Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 August 1907 — About Strawberries. [ARTICLE]

About Strawberries.

Many persons have wondered how strawberries got their name- They have been so called by Anglo-Saxon people for hundreds of years, but no corresponding name for them appears In other languages. On the contrary, their, fragrance mainly is set forth in the names by which they are called In non-English speaking lands. The old Anglo-Saxon form -was “streawberige.” It seems probable that the “straw” is the long stem of the vine, which rnns along the ground. Some have thought, however, that in ancient times the Anglo-Saxon berry hunters brought the berries home or sent them to market upon straws. The explanation that the word Is a corruption of “strayberry,” due to the running habit of strawberry vines, Is believed to be erroneous as well as that which would derive the name from the habit of placing- straw among the plants to keep the berries off the ground. Coronets of dukes are adorned with strawberry leaves, though authorities on heraldry insist that they are not strawberry leaves at all, but merely conventional leaves which popular fancy has turned into the foliage of the favorite berry. However, strawberry leaves are actually borne by the house of Fraser of Lovat as a punning allusion to the family name, since “fralses” Is French for strawberries.