238 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



clean. The fruit is of good quality, but 

 its great point is its early ripening. 

 The Springfield Blackcap was ripe, on 

 the farm of W. L. Chandler, on June 

 21, and three days later was in the 

 market. Coming just at the close of 

 the strawberry season, the fruit com- 

 mands good prices and a quick sale, 

 while ten days or two weeks later the red 

 raspberries come in, and the market for 

 blacks decrease. The Springfield is 

 being quite largely grown by the few 

 nurserymen who have been able to 

 secure it, and promises to be a decided 

 acquisition. — Farm and Home. 



THE CLEMATIS IN FRUIT. 

 Several species of Clematis, after 

 being ornamental in flower, again be- 

 come so in fruit. After the flower 

 falls, it is succeeded by a cluster of 

 what ,are commonly called seeds, but 

 they are little seed vessels, each con- 

 taining a single seed. Each seed vessel 

 is terminated by a sort of tail, an inch 

 or more long, which, in some species, 

 is plumed with long, whitish hairs, as 

 seen in the Travelers' Joy (Clematis 

 vitalba), of England. Our native Tra- 

 velers' Joy (C. Virginiana) excels this 

 both in the size of its clusters of flowers 

 and fruit, and in that of the individual 

 fruits, as well as in their plnmed char- 

 acter. This native species is very abun- 

 dant, and climbs quite high. In sum- 

 mer, its clusters of white flowers are 

 hung upon the shrubs of thickets, and 

 are suspended from the branches of 

 trees. In autumn, the flowers are re- 

 placed by clusters of fruits, which are 

 so downy as to be even more conspicu- 

 ous than they. When in fruit, this 

 Clematis is often called " Old Man's 

 Beard." The heavy-smelling Clematis 

 (C. graveolens ), from Thibet, is a ram- 

 pant grower, and its solitary flowers, 

 of a greenish-yellow color, are not at all 

 showy. The ornamental character of 

 this plant commences after the flowers 



have disappeared. We have a vine of 

 this which covers the, end of a shed ; 

 during the past autumn it has borne 

 such an abundance of large, plumed 

 fruit-clusters, as to quite hide, not only 

 the shed, but the foliage of the vine. 

 This species is well worth growing for 

 its beauty in autumn. We have, at 

 times, advocated the planting of shrubs 

 that have bright berries, for the sake 

 of their autumnal effect ; we may add 

 to the shrubs several of the showy- 

 fruited species of Clematis. — Dr. Geo. 

 Thurber, in ATnerican Agriculturist. 



EARHART EVERBEARING RASP- 

 BERRY. 



The so-called everbearing raspberries 

 have so uniformly proved shy bearers, 

 and some neverbearers, that people have 

 almost come to the conclusion that such 

 a thing as an everbearing berry does 

 not exist. Nor do we think that the 

 Earhart is truly an everbearer; but 

 that it produces one very full crop, and 

 at least two others of almost equal 

 abundance, there is no reasonable doubt. 



Its first crop, which is claimed to be 

 as abundant as that of any berry grown, 

 is on the old wood, or that grown the 

 previous year. It ripens about one 

 week earlier than Mammoth Cluster, is 

 of good size and of a bright shiny black 

 — very handsome. Its later fruit is 

 borne on wood of the current season's 

 growth, and it really ripens two good 

 after crops — one in August and the 

 other in September, although it has 

 more or less ripe fruit at all times after 

 the middle of August. The leaves are 

 extremely wrinkled or corrugated, and 

 of such distinct shades of green as to be 

 very ornamental. 



This berry is an accidental seedling, ^ 

 found growing wild about 16 years ago 1 

 by Mr. Earhart, in an open grove on 

 his farm in the eastern part of Mason 

 County, 111. When found, in August J 

 or September, it was full of ripe berries. * 



