BLACKBERRIES AND RASPBERRIES. 399 



found growing in a wood, within the limits of the city of Philadelphia. It is 

 perfectly hardv, requiring no protection during the winter, nor any extra care 

 or culture : will grow in any good corn soil, produces immense crops and sells 

 at high prices, Tlie fruit is large, of a purplish red, darker than the Antwerp, 

 rich and fine, bearing carriage well. Canes purple, very strong, with but fevr 

 spines, thick and stout, standing upright without stakes or railing." 



A verv similar notice of this variety also appears in the Gardener's Monthly 

 of the same season. 



In 1864, a writer in this latter paper savs: "If confined to two kinds they 

 would be the Doolittle Black and the Old Philadelphia, which has been about 

 twentv-sis years working itself into public notice, and will become the princi- 

 pal variety grown in this vicinity unless some other of superior merit is yet 

 discovered." 



The above statement would fix the origin, or rather discovery of this variety, 

 at or about the year 1S3S : thus making it one of the oldest varieties found ia 

 the society's list of raspberries. 



The Gardener's Monthly, in giving a figure of this raspberry, in August, 

 1865, characterizes it in our estimation very justly as follows: "It is 

 extremely difficult,— perhaps impossible, — to get every good point we wish in 

 any one variety. 



*'Thi3 is, perhaps, in its combination of properties, as near perfection as 

 anything we have. If it had a little larger size and was quite equal to some of 

 the English breed in flavor, there would be nothiug more to be desired in the 

 raspberry." 



This fast rerLark in the Monthly, as also the description in Downing, would 

 perhaps warrant the inference that they consider this variety to be descended 

 from our native Eed Piaspberry {Bubus Sfn'gosus), although we had supposed, 

 and we are yet of the opinion that they suppose it to have been a chance Euro- 

 pean seedling originated in American soil. The hardiness and productiveness 

 of this variety have given it a very decided popularity as a market fruit 

 throughout the State, and even at the lake shore the exemption from winter- 

 killing is a decided element of such popularity. Still, so far as our observation, 

 extends, it seems to divide the preferences of planters pretty equally with the 



CLARKE, 



which appears on the market and amateur lists of the society recommended 

 for the lake shore region, and which began to attract public attention almost 

 simnltaneously with the Philadelphia. It is understood to have originated 

 with E. E. Clarke, of Xew Haven, Connecticut. In August, 1S62, the editor 

 of the Horticulturist, Peter B. Mead, or perhaps the assistant editor, George 

 E. "Woodward, speaks of it as follows: "Last spring we received a seedling 

 raspberry from Mr. Clarke, of Xew Haven. It has fruited and afforded us 

 much satisfaction. It is a stout grower and has borne abundantly. The 

 berry is large, sweet, and high-flavored: it is decidedly a good thing.'' Ia 

 1866 the American Pomological Society was to have assembled at St. Louis, 

 Missouri, in September, but deferred its meeting for one year, on account of 

 the prevalence in that city, at the time, of contagious disease. At this deferred 

 meeting the originator exhibited branches of this raspberry with the ripe fruit 

 upon them. The society endorsed the variety as valuable,, among the Antwerp 

 class. In the August number of the Horticulturist the editor speaks very 

 fully of this variety, giving some items of its history with his matured conclu- 



