THE WHITE BLACKBERRY 329 



This individual bush, instead of dying down like 

 others, kept growing at the top like a vine or tree, 

 anc when it was two or three years old it was so 

 tall that a stepladder was required to reach the 

 fruit. Its berries, how r ever, were rather small, 

 soft, and jet black in color. 



This plant, then, was an interesting anomaly, 

 but it gave no aid in the quest of a white black- 

 berry. 



But there were other vines of this second filial 

 generation grandchildren of the Lawton and 

 the original "Crystal White" that showed a 

 tendency to vary in the color of their fruit, this 

 being in some cases yellowish white. Of course 

 these bushes were selected for further experi- 

 ment. Some were cross-fertilized and the seed 

 preserved. 



The vines that grew from this seed in the next 

 season gave early indications of possessing varied 

 qualities. It is often to be observed that a vine 

 which will ultimately produce berries of a light 

 color lacks pigment in its stem, and is greenish or 

 amber in color, whereas the stem of a vine that is 

 to produce black berries is dark brown or purple. 

 A few of the blackberry vines of the third gen- 

 eration showed this light color ; and in due course, 

 when they came to the fruiting age, they put 

 forth heavy crops of clear white berries of such 



