THE HEATH-FRUITS 201 



text. V, atrococcum and V. virgatum are similar to Y. corym- 

 bosum and probably have the same pomological possibilities, 

 while V. canadense and V. vacillans are closely related to V. 

 pennsylvamciim with presumably the same value for fruit- 

 growing. These species are widely distributed in North Amer- 

 ica; all yield valuable wild blueberries; and all give promise 

 for domestication, so that it is not too much to say that the blue- 

 berry may sometime become a major pomological fruit. 



300. Vaccinium corymbosum, the high blueberry, described. 

 — The high blueberry is the species to which most attention has 

 been given in attempts at domestication and as such merits first 

 attention. 



3. Vaccinimn corynribosum, Linn. (Fig. 44) Plants tall, 4-12 feet high, 

 with yellowish green warty branchlets. Leaves 1^/^-3 inches long, ovate 

 to elliptic-lanceolate, smooth or slightly hairy beneath, the margins entire, 

 half -grown at flowering time. Corolla white or pinkish, Y-i^-Vi inch long, 

 ovoid to cylindric -urn-shaped. Fruit blue-black with bloom, l/3-i/^ inch in 

 diameter; flavor sweet, rich, excellent. 



301. Habitat of the high blueberry. — This species inhabits 

 bogs and moist woods, and is sometimes found on heaths and in 

 pastures from Maine to Minnesota and southward. This is an 

 exceedingly variable form, which authorities variously divide 

 into species and natural varieties, or, on the other hand, com- 

 bine with one or two other species. It is probable that there 

 are many natural hybrids between this and other species. It is 

 commonly considered that the high blueberry grows best in 

 swampy situations, but it is often found on dry lands and in 

 bogs and swamps, and the land must be dry in the root-forming 

 period of summer and autumn. In cultivation, this species does 

 not thrive in land permanently water-logged ; on the other hand, 

 it requires moderate soil-moisture throughout the season. 



302. Pomological characters of the high blueberry. — The 

 fruit of the high blueberry ripens from August to late Septem- 

 ber, and is most variable in shape, size, color, and flavor. The 

 plants range from handsome shrubs ten to twelve feet high in 

 boggy places to low bushes four or five feet high in heaths and 

 pastures. This variability in fruit and plant bodes well for 

 improvement under cultivation. The writer knows of a locality 

 in which plants with large black berries, pleasantly piquant, 



