Titfi CANADIAN HOItTlCirLTUKIST. o7 



WILSON'S ALBANY STRAWBERRY. 



It is both interesting and profitable to take a look at the changes 

 which time makes in the horticultural world, and sweeping the eye 

 over the space of a quarter of a century, gather up some of the lessons 

 which the retrospect may teach. It is now a little more than twenty- 

 five years ago that the late James Wilson, a nurseryman of Albany, in 

 the State of New York, raised several seedling strawberry plants from 

 seed of the Ross Phoenix, Hovey and Black Prince. It is not sup- 

 posed that he endeavored to combine the qualities of any of them by 

 means of artificial cross-fertilization, but inasmuch as the plants of 

 these varieties were growing in near proximity, trusted to natural 

 means for any impregnation of the one by pollen of the other. Of 

 these seedlings only one gave promise of being valuable. This one he 

 preserved and multiplied, and in the Summer of 1853 exhibited some 

 of the plants in bearing at the exhibition of the Albany Horticultual 

 Society. But his exhibit at that time did not attract much attention. 

 His failure to excite any interest in the minds of others in his new 

 seedling strawberry did not prevent him from bringing it forward 

 again the following Summer. He now showed a number of the plants 

 in pots, laden with fruit, and such was the size and number of the 

 berries upon each plant that people were astonished, curiosity was ex- 

 cited, and public attention fairly aroused to the examination of the 

 claims of this new strawberry. Intelligent and experienced cultivators 

 of fruit clustered around the stand on which the plants were displayed, 

 and many then united in the opinion that for productiveness, size of 

 berry, firmnness of flesh and good flavor, it would surpass any then 

 known variety as a valuable market strawberry. 



And what were the varieties that were then relied upon for home 

 and market purposes? We find on looking back, that in 1846 the then 

 great American authority in horticulture, A. J. Downing, names 

 Hovey's Seedling and Black Prince as best adapted for extensive cul- 

 ture for market ; and for the two best sorts for family use, one early 

 and one at the middle season, he names Large Early Scarlet as the 

 best of all early sorts, and for the other, Hovey's Seedling or Black 

 Prince, adding that the two latter are both large fruits, productive and 

 excellent. The varities then most in cultivation were the Black 



