MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 97 
between hope and despair, while some favorite pet of ours is undergoing 
the ordeal that must determine its value or worthlessness. No wonder 
some have gone back, after repeated failures, and left the field and the re- 
ward for them that know not what failure is. By such, progress has been 
made, horticultural science advanced; old varieties of fruits have been 
tested and brought out, new varieties introduced and disseminated, suited 
to the soil and climate of Minnesota. 
In the list of fruits none stand higher, with us, than that class generally 
denominated small fruits, of which the grape, currant, gooseberry, rasp- 
berry, and strawberry are the most prominent. Of these none perhaps © 
are more certain, or yield a better return for the labor required in their 
cultivation, than the raspberry, the subject assigned me for my. ald 
essay. First— “ 
Varieties. 
The foreign Red Raspberry (Rubus Idaeus) has been long tried in the 
Eastern States, but it has been found that there are few localities where 
its cultivation has been attended with good results. The Red Antwerp is 
a type of this class, and if the fruit could be grown here with any degree 
of certainty, it possesses all the ple qualities which one would expect to 
find in the raspberry. 
Our native Reds {Rubus strigosus) are more hardy, some varieties en- 
tirely so, but like their foreign cousins, throw up such an abundance of 
suckers, that where once introduced, seem determined to remain, whether 
you want them or not. The Turner and Clark are perhaps the best of this 
class. 
There is also a sub or hybrid class, derived from crossing the foreign 
with our native red, but I have failed to notice any marked improvement 
in them. 
We proceed to notice the black cap family (Rubus occidentalis) an en- 
tirely different class from the others, producing no suckers, but propagating 
only from the tips. Now it is well known that this species is not only 
hardy and prolific, but produces abundantly without extra care in cultiva- 
tion, and will succeed in a greater variety of soils, and over a wider range 
of country than any other. It is, in all respects, says a horticultural friend, 
a first rate berry, except in one, it is’nt good to eat. It is, however, an 
excellent berry to raise, and it is good to give away, at a reasonable price. 
It stands pre-eminent in the same relation as the Wilson among strawher- 
ries, or the Concord among grapes. 
There are some thirty or more varieties of the black raspberries in culti- 
vation, but the difference between most of them is very slight indeed, so 
much so, that when you select some half dozen, you have all the qualities 
included in the whole list. 
The Doolittle is the one best known, and has been the market raspberry 
for more than ten years. It is an early variety, carries well, and is in all 
respects one of the most profitable. 
Davison’s Thornless will ripen a few berries a little earlier, but is not so 
productive as the Doolittle; its chief recommendation, “it don’t scratch.” 
The Seneca is from a week to ten days later than the Doolittle, equally 
13 
