202 SYSJ KMAHC J'OMoLoay 



may l)t' found; near at liaiid arc l)iisli('s willi hluc hcrrit's, rich 

 and swi'ct. a1 least a lialf-inrli in diannMcr; while another form 

 has blue fruits with very heavy bloom and a delieate flavor so 

 sweet as to be almost honeyed. These and other forms might 

 easily be iiybridi/ed with in the speeies, or with forms of other 

 species, to the great imi)rovement of blueberries. The fruits 

 of the high blue!)erry are borne on the extremities of branches 

 of the past season's growth. This species is a handsome 

 ornamental. 



303. Vaccinium pennsylvanicum, the low blueberry, de- 

 scribed. — The low l)lueberry furnishes most of the market prod- 

 uct of this fruit, but seems not to yield to cultivation so readily 

 as the high blueberry, though attempts to cultivate it have not 

 been as numerous or as ardent as wdth the other species. 



4. Vaccinium pennsylvanicum, Lam. (Fig. 45) Plant dwarf, i4-2 feet 

 in height; stems and branehlets green and warty, glabrous or pubescent 

 northward. Leaves oblong or lanceolate, serrulate with bristle-pointed 

 teeth, bright green, smooth and glossy on both sides, sometimes hairy on 

 the midrib beneath. Flowers borne on short pedicels; corolla eylindric- 

 bell-shaped, short, greenish-white. Fruit large, bluish-black, black, some- 

 times red, or rarely dull white, with or without bloom; sweet and pleasant 

 in flavor; earliest to ripen. 



304. Habitat of the low blueberry. — The low blueberry covers 

 great areas in dry heaths, pine barrens, and mountain lands 

 from Newfoundland to Saskatchew-an, and southward to Vir- 

 ginia and Illinois. The species is most variable, but only two 

 natural varieties are described ; var. angiisiifoUum, Gray, is a 

 dwarf northern or high-mountain form with narrower leaves; 

 and var. nigrum, Wood, called the low black blueberry, has 

 firmer leaves, blue-green, glaucous, with very black bloomless 

 berries. This variety is often associated with the species, or 

 may be found by itself. It is more of a wilding, preferring 

 rocky heaths, pine woods, shady places, and mountains, Avhere 

 often it thrives in soil an inch or two in depth. 



305. Pomological characters of the low blueberry. — The ber- 

 ries of the low blueberry ripen in July in central New York, 

 a month earlier than those of the high blueberry, and are the 

 most pleasantly flavored of all the blueberries, having a delieate 

 sugary taste. They are, however, soft and easily bruised, and 



