224 LUTHER BURBANK 



The prejudice against the wild bramble was 

 retained by the Colonial settlers of America 

 retained so persistently that fully two centuries 

 were needed for this excellent berry to make its 

 way into the fruit gardens. 



Not a single horticultural variety of black- 

 berry was introduced until almost the middle of 

 the nineteenth century. Then the Dorchester 

 was brought to notice, and about a decade later 

 a better berry, the Lawton, which is still a stand- 

 ard, and two other varieties, the Holcomb and 

 Wilson's Early, were brought to the attention of 

 fruit growers. 



As a significant industry, blackberry cultiva- 

 tion is even more recent. It has almost wholly 

 developed since 1870. It began with planting, 

 on a commercial scale, the Lawton, which was 

 later supplanted by the Kittatiny in some sec- 

 tions. This in turn gave way to the Snyder, and 

 still more recently better varieties were devel- 

 oped. The evolution of the fruit had been 

 gradual, but it has at last established a place in 

 the horticultural ranks. I repeat my prediction 

 that it will gain a new impetus now that the one 

 great drawback of the blackberry, its thorny 

 stem, has been completely eliminated. 



It will take some time, however, to spread the 

 thornless berry universally, and in the meantime 



