4:^0 N ys TKMA lie pomology 



675. Erie. — With several eharaeters to reeommend it, Erie has 

 long been under general eultivation. The phints are very vig- 

 orous, hardy, produetive, and free from the dreaded blackberry- 

 rust. The berries are extraordinarily larjre, and the quality is 

 prood when the fruit is mature. The original plant of Erie was 

 found near Tallmadge, Ohio, al)out 1876. 



Plants of moderate height, very vigorous, hardy, productive, upright- 

 spreading; canes numerous, stocky, deeply furrowed, with straight slender 

 prickles. Leaflets palmate, large, ovate-lanceolate, pubescent on both sur- 

 faces. Flowers very large, 1% inches in diameter, 8-12, borne in long, 

 open, leafy racemes. Fruit midseason, large, cylindrical, tapering irregu- 

 larly, glossy black; core cylindrical, rather soft; drupelets numerous, rather 

 small, round; flesh soft, juicy, sweet when fully ripe, rich; quality good; 

 seeds of medium size, hard. 



676. Giant Himalaya (Fig. 249). — This much talked about 

 berry is probably an inhabitant of central Europe, which has 



found its way to various parts of the Old 



World, being rechristened as it was taken 



from place to place. As advertised in the 



United States it is the most pretentious cheat 



in the berry garden, yet in some respects it 



is a remarkable addition to edible brambles, 



and therefore needs consideration. The 



name is misleading. The story of its origin 



r. ^,r. ^ . . is that an English traveler brought seed 

 Fig. 249. Giant ^. , ^^. , ^ , ?. , i 



Himalaya. from the Himalayas to Luther Burbank 



about 1898, from which the variety came. 

 However, the variety or its counterpart has been known in 

 Germany under the name Theodore Reimers. 



The plants are too tender to cold for northern regions. In 

 the Pacific states, Himalaya is remarkable for vigor and produc- 

 tiveness, but in mild climates in the East, regions south of Penn- 

 sylvania, the plants are very vigorous but almost barren. In 

 ail regions, the plants need cross-pollination, and even so, pro- 

 duce many imperfect fruits. The berries at best are poor in 

 quality and uninviting in appearance. The long, trailing, 

 thorny, evergreen canes are almost unmanageable on trellis or 

 stake. The value of the variety seems to lie in the possibilities 

 it furnishes for hybridization. The several hybrids now known, 



