64 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



doubt discover yet luiothcr and a still more tempting field of operations, so 

 far especially as immediate results are concerned. I refer to cases like those 

 of the blackberry {rulus viUof<us), and the dewberry {R. canadensis), also the 

 wild cherries, the black cap and red raspberry, and possibly some varieties of 

 vaccinium, among some of which at least it is commonly supposed hybridiza- 

 tion has sometimes occurred accidentally, instances of which are supposed to 

 exist in Ganargua, Sliaffer's Colossal, and other raspberries. 



Much has been alreadv done in the improvement of both the blackberrv and 

 the black cap, and the work so done may reasonably be considered as supply- 

 ing a most hopeful basis for subsequent operations, — supplementing nature 

 instead of (as in the past) merely selecting what she shall supply ready to our 

 hands. 



As will naturally be inferred from the foregoing, we regard the multiplicity 

 of our wild fruits, with the plentitude of influences tending to encourage vari- 

 ation, as affording one of the most promising fields now open t.o the curious 

 and thoughtful pomological experimenter, — a field almost wholly unwrought, 

 and whicli would seem to offer among its untried possibilities i)romise of results 

 far more intrinsically valuable than have been the many triumphs that have so 

 honored the noted experimenters of the present and past ages in the depart- 

 ment of floriculture. 



Among the many native fruits to which attention may very properly be 

 drawn for this purpose wc may mention the June or service berry, which, not- 

 withstanding its tendency to variation and other promising and desirable pecul- 

 iarities, seems never to have been taken in hand witii the purpose of improve- 

 ment. Between this and the dwarf form soinetinies grown in nurseries there 

 would seem to be promise of desirable results. 



The papaw, or pawpaw as it is more commonly spoken (asimina triloba), 

 whicli is indigenous to the south throe tiers of counties, seems to hang upon 

 the skirts of civilization with a pertinacity which demonstrates the existence 

 of an ability to " take care of itself," — a very notable characteristic of some 

 of our popular fruits. May there not be reason for the hope that, if subjected 

 to the processes of liberal and intelligent culture, it would sooner or later 

 respond with results well worthy of perpetuation, with the requisite improve- 

 ment in both quality and productiveness? So in the genus carya (hickory), 

 the effort might be directed to obtaining the size of sulcata, the quality of 

 alba, and the thin shell of j^orcina. 



Tlie blending of qualities by hydridization may, perchance, produce from a 

 similar combination of our native corylus with avcUana, a result hardy and 

 prolific enough to warrant its introduction to market culture. 



Our fellow citizen, 15. Hathaway, by going back to one of the earlier 

 descendants of our native Frarjaria, has given us the Bid well strawberry, among 

 many others, and as proof that his hand has not yet lost its cunning, he has 

 more recently and from the same strain originated otliers, some of which 

 already manifest a vigor and productiveness calculated to beget strong hopes 

 of future value. This field is being actively occupied, and it is just possible 

 that even that Arab among strawberries, the Wilson, and its soft, feminine 

 mate, the Orescent, may be yet overmatched, if not among the "Has-beens," 

 then possibly among the " Is-to-bees." 



Juf/Ians,' both cinerea (butternut), and )u'//ra (black walnut), often vary 

 greatly in size, if not in quality also as grown wild, and hence the careful 

 selection of seed for planting would no doubt secure improved results. 



Our wild yellow or red plum {Frunus Americana) naturally runs into num- 



