THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRAWBERRY. 543 



The one-leaved form, F. monophylla, has a curious and interesting 

 history, which shows how identical sports may arise both under 

 cultivation and in the wild state at different periods. The first 

 record of this form is in a picture by Holbein, which is now in the 

 Pinakothek at Munich. This must have been painted in the early 

 part of the sixteenth century. Secondly, it was recorded by Linnaeus 

 as occurring wild in Lapland, and lastly its appearance in a bed of 

 F. vesca at Versailles in 1761 is described by Duchesne (fig. 165). 



The next variety of importance was the so-called Alpine Straw- 

 berry (fig. 166) , the origin of which has been the cause of much dis- 

 cussion. The sole point of difference from F. vesca is its habit of pro- 

 ducing autumnal fruits. As is well known, F. vesca will, under certain 

 conditions of moisture and temperature, produce retarded flowers late 

 in the season, and this fact makes it difficult to distinguish it, when 

 growing wild, from the true Alpine variety, in which the autumnal 

 production is a definite and regular character. The first mention 

 of this variety is probably that of Jerome Bock or Tragus in 1530. 

 Conrad Gesner also mentions it, and his description leaves no doubt 

 of its identity. " Fraga vera tota aestate florent inque maximam 

 autumni partem " (De Stirpium Collectione, 1553). His special study 

 of alpine flora rather tends to the opinion that this plant is not of 

 garden origin. It was probably not until the eighteenth century 

 that it became a garden plant. About 1768 it was described by 

 Miller in his Dictionary as a rarity, and it was generally believed 

 to have been introduced from Turin. From this time it was rapidly 

 distributed in Holland and France. In 1764 Duhamel du Monceau 

 received seed from Mont Cenis, which would seem to establish its 

 alpine origin. 



Since this date many varieties of this species have appeared in 

 gardens. The most striking was the * Gaillon,' so called from the 

 locality of its origin, where it was found by M. le Baude about 1825. 

 This is a variety without runners which is known in France as the 

 " buisson," and is still largely used for borders in the kitchen garden. 

 Red and white fruited forms exist, as also in the original Alpine 

 Strawberry. 



Many varieties with large fruits have been since brought forward. 

 In 1855 the ' Reine des Quatre Saisons ' was introduced by M. Gautier, 

 a cultivator who made a fortune at the time of the Second Empire by 

 the cultivation of Alpine Strawberries for market. The great popu- 

 larity of the Alpine Strawberry at this time caused the forcing of 

 this variety to be largely undertaken, and growers selected their 

 own seedlings and kept the stock carefully to themselves, and they 

 were known on the Paris markets by the raisers' names. The well- 

 known ' Millet ' was one of these. It is, of course, impossible to say 

 how much, if at all, these improved varieties owed their size to crossing 

 with other larger-fruited types, but the following experiment of 

 M. Henri de Vilmorin is of interest in this connexion. 



Plants of Alpine Strawberries growing in the neighbourhood of 



