359 



RASPBERRY. 

 HISTORY. 



The Raspberry is known botanically as liuhus /<./a j nx, and it belongs to 

 the natural order lioxcicece, or the Rose family. The generic name Rubus 

 comes from the Celtic rub (red), in allusion to the colour of the fruit in 

 many of the species. Its Specific name originated with the ancient Greets, 

 who called the fruit Ida?us on account of its growing in abundance upon 

 Mount Ida. The common English name, Raspberry, is said to have been 

 given on account of the rasping roughness of the stems. This fruit is 

 indigenous to the greater part of Europe, and is to be found growing 

 wild in many parts of the United Kingdom. It is also widely spread 

 through Northern Asia. Like all other cultivated fruits the Raspberry 

 lias been greatly improved by the hand of man, and the highly-flavoured 

 garden varieties of the piesent day are widely different from the fruit in 

 a wild state. 



The Raspberry appears to have been well known to the nations of 

 antiquity, and it is frequently mentioned by their writers. Palladius, a 

 Roman, writing in the fourth century, mentions it among the generally 

 cultivated fruits of his time. Pliny also mentions it as a valuable fruit. 

 For < enturies the- Raspberry has been one of the most generally cultivated 

 fruits in the northern countries of Europe, and in the United Kingdom 

 it has always been a favourite. 



Several other species of Knhus yield edible fruits that are classed as 

 Raspberries, and the majority are worthy of attention from cultivators. 

 The most prominent of these is the Black Cap Raspberry (liubus 

 occidental is], also known as the Thimbleberry, n North American species 

 f strong growth. This species embraces a number of varieties bearing 

 large well- flavoured fruits, which in colour are mostly either deep purple 

 or black. Some varieties, however, have fruits that in colour are of 

 various shades of red, while others range from pale yellow to orange. 

 Varieties of the Black Cap Raspberry are extensively cultivated in 

 America, but they have not become popular in Europe, and are almost 

 unknown in Australasia. The American Red Raspberry ( Rubns strigosus) 

 is another species which includes several varieties that are generally 

 cultivated in the United States. The stems are strong and upright, with 

 stiff straight thorns, and the fruit, which is well flavoured and freely 

 produced, is of medium size, varying in colour from bright crimson to 

 deep red. according to the variety. 'Ihese two kinds and Rnbus It/was 

 (Common Raspberry) are the only species that are largely cultivated for 

 their fruits. 



Other species worthy of notice are the White-stemmed Raspberry 

 (/tubus fcuwlerniis), a native of California and o^her parts of North West 

 America. It is a strong-growing species with stout curved thorns and 

 large pleasantly flavoured fruit, which varies in colour from brownish- 

 yellow to black. It is closely allied to HuJjuat occidentals, and some 

 authorities consider it to be merely a variety. The Showy Raspberry 



