222 THE SMALL FRUITS OF NEW YORK 



May Hardiest, i. May Cat. 12. 1924. 



Found on the grounds of the May Seed & Nursery Company, Shenandoah, Iowa; 

 introduced by them in 1924. Supposed to be a seedhng as it resembled no other sort they 

 were growing. Plants very hard)'; fruit large, jet black. 



Maynard. i. Card Bush-Fr. 239. 1898. 



Found growing between Lucretia dewberry and Early Harvest blackberry on the farm 

 of C. C. Maynard, Kincaid, Kansas, who sent it out about 1895. Plants productive, 

 thriving on poor soil; fruit borne in clusters, large, roxmd; drupelets few, very large, jet 

 black, sweet. 



Maxwell, i. Ann. Hort. 128. 1893. 



Maxwell Early. 2. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 2:410. 1903. 



A chance seedling found in a patch of Kittatinny about 1878 by A. C. Maxwell, 

 Chanute, Kansas. Plants low growing, vigorous, stocky; fruit very large, round, glossy 

 black, soft, juicy; very good; early midseason. 



Mersereau. i. A^ Y. Sta. Bui. 81:581. 1894. 2. Cornell Sta. Bui. 99:523, fig. 91. 

 1895. 3. Rural N. Y. 56:838. 1897. 4. A^. Y. Sta. Bui. 278:139. 1906. 



This sort is a standard for both commercial and home plantations in the northern 

 and eastern states. It fails in the South because of its susceptibility to the orange-rust. 

 Mersereau is a seedling of Snyder which it surpasses in vigor of plant and in size and quality 

 of fruit, and because the fruits may be picked over a long season. It is above the average 

 blackberry in hardiness. Nurserymen find it a difficult sort to propagate and a good many 

 seem to substitute some other sort for it, so that there are many misnamed " Mersereaus " 

 in the berry plantations of the country. This variety originated with J. M. Mersereau, 

 New York, about 1890, as a seedling of Snyder, which it closely resembles. The American 

 Pomological Society added Mersereau to its list of recommended fruits in 1909. 



Plants tall, vigorous, upright-spreading, usually hardy although winter injury is vari- 

 able, productive, variable in health, markedly susceptible to orange-rust; canes medium in 

 number, stocky, very obtuse-angled, reddish mingled with green, glossy, glabrous, eglandu- 

 lar; prickles large, thick, numerous, in color similar to the suckers; leaflets usually 5, oval, 

 dull, medium green, tinged red late in the season, rugose, pubescent, with serrate margins; 

 petiole thick. Flowers self-fertile, midseason, medium to numerous, in short, compact, 

 slightly leafy clusters; petals white, oblong; pedicels long, slender, glandular. Fruit late 

 midseason, period of ripening long; large, roundish to oblong-conic, glossy black, holding 

 its color after picking; drupelets large, round, with strong coherence; core soft; flesh firm 

 but tender, juicy, rather sprightly until fully ripe when it becomes sweet, rich and pleasantly 

 flavored; quality very good. 



Miller, i. Storrs & Harrison Cat. 154. 1919. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 160. 1920. 



Originated by D. J. Miller, Akron, Ohio, about 1909; introduced in 1919 by Storrs & 

 Harrison, Painesville, Ohio. The variety has shown considerable promise on the first 

 year's trial at this Station. Plants tall, vigorous, upright-spreading, productive; canes 

 stocky, green with reddish tinge, nearly glabrous ; prickles numerous, large ; fruit uniformly 

 large, irregular cylindrical-conic; drupelets medium in size and number, cohering strongly, 

 black, juicy, melting, sweet; very good; core hard; midseason. 



