Breeding Hardy Raspberries for the Northwest 283 



BREEDING HARDY RASPBERRIES FOR THE NORTHWEST. 

 By N. E. Hansen, South Dakota Agricultural College, Brookings, S. D. 



1. That hardier varieties of the raspberry are needed is evident 

 from the fact that all of the present standard sorts are not hardy over 

 a large area of the prairie Northwest. 



2. Some of these old varieties are grown under winter protection. 

 the canes being laid down in the fall and covered with earth. This 

 method is expensive and the work is distasteful to the busy prairie 

 ■farmer, who likes fruit but cannot find time for such extra work 

 as laying down raspberry canes. 



3. These tender varieties were developed in large measure from 

 the native raspberris of the eastern States (1) by selection from large 

 numbers of seedlings under cultivation; (2) by crossing with the culti- 

 vated raspberries of Europe; (3) by the use of choice-fruited plants 

 found growing wild, thus taking advantage of Nature's efforts in this 

 line. 



4. Those seedlings having much of the European species in their 

 makeup usually proved tender under cultivation, even in the milder 

 climate of the east. But neither of these, -nor those of pure eastern 

 native ancestry, proved sufficiently hardy in the prairie Northwest. ■ 



5. This is another instance of DeCandolle's law that wild woody 

 plants have not advanced 100 miles north of their natural limits with- 

 in historic times. But as raspberries of the same species are founc' 

 indigenous far northwestward, it is quite evident that Nature has ac- 

 complished the task of adapting the raspberry to a colder and drier 

 climate. But how many thousand years has she taken to do this 

 ■work? 



6. The great task remains for us to breed a hardy race of rasp- 

 berries from our native Northwestern form of the species. This 

 must be done: (l)By selection from thousands of pure native sed- 

 lings unedr cultivation, the endeavor being to raise as many genera- 

 tions under high cultivation as possible, until varieties are obtained 

 combining perfect hardiness and productiveness of plant -w^ith large 

 size and good quality of berry; (2) by crossing with the best tame and 

 native varieties of America, Europe and Asia. 



