PLANT-LORE OE SHAKESPEARE 
3oi 
From another point of view there is almost as great a mistake 
in the second half of the name, for in strict botanical language 
the fruit of the Strawberry is not a berry; it is not even 
“exactly a fruit, but is merely a fleshy receptacle bearing fruit, 
the true fruit being the ripe carpels, which are scattered over 
its surface in the form of minute grains looking like seeds, for 
which they are usually mistaken, the seed lying inside of the 
shell of the carpel.” It is exactly the contrary to the Rasp¬ 
berry, a fruit not named by Shakespeare, though common in 
his time under the name of Rasps. “ When you gather the 
Raspberry you throw away the receptacle under the name of 
core, never suspecting that it is the very part you had just 
before been feasting upon in the Strawberry. In the one case, 
the receptacle robs the carpels of all their juice in order to 
become gorged and bloated at their expense; in the other 
case, the carpels act in the same selfish manner upon the 
receptacles.”— Lindley, Ladies' Botany . 
Shakespeare’s mention of the Strawberry and the Nettle 
(No. 2) deserves a passing note. It was the common opinion 
in his day that plants were affected by the neighbourhood of 
other plants to such an extent that they imbibed each other’s 
virtues and faults. Thus sweet flowers were planted near fruit 
trees, with the idea of improving the flavour of the fruit, and 
evil-smelling trees, like the Elder, were carefully cleared away 
from fruit trees, lest they should be tainted. But the Straw¬ 
berry was supposed to be an exception to the rule, and was 
supposed to thrive in the midst of “ evil communications ” 
without being corrupted. Preachers and emblem-writers 
naturally seized upon this : “In tilling our gardens we cannot 
but admire the fresh innocence and purity of the Strawberry, 
because although it creeps along the ground, and is continually 
crushed by serpents, lizards, and other venomous reptiles, yet 
it does not imbibe the slightest impression of poison, or the 
smallest malignant quality, a true sign that it has no affinity 
with poison. And so it is with human virtues,” &c. “In 
conversation take everything peacefully, no matter what is said 
or done. In this manner you may remain innocent amidst 
