of our correspondent, goes to prove, if it pi'oves 

 anything, that plants may be what are called female or 



