LETTER VIII. 



THE ROSE TRIBE BUDDING AND GRAFTING- 



THE PEA TRIBE. 



(Plate VIII.) 



You, perhaps, remember, when you were begin- 

 ning to study Botany, how you fell into the error of 

 supposing that the Strawberry belongs to the Crow- 

 foot tribe, and that I then explained to you the cause 

 of your mistake. In this letter I propose to take the 

 Strawberry, for the purpose of illustrating the natu- 

 ral order to which it belongs, which we call the Rose 

 trihe^ because the Rose is one of the genera com- 

 prehended in it. I am sure, that the mere mention 

 of this favourite plant, will ensure your attention to 

 the history of its relations. 



The Strawberry (Fragaria) is a herb with three- 

 parted leaves, and a pair of large membranous sti- 

 pules at their base (Plate VIII. I. 1. a.). The 

 veins of the leaves are netted. When the Straw- 

 berr}' plant is about to multiply itself, it puts forth 

 naked shoots of two sorts : one of them is prostrate 

 on the ground, and ends . in a tuft of leaves, which 

 root into the soil, thus forming a new plant ; or, as it 



