THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRAWBERRY. 549 



of Verrieres, raised the variety ' Dr. Morere.' This fruit in France 

 is now as widely grown as is ' Royal Sovereign ' in England, and is 

 very probably a descendant of ' Elton.' 



In America 1 Keens' Seedling ' was soon introduced, and already 

 in 1837 a seedling of great merit, ' Ross Phoenix,' had been raised 

 from it. 



Space will not permit a detailed report of the varieties raised 

 in Germany by Goeschke, in France by Gautier, Dr. Nicaise, and 

 Gloede, and in Belgium by De Jonghe. Many of their seedlings 

 had a vogue in this country for many years, but they were over- 

 shadowed by the remarkable work of Laxton in England, who 

 initiated and carried on a series of experiments in Strawberry 

 raising which have probably never been equalled in extent. 



Thomas Laxton (fig. 170) started his experiments about 1865, 

 and from the first carried them out with the greatest perseverance. 

 His first work was mainly with garden peas, but on his removal to 

 Bedford in 1878, when he was able to devote his whole time to cross- 

 breeding, he gave much attention to the Strawberry. His first 

 great success was with ' Noble,' which was introduced in 1884. This 

 variety was probably the only one of his introductions which was a 

 natural hybrid. The same year saw the first appearance in commerce 

 of ' King of the Earlies,' ' Duchess of Edinburgh,' ' Captain,' and 

 in 1892 ' Royal Sovereign ' appeared. This remarkable variety, a 

 cross between ' King of the Earlies ' and ' Noble,' was in its way 

 as great an advance as ' Keens' Seedling,' and it still remains the 

 type of highest excellence. Its influence on succeeding varieties has 

 been great, but it may safely be said that since its day no new sort 

 has stood out with such prominence. 



Since then the greatest advance has been in the production of 

 later varieties. ' Latest of All ' was introduced by Laxton Brothers 

 in 1894, and ' Givons Late Prolific,' raised by Mr. Peters, of Givons 

 Gardens, Leatherhead, provided a new standard for these later fruits. 



Of the autumnal fruiting varieties it is not necessary to speak 

 in detail, as a full and lucid account was given by M. Henri de Vil- 

 morin in the Journal of this Society, vol. xxii. Part 3 (1899). The 

 combination >f the large size with the autumn-fruiting character 

 was only reached after much disappointing trial, and it was not until 

 the introduction in 1893 of ' St. Joseph ' that a really satisfactory 

 result was accomplished. Since then many excellent varieties have 

 been brought forward, ?nd one of the latest, ' St. Fiacre,' which was 

 introduced in 1911, probably represents the highest achievement 

 in this section. 



Having now briefly discussed the development of the Strawberry 

 and the work of those to whom it was due, there remains another 

 class of workers who, though not raisers themselves, were interested 

 in the fruit on the systematic or literary side. The first of these 

 was Duchesne, of whom mention has been made above. 



The next detailed treatment of importance is the remarkable 



