THE OLEANDER, 



187 



Darac, Emilie, Madame Dubois, Socur Agn s, 

 and Souvenir de Julie. Shades of rose, salmon, 

 and crimson — Atropurpureum, Delphine, 

 Docteur Golfin, Emile Sahut, Jean Peyre, 

 M. Balaguier, Professeur Martins, Souvenir 

 de Cazalis Allut, variegata, and many others. 

 Shades of yellow — Aurantiacum, Felix Bour- 

 guet, Maguelone, and jaune-nankin. 



Flowers double or semi-double, white or 

 slightly tinted — Amabilis, Madame Peyre, and 

 Madoni grandiflorum. Shades of rose, crimson, 

 and purple — Edouard Andre, Gilbert Bravy, 

 Henri Mares, Laure, Madame Planchon, Pau- 

 line Lucas, Pierre Roudier, Professeur Du- 

 chartre, Professeur Parlatore, radianum, re- 

 quiem, sinensis flore pleno, Souvenir de Felix 



Dunal, and splendens giganteum. Shades of 

 yellow — flavescens, Giardino Rovelli, luteum 

 pleno, and Professeur Durand. 



Sour Strawberries. — Many who grow 

 Strawberries may have had opportunities lately 

 of knowing too well the poor flavour of many 

 of the new vaunted kinds. It is a mistake to 

 exchange good old kinds for new, until we are 

 quite sure of the quality of the new. It is the 

 custom of the trade to value fruits for other 

 reasons than the essential one of quality, and 

 none of those we have recently tasted are as 

 good as the old kinds, like Keen's Seedling, 

 Vicomtesse, and, above all, British Queen. 

 Thousands of Strawberries have been raised in 

 England, France, Germany, and America, 

 since Myatt's, of Deptford, raised this precious 

 Strawberry, and it is still by far the most deli- 

 cate, and the best of all kinds ever raised. Yet 

 many gardens have not this fruit, and there is 

 a prevalent notion that it is difficult to culti- 

 vate. This may be true in certain soils, but we 

 think in much fewer than is generally sup- 

 posed. It is thought that light soils are against 

 it, yet we have lately had some of, perhaps, the 

 finest we remember tasting from dry, poor 

 loam; and Covent Garden is supplied from 

 cool soils in Essex and Kent, as well as from 

 rather lighter ones in Surrey. So perfect a fruit 

 should be grown wherever there is any hope of 

 growing it, and no points in cultivation should 

 be neglected to secure a good result. Vicom- 

 tesse and Marguerite Lebreton are the best 

 French kinds, neither of large size, but good in 

 colour and flavour. The latter is the best early 

 sort, coming in a fortnight or more before the 



main crop, its fruits long and tapering, and very 

 sweet. In many parts, especially the south, its 

 fruiting season lasts into early autumn, but 

 the climate favours a longer strawberry-season 

 than ours. The importance of markets in our 

 time leads to quite secondary qualities being 

 preferred in Strawberries, such as those that 

 will endure carriage, which means the worst 

 quality that can be chosen for those who have 

 to eat them. Strawberries that are merely good 

 to endure the rough journey to the markets 

 are rarely worth growing in a private place, 

 and all who have gardens should resist the ten- 

 dency of the trade to push such varieties or 

 mere novelties of doubtful value. It is not a 

 question of taste or pleasure merely, because 

 the common Strawberry disagrees violently 

 with many people, and is sometimes con- 

 demned by the leading doctors. We do not 

 think the Strawberry should be blamedfor this, 

 because there is such a wide range of variety in 

 kinds, just as in Pears and Apples there are 

 kinds that are perfectly wholesome, and others 

 the opposite. So it is with the Strawberry ; a 

 well-ripened and well-flavoured fruit is quite 

 different in its effects from the sour fruits of 

 the market. 



Ce n'est pas comme la botanique, — qui 

 vous apprend a dessecher les fleurs et a les 

 injurier en grec. L'horticulture vous enseigne 



I a les rendre plus belles et plus heureuses. — 



I Alphonse Karr. 



