THORNLESS BLACKBERRY 223 



not have been secured so expeditiously had not 

 material been at hand for the hybridizing experi- 

 ments through which size and flavor were bred 

 into the fruit until, as just related, the perfected 

 thornless varieties were developed. 



And this material was largely the product of 

 some earlier experiments through which black- 

 berries of the old type had been improved as to 

 their fruiting qualities. 



It is necessary, therefore, in the interests of 

 completeness, to retrace our steps and briefly tc 

 review the earlier experiments some of which 

 indeed, were carried forward coincidentally with 

 the development of the thornless through which 

 new races of blackberries of exceptional quality, 

 though still handicapped by thorns, were de- 

 veloped. 



In this connection it is interesting to recall that 

 the cultivated blackberry is essentially an Ameri- 

 can product. No other country until quite re- 

 cently has appreciated the quality of this fruit 

 sufficiently to cultivate and develop it. Wild 

 species, to be sure, are abundant in Europe, 

 growing everywhere in England and in Ireland, 

 along hedges and in waste places; but the horti- 

 culturist has all along seemingly been prejudiced 

 against the fruit, mostly perhaps because of its 

 offensive briers. 



