422 Catawissa Raspberry, {^September, 



We give below the Circular of Mr. Josliua Peirce in relation to the 

 Catawissa Ra^pherry. Mr. Peirce is a gentleman of liigh reputation 

 as a gardener as well as for integrity as a man ; and, should this Rasp- 

 berry be found on trial, to respond to the expectation claimed in the 

 Circular, it will indeed be a most valuable acquisition to our Horticul- 

 ture. 



CIRCULAR. 



The Catawissa raspberry is a native variety, entirely new and dis- 

 tinct in its characteristics in respect to the manner of bearing, and 

 the periods of maturing its fruit, which promise to render it an object 

 of general cultivation. From its appearance and mode of growth, I 

 have no doubt but it is a seedling produced from the common wild 

 Black raspberry of the country, which grows in great abundance 

 about the regions where it originated; nor can I learn that any other 

 varieties, native or foreign, wild or cultivated, ever grew near the 

 original plant, except, perhaps, the Thimble berry, Rubus purpurea^ 

 or odorata,^ which, from the dissimilarity of the two, I do not suppose 

 had any thing to do with its production. 



This bountiful gift of nature originated in the grave-yard of the 

 little Quaker Meeting-house in the village of Catawissa, Columbia 

 county, Pennsylvania, situated near the confluence of a stream of the 

 same name with that noble river, the Susquehanna. The history of 

 the discovery is simply as follows : The person who had the care of 

 the meeting-house, from whose own lips I received the account, was 

 in the habit of mowing the grass in the grave-yard several times in 

 the course of the year; and on one occasion, some eight or ten years 

 since, observed that a brier, which he had often clipped with his 

 scythe, showed symptoms of bearing fruit out of the ordinary season. 

 For this time he spared the plant, bestowing upon it watchful care, 

 and afterward removed it to his garden. 



The fruit is medium size, inferior to many of the new popular 

 varieties, but is sufficiently large for all economical purposes. Its 

 color is dark redish purple, when ripe, and is of a very high flavor. It 

 bears most abundantly throughout the season after the young wood on 

 which it produces its best fruit attains a hight of four or five feet, 

 usually beginning to ripen early in August, but sometimes sooner. 

 The fruit is produced on branches continually pushing out from all 



