STRAWBERRY. CAPERS. 153 
169. The STRAWBERRY (Fragaria vesca) is a British 
wood fruit which has been long cultivated in gardens. 
By cultivation the strawberry has been greatly in- 
creased in size, but its flavour continues much the same 
as that of the wild fruit. The varieties of the straw- 
berry are very numerous. 
None of our fruits are more wholesome than these, 
and, even when eaten in large quantities, they seldom 
disagree with the stomach. They abound in juice, 
have a grateful, cooling, somewhat acid taste, and a 
peculiarly fragrant smell; and are either eaten alone, 
or with sugar, milk, or wine. A palatable jam, wine, 
and vinegar, are prepared from strawberries. This 
fruit is sometimes preserved whole in syrup, and some- 
times in wine. 
CLASS IV. POLYANDRIA. 
MONOGYNIA. 
170. CAPERS are the unopened flower-buds of a low shrub 
(Capparis spinosa, Fig. 48), zvhich grows from the crevices 
of rocks and walls, and among rubbish, in the southern parts of 
France, in Italy, and the Levant. 
The stems of the caper bush are trailing, and tzvo or three 
feet in length. The leaves are alternate, of somezchat oval 
shape, veined, and of bright green colour: and the flowers 
are large and beautiful, with four petals, and white with a 
tinge of red. 
In the south of France, the caper bush is as com- 
mon as the bramble is with us. It grows wild upon the 
walls of Rome, Sienna, and Florence; and when trained 
against a wall, it flourishes even in the neighbourhood 
of Paris : notwithstanding which it is almost unknown 
in English gardens, where it cannot be made to flower 
without the aid of artificial heat. This shrub is culti- 
