INEDIBLE FRUITS 375 



orchard and garden fruits. At most they show 

 promise of development. 



Almost any one of the potential fruit bearers 

 about to be named offers inviting opportunities 

 for the fruit developer. And some of them are 

 so readily accessible and so responsive to efforts 

 made in their behalf as to make particular appeal 

 to the amateur. 



IMPROVING THE BARBERRY 



Those who have seen the common barberry 

 with its beautiful, hollylike leaves and abundance 

 of blossoms in the early spring, and who have 

 also noted the attractive crimson fruit it bears in 

 the fall, will readily understand why the im- 

 provement of this shrub was undertaken with 

 particular reference to making its fruit attractive 

 to the palate as well as to the eye. 



This is a member of a rather large company of 

 plants that combine decorative appearance with 

 the capacity to bear valuable fruit. But it is well 

 known that the possibilities of the barberry in the 

 latter regard have never been developed beyond 

 the initial stages. 



Beautiful as the fruit is, it is altogether inedible 

 (except when it is utilized for jelly) or was at 

 the time when my experiments with the plant 

 began. 



