DELIGHTFUL BERRIES $23 



large, white blossoms, solitary and drooping on 

 long, slender stems swinging from the leaf axils. 



But the berries were a great disappointment, 

 being small and of a dingy, yellowish, unappetiz- 

 ing brown color and their flavor was as unattrac- 

 tive as their appearance. 



Knowing the possibilities that lie in the hybrid- 

 ization of oriental species with their American 

 relatives, however, I did not despair of the May- 

 berry, but hybridized it with the Cuthbert rasp- 

 berry, a plant that proved a remarkable parent, 

 as will be recalled, in connection with other 

 hybridizing experiments notably the production 

 of the Phenomenal berry. 



The hybridization was effected without diffi- 

 culty, and the progeny showed a tendency to 

 rapid improvement. After a few generations 

 the berries were greatly enlarged, and took on a 

 bright yellow color instead of the original dingy 

 brown. The improvement in quality was also 

 very appreciable. 



But what was perhaps most notable was the 

 extreme earliness with which the hybrid plants 

 fruited. It was, indeed, the early bearing habit 

 of this Rubus that stimulated me to make the 

 cross. It proved possible to retain and accentuate 

 this habit while introducing the Cuthbert quality 

 into the berries. The result was a new type of 



