THE BRAMBLES 181 



New York, introduced the Doolittle. The spread of this variety, 

 together with the discovery that black raspberries could be 

 easily cured into dried fruits, established the cultivation of this 

 berry. 



Pur pi e rasp h e rries. 



The purple raspberries are placed in a separate species, 

 R. neglectus, Peck, by many botanists, but all now agree that 

 they are hybrids between the red and the black species. These 

 hybrids are found in the wild and frequently occur whenever 

 the red species and the black one are cultivated in close prox- 

 imity. The native red is the berry with which the black has 

 most frequently hybridized, but the European red Avill as readily 

 hybridize. There are some thirty or forty named purple rasp- 

 berries. Shaffer and Columbian are now most cultivated. These 

 hybrids may be propagated either by tips or suckers. 



265. Purple raspberries compared with the parent species. — 

 While exceedingly variable, sometimes resembling the black and 

 sometimes the red parent, the purple varieties chosen for culti- 

 vation have fairly well-marked characteristics. The plants are 

 more vigorous and more productive than those of either parent ; 

 the fruit-clusters contain more berries and are more open and 

 straggling; the berries are larger and juicier and range in color 

 from yellow to red and dark purple. While the named varieties 

 of purple raspberries usually may be distinguished as belonging 

 to this group by the marks given, not all are so characterized; 

 for example, Philadelphia, almost certainly a hybrid, and its 

 numerous seedlings, are much more like the red than the typical 

 purple plant, and the berries are very like red raspberries only 

 of a darker color. 



266. History of purple raspberries. — Purple raspberries have 

 been cultivated since 1835, in which year the Philadelphia was 

 found wild near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Shaffer, still one 

 of the good commercial purple sorts, was discovered near Scotts- 

 ville. New York, in 1871. This type of raspberry has recently 

 received a great impetus through the development of the canning 

 industry, for the purple varieties are preeminently the best for 

 canning, jams, and conserves. In addition, vigor, health, and 

 productiveness commend them more and more to growers. 



