Chap - x - STRAWBERRIES. 353 



strawberry, which Linnaeus doubtfully raised to the rank of a species. 

 Seedlings of this variety, like those of most varieties not fixed by long-con- 

 tinued selection, often revert to the ordinary form, or present intermediate 

 states. 110 A variety raised by Mr. Myatt, 111 apparently belonging to one of the 

 American forms, presents a variation of an opposite nature, for it has five 

 leaves ; Godron and Lambertye also mention a five-leaved variety of F. collina. 



The Eed Bush Alpine strawberry (one of the F. vesca section) does not 

 produce stolons or runners, and this remarkable deviation of structure 

 is reproduced truly by seed. Another sub-variety, the White Bush Alpine, 

 is similarly characterised, but when propagated by seed it often degenerates 

 and produces plants with runners. 112 A strawberry of the American Pine 

 section is also said to make but few runners. 113 



Much has been written on the sexes of strawberries ; the true Hautbois 

 properly bears the male and female organs on separate plants, 114 and was 

 consequently named by Duchesne dioica ; but it frequently produces her- 

 maphrodites ; and Lindley, 115 by propagating such plants by runners, at 

 the same time destroying the males, soon raised a self-prolific stock. The 

 other species often show a tendency towards an imperfect separation of the 

 sexes, as I have noticed with plants forced in a hot-house. Several English 

 varieties, which in this country are free from any such tendency when 

 cultivated in rich soils under the climate of North America 11R commonly 

 produce plants with separate sexes. Thus a whole acre of Keen's Seed- 

 lings in the United States has been observed to be almost sterile from the 

 absence of male flowers ; but the more general rule is, that the male plants 

 overrun the females. Some members of the Cincinnati Horticultural 

 Society, especially appointed to investigate this subject, report that "few 

 varieties have the flowers perfect in both sexual organs," &c The most 

 successful cultivators in Ohio, plant for every seven rows of « pistillata - or 

 female plants, one row of hermaphrodites, which afford pollen for both 

 kinds; but the hermaphrodites, owing to their expenditure in the produc- 

 tion of pollen, bear less fruit than the female plants 



The varieties differ in constitution. Some of our best English kinds, 

 such as Keen's Seedlings are too tender for certain parts of North 

 America where other Enghsh and many American varieties succeed per- 

 fectly That splendid fruit, the British Queen, can be cultivated bnt in 

 few places either in England or France; but this apparently depends more 



^^^ SOil rVv^n 1 ^-' ^-ousgaJdenLaysX 



no mortal could grow the British Queen at Shrubland Park unless the 



whole nature of the soil was altered." 1 * La Constantinal Tone of the 



J Godron 'Do 1'Esp^,' torn. i. p. ^^ the American strawberries, 



111 ' Gardener's Chron./ 1851, p. 440. 7en^Zf ■ T^S' P " ^ '' ' Gai " 



™ F. Gloede, in ■ Gariener's cL,,' p^ ^™*> * ™ > »», 



1862, p. 1053. 117 M r» tj 



"8 Downing's « Fruits,' p. 532. denpr - i«« ' ea *° n ' in ' °° ttage Gar " 



»< Barnet, in < Hort. Transact./ vol. GarSne r l^ f «f" f ° ' ^ 



vi. p. 210. a t] . , ' ™' P- 88 > aild many other 



«■ ' Gardener's Chron,' 1847, p. 539. Gloede in ' fl2? ^ C ™ tiaent > see F ' 

 ™ For the several statement, with p 1053 '" ' Chronicle >' 1862 > 



2 A 



