39^ 



The Journal of Heredity 



tions of 6,000 to 8,000 feet. The fruits 

 appeared to iiic somewhat darker in 

 color than most of those I had seen 

 in Costa Pica, but not quite so large, 

 soft, and luscious as those of northern 

 Guatemala. I saw no plants in cultiva- 

 tion in this part of Colombia, but after 

 crossing the Quindio pass and traveling 

 up the Cauca valley, I found at La 

 Cuml)re, a small station on the railroad 

 between Cali and the Pacific port of 

 Buenaventura, a few plants growing in 

 the garden of an American hospital. 

 This was the first time I had seen the 

 species in cultivation, but I was soon to 

 become familiar with it in Ecuadorean 

 gardens. Here at La Cumbre (eleva- 

 tion about 5,200 feet), in the western 

 Cordillera of the Andes, I was impressed 

 by the luxuriant growth which the 

 species makes when brought into culti- 

 vation. Two specimens covered a huge 

 arbor 25 feet long by 10 feet in breadth 

 and height, and furnished enough fruit 

 to supply the hospital staff with excel- 

 lent sauce and jelly. Yet I am con- 

 vinced that much more fruit would be 

 produced if the plant were system- 

 atically pruned. Fruiting laterals are 

 not developed in great abundance by 

 these huge plants; most of the fruit 

 must therefore be borne on terminal 

 clusters, which can never be very 

 numerous. 



It is in PLcuador that the Andes 

 berry is best known, and horticultur- 

 ally most important. Two towns, in 

 particular, are noted for it: these are 

 Ambato (8,500 feet) and Otavalo 

 (8,100 feet). In V)oth of these, plants 

 are found in nearly every garden, and 

 the fruit appears commonly in the 

 markets; it is available throughout 

 a large part of the year and is much 

 used in the preparation of conserves 

 and of a heavy syrup from which a 

 refreshing drink is made. Otavalo is 

 noted for this latter product. 



I have seen, in Ecuador, two well- 

 defined varieties of this berr\s and have 

 heard of a third. The common sort is 

 deep maroon, about like the form ob- 

 served in (Guatemala, though slightly 

 different in flavor, as far as I can com- 

 jKire the two by recollection. Tin- 



second kind is light red — ^almost rose 

 red^ — and is of a milder flavor than the 

 common sort. The third one is said 

 to be light pink, and for this reason is 

 called mora blanca (white mora). 



As in Colombia, the species occurs 

 abundantly in Ecuador as an indige- 

 nous plant. I have seen it most com- 

 monly at elevations between 8,000 and 

 10,000 feet. In the wild state it is 

 rarely over six or eight feet high, and 

 not particularly vigorous in growth; 

 but when brought into cultivation I 

 have seen a single specimen cover the 

 side of a small house, or reach several 

 feet above a garden wall ten feet high. 



CULTURAL NEEDS 



In Ecuador, although it ranks as a 

 cultivated plant, very little attention 

 is given to its cultural requirements, 

 and w^e can learn but little from an 

 examination of the methods used by 

 Ecuadorean horticulturists. No prun- 

 ing is done, though it seems reasonable 

 to believe that careful attention to this 

 subject would result in far greater 

 yields of fruit. It must be admitted 

 that even the most productive plants 

 obser\^ed in Ecuadorean gardens bear 

 small crops, when compared with 

 northern blackberries or raspberries. 

 Probably this is largely due to the 

 circumstance that they are allowed to 

 develop too much wood, and are not 

 pruned for the production of fruiting 

 laterals. 



I have seen wild plants upon clay 

 soil, light sandy loam of volcanic 

 origin, and rich alluvial loam. In 

 northern Guatemala, they occur in a 

 region where the rainfall is between 80 

 and 120 inches per annum, and is 

 distributed through not less than ten 

 of the twelve months. In Ecuador, on 

 the other hand, they are sometimes 

 found in places where the annual rain- 

 fall is not more than 15 or 20 inches. 



Plants sent from Ciuatemala to the 

 United States have l)een winter-killed 

 at Washington, 1). C, as would be 

 expected of a species from an elevation 

 of 5,000 feet in the latitude of the 

 Central American countries. In Ecua- 

 dor, wild i)lants are occasionally seen 



