LONG -CLUSTER TYPE 305 



The botanical features of the blackberry are obscure 

 and variable. This is true of the genus Rubus as a 

 whole, but particularly of the groups which comprise 

 the blackberries and dewberries. It is probable that 

 no two monographers will ever agree upon the limits of 

 the species and natural varieties in these groups. 

 Some classification of these forms must be made, how- 

 ever, before we can understand the evolution of the 

 garden types, and I therefore ask the reader's forbear- 

 ance if I seem to refine this discussion beyond the 

 needs of a popular narrative. 



The High -bush Blackberry and Us Kin 



The commonest blackberry of North America is an 

 upright and very thorny and villous bush, which pro- 

 duces a long raceme of flowers and fruit. The type 

 of this species may be assumed to be that shown in 

 Figs. 59 and 60. 



It is often known as the "high-bush blackberry." 

 The particular marks of this plant are the tall stature; 

 the long stalks to the leaves and the leaflets; the long- 

 ovate, rather thin and shallow -toothed pointed leaflets; 

 the very long, open and leafless simple raceme, with the 

 slender branchlets or pedicels standing off from the cen- 

 tral stem at a very obtuse angle. The lowest flowers in 

 the raceme open first. The calyx -lobes are long and 

 narrow. The fruits are oblong and thimble -like, firm, 

 aromatic and sweet when ripe. In cultivation, this 

 type of blackberry is represented by the Taylor and 

 Ancient Briton. For horticultural purposes the group 

 may be called the "Long -cluster Blackberries. "* 



"This classification was first proposed in Bull. 99, Cornell Exp. Sta. (1895). 

 T 



