Being of very ancient date, the Strawberry is found widely diffused throughout most parts of the world. [538] Among the Greeks its name Komaros, "a mouthful," indicated the compact size of the fruit. By the Latins it was termed Fragaria, because of its delicate perfume.
Virgil ranked it with sweet-smelling flowers; Ovid gave it a tender epithet; Pliny mentions the Strawberry as one of the native fruits of Italy; Linnaeus declared he kept himself free from gout by eating plentifully of the fruit; and Hoffman says he has known consumption cured by the same means.
From Shakespeare we learn that in his day the fruit was grown in Holborn, now the centre of London. Gloster, when contemplating the death of Hastings, wishes to get the Bishop of Ely temporarily out of the way, and thus addresses him:—
"My Lord of Ely—when I was last in Holborn
I saw good Strawberries in your garden there;
I do beseech you send for some of them."
In Elizabeth's time doctors made a tea from the leaves to act on the kidneys, and used the roots as astringent.
All former Herbalists agreed in pronouncing strawberries wholesome and beneficial beyond every other English fruit. Their smell is refreshing to the spirits; they abate fever, promote urine, and are gently laxative. The leaves may be used in gargles for quinsies and sore mouths, but, "if anyone suffering from a wound in the head should partake of this fruit, it would certainly prove fatal," in accordance with a widespread superstition.
So wholesome are Strawberries, that if laid in a heap and left by themselves to decompose, they will decay without undergoing any acetous fermentation; nor can their kindly temperature be soured even by exposure to the acids of the stomach. They are constituted entirely of soluble matter, and leave no residuum to [539] hinder digestion. It is probably for this reason, and because the fruit does not contain any actual nutriment as food, that a custom has arisen of combining rich clotted cream with it at table, whilst at the same time the sharp juices are thus agreeably modified.
"Mella que erunt epulis, et lacte fluentia fraga":—
"Then sit on a cushion, and sew up a seam;
And thou shalt have Strawberries, sugar, and cream."
Cardinal Wolsey regaled off this delicate confection with the Lords of the Star Chamber; and Charles Lamb is reported to have said, "Doubtless, God Almighty could have made a better berry, but He never did."