234 THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE, [x. 



have always remembered because of its. g^reat and 

 luscious blackberries. But the comparison was greatly 

 in favor of the tame berries, if they are allowed to 

 remain upon the bushes until ripe. In the wild patches 

 we practice an unconscious choice and pick only those 

 berries which please us. We pick the ripest and the 

 best. It is noticeable, also, that we pick the largest 

 and base our judgment upon them, while we should 

 find the best quality in the smallest berries, if our 

 assumed logic is sound. Cultivated berries, when 

 marketed, are necessarily picked l>efore the^' are ripe, 

 and they never reach their full quality. And even 

 when picked for table use, blackness in the black- 

 berry and redness in the strawberry are usually con- 

 sidered as measures of ripeness. But the true meas- 

 ure of ripeness is softness. A well grown, fully ripe 

 blackberry, which falls into the hand when the clus- 

 ter is shaken, possesses a tenderness, juiciness, and 

 sweetness which I have rarely found in a wild berry. 

 And the same is true, in my experience, of straw- 

 berries and raspberries. 



But we do not need to rely upon individual tastes, 

 for all chemical examinations which I have been able 

 to find show that sweetness increases with the in(;rease 

 or intensification of cultivation. This would seem to 

 be almost necessarily the case because the ultimate 

 aim of cultivation is to supply more food to the plant, 

 and this food, in fruits, is largely potash, whi(?h seems 

 to bear a definite ratio to sugar. Dr. Stone reports* 

 a series of interesting experiments in this direction 

 at the Massachusetts Agricultural College : "A wild 



♦Amer. Gard. vi. 210 (1885). 



