THE WHITE BLACKBERRY 331 



transparency that the seeds, though unusually 

 small, could readily be seen through the trans- 

 lucent pulp. 



These were doubtless the first truly white 

 blackberries of which there is any record. But 

 there were only four or five bushes bearing these 

 white berries in an entire generation comprising 

 several hundred individual bushes, all having pre- 

 cisely the same ancestry. 



From among the four or five bushes the one 

 showing a combination of the best qualities was 

 selected and multiplied, until its descendants con- 

 stituted a race of white blackberries that breeds 

 absolutely true as regards the white fruit. 



Now BREEDS TRUE FROM SEED 



The descendants of this particular bush were 

 widely scattered and passed out of my control. 

 But subsequently, from the same stock, I de- 

 veloped other races, and finally perfected, merely 

 by selection and interbreeding from this same 

 stock, a race of white blackberries that breeds 

 true from the seed, showing no tendency what- 

 ever to revert to the black grandparental type. 



This is, in short, a fruit which if found in the 

 state of nature would unhesitatingly be pro- 

 nounced a distinct species. Its fruit is not only 

 snowy white in color, but large and luscious, com- 



