THE CULTIVATOR. 
279 
THE STRAWBERRY. 
To the Editor of the Cultivator — I met with 
your Cultivator yesterday, and noticed with pleasure the 
just observations you have made on several occasions, on 
the character of the strawberry plant. Your plate of the 
blossoms,* should be republished yearly, at the period 
of blossoming. Cultivators will daily see the swelling 
of the perfect fruit of the one, and the total, or partial 
sterility of the other. The plate has one error. The 
blossoms are represented as of the same size. The sta¬ 
in inate blossom, is always the larger blossom, and often 
double the size of the other. 
I saw in a late horticultural paper, a flattering descrip¬ 
tion of Codman’s Seedling, speaking of it as a great bear¬ 
er, fine flavor, and superior in size to all others, and 
lauding its great variety of shape. The measurement giv¬ 
en averages about four inches in circumference, which 
is below the standard of many other varieties. The plant 
I have not seen, but the various shapes of the fruit, which 
the writer so much admires, convinces me it never will 
be valuable for a general crop. The fruit is of various 
forms , in consequence of its being a staminate plant, and 
partially defective in the female organs. It is barely pos¬ 
sible that it is a pistillate plant, and the defect in form 
occasioned 'by the want of staminate plants near. It may 
prove a very valuable variety to cultivate with pistillate 
plants, as it will cause every one of those blossoms to 
produce a perfect fruit, and produce a partial crop of its 
own. 
The Ross Phoenix is described in your work, as having 
leaves 5| inches in diameter. Is there not a slip of the 
pen in this? I last spring, for the first and only time, 
saw this variety in blossom, in a small box. The leaf 
was not of unusual size. It was a blossom perfect in sta¬ 
mens, and the pistils more perfect than I have ever seen 
them, in any but a pistillate plant, except in one instance, 
and it will doubtless be valuable for impregnation; but 
if it is capable of perfecting all its fruit, it will be a pro¬ 
digy, should the fruit be of large size. I do not believe 
in this, for the blossoms are not all perfect in both or¬ 
gans, or the fruit would not have a variety of shapes, 
which I am informed is the fact. It is time the question 
was settled. 
In Cincinnati, where the male and female character of 
the plant is fully believed in by all market gardeners, a 
single individual has brought from his grounds 120 bush¬ 
els to market in a single day; and towards the close of 
the market the finest fruit is sold as low as three cents 
per quart. The strawberry most cultivated for market, 
is the Old Hudson. I deem it one of the best flavored, 
and the most profitable for a general crop. It is of large 
size, and bears carriage. By itself, an acre would not 
produce even a defective berry, and the character of the 
plant not being generally understood, many have ceased 
to cultivate it. It is not known in Boston. Mr. Downing 
has not described it in his work, but in the place of’it 
the English Hudson, which is an inferior fruit. I know 
that 50 years since it was cultivated in this State more 
than all others, and is still the favorite market fruit in 
Philadelphia. 
In 1842, Mr. Hovey, as I discover by your paper, 
admitted my account of his seedling was true. That 
it was defective in its male organs, and required to be 
planted with staminate ones—in 1844, that he came out 
with a different doctrine,—that his original plant was 
perfect in both organs, but a few of the runners hail be¬ 
come defective in the male or female organs, by high 
cultivation. A strange doctrine this. There is at times, 
by high cultivation, a disposition in flowers to become 
double. When cultivation changes the sexes of the 
strawberry (which it never has to my belief,) it will be 
by forcing out the defective male organs in the pistillate 
plant, and to increase, not destroy them in the staminate 
one. In favorable seasons, or by forcing, Kean's Seed¬ 
ling, and other staminate plants that are partially perfect 
in both organs, will have the pistils better developed 
than usual, and have the crop of fruit increased. 
But my views are in opposition to the theory of your 
* Cultivator, vol. 9, p. 165. 
very intelligent and observing horticulturist, Mr. Down¬ 
ing, and his opinion is entitled to the greater weight, as 
he is supported in his views, not only by Mr. Hovey, but 
by all the intelligent and thorough-bred Scotch and Eng¬ 
lish gardeners I have ever met with, who all contend 
that Kean’s Seedling, was a great and uniform bearer in 
England and Scotland, and that all their other varieties 
were there perfect, in both organs, and uniformly pro¬ 
ductive. High and numerous as these authorities are, I 
do not believe one word of it. In stiff soils, Kean’s 
Seedling will bear better than in a light dry one. There 
is no soil or climate in which it will perfect all its blos¬ 
soms. If Mr. Downing's theory be true, that all natural 
plants are perfect in both organs, but that a few become 
defective in the one organ or the other, by high cultiva¬ 
tion, how comes it, that in your field of natural plants, 
you have barren and bearing patches?—patches barren 
from being all staminate or pistillate-—patches prolific 
from the presence of both. If his doctrine be true, why 
is the pistillate blossom always much smaller than the 
staminate? Why is it, that in raising from seed (and 
surely seedlings are natural plants,) that in general, there 
are as many staminate as pistillate plants, and not one 
(as all our western gardeners will tell you, who raise 
seedlings by the thousand,) perfect in both organs, and 
capable, by itself, of bearing a full crop of fruit? And 
further, if Mr. Downing’s theory be true, how is it that 
our market gardeners not only tell the male from the fe¬ 
male when in bloom, but at all seasons, from the stem 
and leaf, and even learn their children of 10 years of age 
to do it? If Mr. Hovey will send one of his perfect seed¬ 
lings to Mr. Wilder, President of the Massachusetts Hor¬ 
ticultural Society, and he, after a trial, shall pronounce it 
capable of bearing a full crop, I'will give $50 for the 
plant. It cannot be made to produce even a single per¬ 
fect fruit. For 20 years I kept the Hudson in a bed by 
itself, to make new beds from. It increased yearly by 
runners. During the whole period not a plant changed 
its character, or produced even a defective berry, unless 
as a matter of curiosity I placed a staminate plant near. 
I never saw a white, or a monthly variety, that was not 
perfect in both organs. The question will soon be set¬ 
tled, by further experiments of Mr. Downing himself. 
He concedes the old doctrine, against which I have been 
warring, (that all varieties were perfect in both organs, 
and no necessity of selecting plants to insure a crop) is 
not true. He states my practice to be indispensable, un¬ 
less persons are careful to se/ect what he calls “ natural 
plants.” “ But if these are selected,” says he, ‘‘every 
blossom will perfect its fruit.” I deem one male (sta¬ 
minate) plant, necessary to ten or twelve female (pistil¬ 
late.) If his theory be true, an acre on his plan will be 
far less troublesome than mine, and produce one-tenth 
more fruit. Its truth will be at once tested, for he will 
in future, of course, supply customers with all “ natural- 
plants.” Heretofore he could not have been aware of it, 
as he sent me four or five kinds, (the Bishop was one) 
and they were all staminate, ani.ibore but little fruit. If 
he will send to Mr. Jackson of Cincinnati, one dozen of 
each of the following natural plants, Mr. Jackson will 
plant them separate, and when growing will select the 
best plant of each, and let them form runners. If he 
shall report all the blossoms perfect in both organs, and 
bearing the usual sized fruit, I will pay him $5 for each 
variety:—True Kean’s Seedling; Hovey’s Seedling; Old 
Hudson; Bishop; Methven Scarlet; Brewer’s Emperor; 
Warren’s Seedling; Myatt’s Pine; Swainstone Seedling, 
Myatt’s Eliza. Most of these I have taken from Mr. 
Downing’s work, never having seen them. Mr. Down¬ 
ing has. Yours, respectfully, N. Longworth. 
P. S. In the grape and strawberry only, would I ven¬ 
ture decidedly to differ with Mr. Downing. To these 
plants I have devoted more attention than he has. 
Newark , N. J., July 31s?, 1845. 
Peach trees are more liable to escape frosts, when 
planted on the north or west sides of buildings, the shade 
from the south sun preventing the too early starting ol 
the young fruit buds, and their consequent injury by sub¬ 
sequent frosts; and the latter shading them from the 
morning sun on frosty mornings. 
