180 MODERN STRAWBERRY GROWING 
is small, oblong or sharp-pointed, having 
varieties that are either red or white. The 
plants are thin and very slender, with leaflets 
of a pale-green colour. This was of the 
type of our first strawberries quite similar to 
the Fressant. 
These European types, which are grown 
in some parts of continental Europe, especi- 
ally in France and Switzerland, are, however, 
in England and America, but little more than 
rarities or curiosities. This being the case, 
it is more desirable to direct attention to the 
class of large American and European straw- 
berries. This latter type, although profit- 
ably grown in all temperate countries, seems 
to have come to great prominence first in 
England, where considerable experimenting 
was done. It is furthermore the only Ameri- 
can market strawberry. 
The common small species of eastern 
America, which is known to botanists as 
Fragaria Virginiana, was the first foreign 
strawberry to reach Europe. Mention, as 
well as the first distinct record of this event, 
was made in 1624 by Jean and Vespasian 
Robin, who were at that time gardeners to 
Louis XIII. No new or striking forms were 
