80 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



marshes of ilichigaii, some of wliicli are in Allegan and Ottawa counties, are 

 white with the bea.ntiful, wax-like blossoms of the Whortle, or Hnckle berry, as 

 >itis most commonly called. Both of these fm.its are highly esteemed, and com- 

 mand a price equal to tliat of our most jiopular garden or orchard fruits. And 

 yet thousands of acres annually olfer their load of wealth in jMichigan, and the 

 people are too busy, complaining of hard times, to stretch forth their hands to 

 gather and market these valuable and extensive crops. The raspberry, which 

 grows wild all over the State, so far as explored, is particularly productive in the 

 northwest. The Upper Peninsula, u-ually I'egarded as too cold for fruit growing, 

 is in fact a vast raspberry garden, and the crop is of immense value to the miners 

 and others who would otherwise depend on imported fruits. The raspberiy pro- 

 duced there so abundantly differs little, if any, from the Philadelpliia raspberry 

 of our catalogues, and appears to be about as productive and large Avhen favor- 

 ably located. The deep snow which usually covers the raspberry cane in tlio 

 Upper Peninsula, secures it from destruction during the severest cold, and the 

 remarkable health of the people of this region may, in a great measure, be 

 attributed to the abundance of this wholesome fruit. 



The BlacMcrri/. — I think I am doing no injustice to the Blackberry in placing 

 it next to the raspberry as a natural production of Michigan. It is already largely 

 marketed in the Lower Peninsula, and will always command a good price, as 

 it contains medicinal as well as dietetic properties which render it invaluable. 

 Its importance is increased from the fact that it springs up all over that exten- 

 sive region of country where hmibermen have taken away the pine, and wdierc 

 the agriculturist has not yet taken possession. It seems to be impossible, with 

 the utmost ingenuity and persistency, for man to make an unproductive wilder- 

 ness of Michigan ; for no sooner has the pine been stripped from our forest, and 

 the fires which usually follow swept over the land, than up springs the bramble, 

 either blackberry or raspberry or l)oth, and in a very few years what has been 

 left l)y the woodsman and abandoned as worthless, becomes a natural fruit gar- 

 den, loaded with a crop which, if gathered and marketed, would realize a greater 

 profit than lumber, with far less labor and outlay of capital. The careful farm- 

 ers that live adjacent to our lake harbors, and some of the inhabitants of our 

 cities and villages, avail themselves of the blackberry harvest ; but there is good 

 reason to believe that, although several tliovisand dollars' worth are annually 

 harvested and marketed, the crop gathered bears a very small proportion to the 

 crop produced. 



The Wintcrgrcen. — Of late years that beautiful, aromatic, red berry, so com- 

 mon in Michigan, known as the Wintergreen, has gradually found its way to 

 market. It is Ijelieved to be valuable for its medicinal as well as its dietetic 

 qualities, and its more general use would bo productive of public health. It is 

 eagerly sought for by children, and is a favorite fruit with all who are acquainted 

 \fith its virtues. The peculiarity of the wintergreen is its preservation during 

 the entire Arinter season, when covered with snow, and its freshness in early 

 spring, before any fruit or A'egetable has been produced. A recent writer has 

 said in regard to the wintero^reen : 



"For Avhile it is so beautiful 



With scarlet berries bright, 

 It's coA'ered up beneath the snow 



All Avinter out of sight; 

 And in the spring, this little thing 



Just peeps above the ground, 

 And children run and gather it 



And find it sweet and sound. 



