286 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHL V 



[^September, 



Entrlish sorts. A marked feature of Gooseberry 

 and Currant proirross is the uraftinij of these 

 fruits on the stronLrt'r varii'tios of Anu'rican Cur- 

 rants (Kibes palmnfum, liibes ai/reum,Qtc.,) b_v 

 Charles Pohl, of Austria, with indications of its 

 complete success. Much advantage is expected 

 ill the culture of these fruits by the introduction 

 of this very orijrinal idea. That much more 

 might be done in the way of the improvement 

 of these fruits is evidenced b}' the exhibit of a 

 hybrid of another American Gooseberry (Bibes 

 Cynobasii) with an English variety, by Mr. Wil- 

 liam Saunders, of London, Ontario. 



Strawberries being among the first fruits of 

 the season, were not, for the reason given, ex- 

 hibited in great force. Two very large collec- 

 tions were made by two of the judges, but, in 

 view of the delicate nature of their duties, no 

 mention of them or their exhi1)itors is made in 

 any way in our special reports or awards. But 

 they served an admirable purpose, in the absence 

 of other large collections, in showing the ad- 

 vance in Strawberry-culture during the past cen- 

 tury. A large number of kinds came from Mr. 

 John Saul, of the District of Columbia, and the 

 remainder was made up of small lots, at different 

 times, from various growers in the States of Xew 

 York. Xew Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, 

 particularly from the vicinity of Philadelphia. In 

 fewer departments of pomology has there been 

 greater progress. We commenced with some 

 improved English seedlings of the horticul- 

 turist Thomas Andrew Knight, notably the 

 Downton and Knight's Scarlet, with a little 

 later, Keen's* Seedling and Wilmot's Superb. 

 The first American effort of consequence was per- 

 haps that which resulted in the Hudson, a variety 

 introduced about 1820. Ma.ssachusetts followed, 

 about 1823, with Hovey's Seedling and Brighton 

 Pine; and then Ohio, with Longworth and 

 others leading in the van of progress. W. R. 

 Prince, of Flushing, New York, also contributed 

 largely' to Strawberry -impi'ovement. To Nicho- 

 las Longworth, of Cincinnati, much is due for 

 the present popular status of Strawberry-culture. 



The Strawbeny in Europe has, mostly, her- 

 maphrodite flowers. The American climate 

 tends to divide the sexes, and it was especially 

 the work of Mr. Longworth to make this fact 

 known ; and varieties comparatively unproduc- 

 tive before were made, by a more perfect sys- 

 tem of fertilization, to yield profusely. The 

 result was that the Strawberry became every- 

 body's fruit. But the greatest advance in straw- 



berry-culture came with the introduction of a 

 hermaphrodite kind, etjual in bearing <|u:ili- 

 ties to the old unisexual varieties under the im- 

 proved culture, and seemingly adapted to all 

 climates and soils of the continent. — Wilson's 

 Albany Seedling, from Albany, New York^ 

 about twenty years ago, — and from this, together 

 with the excellent care in culture given by Jere- 

 miah Knox, ofPittsl)urgh, Pennsylvania, modern 

 American Strawberry culture may fairly date 

 its bh'th. None of the kinds that were popular 

 at the advent of the Albany made their appear- 

 ance on our Exhibition tables ; and the magnifi- 

 cent exhibit of them made by Mr. J. H. Withing- 

 ton, of South Amboy, N. J., shows how well it 

 is holding its own. Boyden's No. 30, Charles 

 Downing, Jucunda, and Triomphe de Gaud, 

 newer varieties, as exhibited before us, contest 

 the ground hotly, and American improvers are 

 diligently at work. Smith, of New York, Du- 

 rand, of New Jersey, and ^liller, of Carlisle, 

 Pennsylvania, exhibited seedlings of much 

 promise. 



In the Blackberry we have gained immensely. 

 Few who saw the magnificent berries of Mr. 

 John S. Collins, of Moorestown, New Jersey, 

 on our tables, and who read in every nursery- 

 man's catalogue of Blackberry plants being 

 sold by the thousands, know that thirty years 

 ago the Blackbeny \ was nowhere among the 

 lists of cultivated fruits, and even to-day the 

 Blackberry of Europe is in use only by the poor- 

 est classes. The first great advance was made 

 by nature, and found in a wild place by Mr. 

 Secor, of New Rochelle, New York. Its popu- 

 larity is, however, due to the gentleman whose 

 name it bears, — Mr. Lawton, of New York. 

 Subsequently Massachusetts gave us the Dor- 

 chester, and New Jersey the Kittatinny and 

 Wilson's Early, which still continue our stand'- 

 ard kinds. No successful effort at artificial im- 

 provement appears. All kinds in cultivation 

 are simply the result of discovery by sharp eyes 

 among fields or fence-corners. 



The Raspberry has made great progress. We 

 began with the European Red and Yellow Ant- 

 werps, and an American variet}'^, the Purple 

 Cane. Up to thirty years ago we had nothing 

 worth speaking of except these kinds. Dr. 

 Brinkle, of Philadelphia, commenced the im- 

 provement of the Antwerp class, raising numer- 

 ous admirable varieties, and these were fortified 

 by introductions from Europe ; but, with the ex- 

 ception of the Hornet, and Mervaille des Quatre 



