SMALL FRUITS. 297 
erect, when taken up, asthose left near the ground bear the nicest berries. 
Mulching the ground with wild hay, straw, corn stalks, etc., adds greatly 
to the growth of the plant and size of the berry. 
DISCUSSION. 
Mr. Hamilton: The subject of blackberry raising is one that 
has had much attention paid to it throughout the country. Per- 
haps it might be of some interest to you to know something 
of the starting point of the Ancient Briton. The Ancient 
Briton was brought over to this country in 1852 by a man 
named Guy, who lived in the town of Ashland, Dodge County, 
Wis. Upon receiving this bundle of roots he thought he would 
throw them away, and not bother with them. But he left 
them out on the ground over night, and the next morning re- 
penting somewhat of his decision, he took them and _ set 
them out in the ground. I have heard that he made the state- 
ment afterwards, that this was the only variety that ever repaid 
the pains he took in cultivating them. This same variety of 
Ancient Briton was afterwards distributed throughout the coun- 
try by aman named Robert Haskell who lived in the same town. 
I will say, coming down to the present time, that we have 
found nothing in our locality that compares with the Briton. 
I think that the verdict of the people in our_ town is, that the 
Briton is the main variety, because in the 125 or 150 acres of 
blackberries that are growing in our vicinity, you will not find 
any other variety grown besides the Ancient Briton, except the 
Snyder. I would say that I have tried Taylor’s Prolific and it 
was not satisfactory; neither was the Early Harvest. 
Mr. Wilcox; Has there been any other blackberry masquer- 
ading under the name of the Ancient Briton? Mr. T. T. Lyon 
gives the origin of the Briton as Arkansas, and some of the 
descriptions of it do not agree with the descriptions of the 
standard Wisconsin berry. 
Mr. Hamilton: I have been told, in traveling over the coun- 
try, by different berry raisers, that they had the genuine An- 
cient Briton, but I am sorry to say—believing that we have the 
genuine Ancient Briton—that those so called Britons were not 
the genuine Britons. In fact, I know that Snyders have been 
sold before now as Ancient Britons. I know some of the par- 
ties who have done that, but I don’t think they did it knowingly. 
There are a great many acres of the so-called Briton plants, 
that I claim are nothing but the Snyder. 
Dr. Frisselle: Where were they originally brought from? 
