550 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



paper published in the Transactions of this Society.* This was 

 contributed by Mr. James Barnet, under-gardener in the fruit 

 department at Chiswick, and was presented in 1824. The descrip- 

 tions of the fruits and also of the plants, and the clearing up of the 

 many synonyms, all show a master hand, and it is safe to say that 

 had this monograph been published in book form the author would 

 have occupied to-day a prominent place among those who have 

 written on the Strawberry. It may be remarked in parenthesis that 

 Robert Thompson has shared a similar fate. His excellent mono- 

 graphs on the apricot and the cherry well deserve re-publishing. 

 In 1857 the paper of Gay upon the species and distribution of the 

 Strawberry was published {Annates des Sciences Natureltes, Serie 4, 

 Botanique, VII. pp. 185-208). This is, of course, mainly of botanical 

 interest. 



In the same year the Jardin Fruitier du Museum of Decaisne 

 was published, and the part dealing with Strawberries was entrusted 

 to Madame Elisa Vilmorin, who had, at Verrieres, gathered together 

 a remarkable collection of these fruits. The descriptions in this work 

 are evidences of the keenness and ability with which these studies 

 were carried on. By the courtesy of M. Maurice de Vilmorin I am 

 enabled to give the accompanying portrait (fig. 171). 



The next writer of prominence was the Comte Leonce de Lam- 

 bertye, whose book appeared in 1864. This writer spent the years 

 of his country retirement at Chaltrait in growing all varieties of 

 Strawberries obtainable and in the study of their history and litera- 

 ture. No more complete work on this fruit has ever been published, 

 and for the history of Strawberry development up to his day it stands 

 unrivalled. 



In 1874 Franz Goeschke published his Buck der Erdbeeren, 

 which treats of the botanical and cultural side mainly, with excellent 

 descriptions of a large number of varieties. Except for the historical 

 portions, it fills the same place in German literature as does Lam- 

 bertye's work in French. 



Since this date many small works have been published (for which see 

 bibliography at end), but no important descriptive book has appeared. 



So much careful work has been done in the study of Strawberry 

 history that it is not possible to discover much that is new. It may 

 be well, however, to emphasize once more the great importance of 

 the work of Keens and Knight, as this has been overlooked by 

 previous writers. No chapter in the history of the Strawberry is more 

 important both from its practical and from its scientific aspects. 



In conclusion the writer submits that the history of the Straw- 

 berry offers but little support to those who believe in the paramount 

 influence of cultivation in the production of new forms. Its entire 

 development has been due to the introduction of new species having 

 some quality not possessed by existing varieties and its admixture 

 with these by cross-breeding. 



* See Transactions Horticultural Society, vol. vi. (1826), p. 145. 



