VARIETIES OF BLACKBERRIES AND DEWBERRIES 433 



sharp narrow serrations in a double series. Flowers 1% inches in diameter, 

 8-10, in short, compact, leafy racemes. Fruit late midseason, season short, 

 large, oblong-conical, black, retaining color well after picking; drupelets 

 large, round; core soft, conical, white; flesh firm, but tender, juicy, sweet, 

 rich; quality very good; seeds small, soft. 



683. Rathbun (Fig. 251).— The berries of Rathbun are flaw- 

 less but the plants leave much to be desired. 

 They are only moderate in vigor and product- 

 iveness, sucker too sparingly, are susceptible 

 to rust, winter-kill, and bear flowers which 

 must be cross-pollenized. Rathbun is a black- 

 berry-dewberry hybrid having the peculiarity 

 of rooting at the tips. It is well liked in mild 

 climates east of the Rocky Mountains. The 

 variety originated with Alvin Rathbun, Silver 

 Creek, new York, about 1885. 



Fig. 251. Rathbun. 



Plants of medium size and vigor, half-hardy, mod- 

 erately productive; canes few, angular, greenish, with 

 straight slender spines. Flowers 1% inches in diam- 

 eter, 3-7, in short, open, leafy racemes with a few 



prickles, sterile or nearly so. Fruit early, very large, somewhat variable, 

 cylindrical, jet-black; core cylindrical, soft, white; drupelets large, round, 

 numerous; flesh firm, juicy, sweet, rich; quality very good; seeds large, soft. 



684. Snyder (Fig. 252). — The fruit is not inviting in ap- 

 pearance and taste and turns red after picking, faults that con- 

 demn Snyder; but the plants rejoice in such 

 vigor, health, productiveness, and hardiness 

 that for seventy years the variety has been a 

 standard. It originated with Henry Snyder, 

 La Porte, Indiana, about 1851. 



Plants tall, upright, very vigorous, hardy and pro- 

 ductive; canes numerous, stocky, rough, furrowed, 

 reddish-brown, with many very large, thick, straight 

 thorns. Leaflets mostly 5, palmate, ovate-lanceolate, 

 narrow, pubescent above and beneath, apex acute, 

 sharply serrate in a double series. Flowers 1^2 inches 

 in diameter, 15-20, in long leafy racemes. Fruit mid- 

 of medium size, glossy black; core elongated, soft, 



white; drupelets large, round; flesh firm, sweet, poorly flavored; quality 



poor; seeds large, soft. 



Fig. 252. Snyder. 



season, season short, 



