September  u,  1899.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
237 
A  “  STRAWBERRY  MANUAL.” 
have  received  from  Messrs.  Laxton  Brothers,  Bedford,  the  best 
shtllingsworth  of  Strawberry  lore  that  has  come  under  our  notice. 
“Iho  Strawberry  Manual "  *  is  a  substantial  little  book  of  nearly 
140  pages,  well  bouud,  printed,  and  illustrated,  or,  in  a  word,  admirably 
produced.  It  is,  moreover,  well  and  concisely  written,  being  packed 
with  interesting  information  from  end  to  end — historical,  botanical, 
cultural,  and  commercial.  Every  phase  of  the  subject  appears  to  be 
treated,  from  the  raising  of  seidlings  to  the  disposal  in  markets,  or 
otherwise,  of  the  fruit,  and  scarcely  a  word  is  wasted  in  any  of  the 
compact  chapters.  As  an  example  of  the  style  of  the  botanical  part  of 
the  work  we  take  an  extract  from  the  opening  pages  : — 
“  This  treatise  is  not  intended  to  deal  exhaustively  with  the  botanical 
aspects  of  the  plant  which  forms  its  subject ;  the  chief  object  is  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  Strawberry  in  as  simple  a  way  as  possible,  in  order  that 
it  may  be  uselul  to  all  who  seek  information  respecting  it.  Still  our 
most  practical  friends,  whether  eager  amateurs  or  worthy  earnest  knights 
ot  the  blue  apron  and  spade,  will,  we  are  assured,  welcome  a  few  details 
which  are  outside  the  domain  of  cultivation,  though  having  an  important 
succulent  and  edible.  In  the  fourth  group  are  placed  the  Apple  and  Pear, 
and  there  another  peculiarity  is  displayed,  for  the  edible  portion  of  the 
fruit  consists  of  the  calyx  tube  become  fleshy  and  closely  surrounding  the 
true  fruit  (the  ‘core’)  which  encloses  the  seeds.  This  explanation, 
elementary  as  it  necessarily  is,  appears  essential  to  the  formation  of  an 
idea  respecting  the  origin  of  the  Rosaceous  fruits,  and  particularly  the 
Strawberries  now  cultivated  in  our  gardens.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
imagine  the  Plum  having  developed  from  an  older  type  of  the  character 
of  the  Sloe,  the  Cherry  from  a  form  in  which  the  ‘stone’  constituted  the 
greater  portion  of  the  fruit,  as  we  find  now,  in  the  Wild  Cherry  (Prunus 
avium),  the  Raspberry  in  a  similar  way  will  have  become  more  succulent 
under  cultivation,  anil  even  in  the  wild  form  (Rubus  idseus)  still  found  in 
Britain,  the  difference  is  very  marked,  while  in  the  Crab  and  the  wild 
Pear  examples  can  be  found  of  the  sources  of  our  Apples  and  Pears. 
“Equally  our  native  Strawberry,  Fragaria  vesca,  indicates  at  least 
one  source  of  the  fiuit  under  special  consideration  here,  though  a  still 
earlier  type  might  be  found  amongst  the  nearly’  related  Potentillas  where 
the  receptacle  is  large  and  conical,  but  dry  and  not  edible.  One  species 
known  as  Potentilla  fragariastrum  approaches  very  closely  to  Fragaria 
vesca  in  all  characters  except  that  the  receptacle  is  dry,  and  it  was 
Fig.  48.— APPLE  BEDFORDSHIRE  TWIN. 
bearing  upon  the  development  of  the  fruits  that  enrich  the  gardens  and 
adorn  the  tables  of  the  present  day. 
“  British  horticulture  owes  very  much  to  the  great  Rose  family,  it  is 
indeed  proportionately  as  important  to  the  gardener  as  the  Grass  lamily 
is  to  the  agriculturist.  To  that  widely  diversified  order  of  plants  which 
the  botanists  have  denominated  Rosacese  belong  not  only  the  Queen  of 
Flowers — the  ever  delightful  and  popular  Rose — but  numerous  other 
attractive  flowering  plants.  Still  it  is  rare  to  see  within  the  same  family 
such  a  combination  of  the  ornamental  and  the  useful  as  we  find  in  this, 
for  here  are  placed  nearly  all  our  most  important  hardy  fruits.  The  noble 
Apple,  the  melting  Pear,  the  luscious  Plum,  the  aromatic  Raspberry,  and 
the  lowly  but  exquisite  Strawberry,  all  come  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Rosaceae,  and  render  it  unique  amongst  the  tamilies  of  plants  which  are 
special  objects  of  care  to  horticulturists.  We  shall  only  attempt  to  deal 
with  the  characters  of  this  family  as  they  relate  to  the  fruit,  and  especially 
to  the  subject  of  this  treatise.  Broadly  speaking,  what  are  termed  fruits 
in  the  order  may  be  classed  into  four  groups— first,  those  of  the  Plum  and 
Cherry  type  in  which  a  single  seed  is  enclosed  in  a  juicy  or  fleshy  pulp, 
the  result  of  the  enlarged  matured  ovary,  and  therefore  a  true  and  simple 
fruit.  Secondly,  the  Raspberry  and  Blackberry  type,  where  the  ovaries 
enlarge  and  become  juicy,  containing  a  single  seed  each,  but  they  are 
■clustered  together  upon  a  common  receptacle  (ihe  enlarged  apex  of  the 
flower  stalk)  and  consequently  become  a  kind  of  compound  fruit,  formed 
of  a  number  ot  simple  fruits,  the  entire  head  being  that  popularly  desig¬ 
nated  ns  the  Raspberry  or  Blackberry.  Thirdly  we  have  the  Straw  berry, 
in  which  an  entirely  different  order  of  things  prevails  ;  the  true  fruits  are 
the  dry  seed-like  bodies  upon  the  surface  of  the  so-called  berry,  the  part 
commonly  termed  the  fruit  in  this  case  being  simply  an  enlarged  receptacle 
similar  in  its  origin  to  that  which  supports  the  Raspberry,  but  here  become 
*  Hulatt  &  Richardson,  Bedford. 
described  by  some  of  the  older  botanists  as  Fragaria  Gerilis,  severa  1 
other  species  of  Potentilla  having  also  been  placed  urder  Fragaria. 
“The  generic  name  Fragaria  is  founded  upon  a  Latin  word,  and 
Fragum  (plural  Fraga)  was  applied  by  the  Romans  to  the  fruit  cf  that 
form  of  the  wood  Strawberry  known  to  them  only  as  a  wild  plant.  The 
word  has  the  same  derivation  as  ‘fragrant,’  and  refers  to  the  pleasing 
odour  of  the  fresh  ripe  fruit,  which  character  did  not  fail  to  impress  the 
luxurious  Romans,  though  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  ever  sought  to 
bring  the  plant  into  cultivation.  It  is  singular  that  it  is  mentioned  by 
few  Latin  authors.” 
Information  of  that  nature  is  not  common  in  treatises  on  the  Straw¬ 
berry,  yet  it  is  interesting,  and  the  facts  imparted  should  be  known  by 
more  gardeners  than  are  familiar  with  them. 
The  derivation  of  the  common  name.  Strawberry,  is  also  given,  and 
we  think  correctly.  It  was,  at  least,  Dr.  Hogg’s  opinion  forty  years  ago 
that  it  issued  from  “  Strayberry,”  from  the  habit  of  the  plant  to  stray 
inxo  fresh  ground,  and  thus  at  the  same  time  teaching  a  good  lesson  to 
cultivators  not  to  confine  their  plants  f<  r  many  years  on  the  same  site. 
The  question  of  the  sterility  of  Strawberry  plants  and  its  transmission 
by  runners  is  noticed,  and  the  cause  indicated — defect  in  pistils,  stamens, 
or  pollen.  It  is  shown  that  American  growers  adopt  measures  to  prevent 
the  loss  of  crops  by  planting  a  proportion  of  pollen-bearing  varieties,  as 
Mr.  Keens,  the  raiser  of  Keens’  Seedling,  d:d  ninety  years  ago. 
After  treating  on  routine  questions  in  a  practical  manner,  descriptive 
notes  of  varieties  are  given,  and  selections  made  for  light,  strong,  and 
calcareous  soils,  as  determined  byr  the  votes  of  a  number  of  cultivators  ; 
and  it  is  noteworthy  that  Royal  Sovereign  (early),  President  (midseason), 
and  Latest  of  All  (late)  head  the  lists  for  both  light  and  heavy  soils,  also 
very  nearly  calcareous,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton  simply  taking  the  place  of 
President.  The  “  Strawberry  Manual  ”  is  a  veritable  mullum  in  parvo, 
and  we  congratulate  Messrs.  Laxton  on  its  production. 
