A cross between Taylor raspberry and Korean Tree Berry, Riibus morifo- 

 lius, where both parents are diploids, give nearly sterile Fj hybrids. When 

 carried into a second generation, no valuable selections resulted. However, 

 Hailsham red raspberry, a tetraploid variety, was crossed with Rubus morifo- 

 lius and a resulting 3n plant proved fertile and nearly good enough to in- 

 troduce as a variety. When an open-pollinated F^ generation was raised from 

 this triploid hybrid, all 16 plants on which chromosome counts were made 

 were diploid."' The plants were mostly sterile, extremely variable, and 

 showed some characteristitcs of both parental species. Backcrosses of the 

 triploid hybrid to New Hampshire raspberry gave a good progeny, but the 

 seedlings showed little or no evidence of R. inorif alius plant characteristics. 



Everbearing Black Raspberries 



Following the crossing of Morrison black raspberry and Durham red 

 raspberry, a progeny of purple raspberries resulted. One selected fall-bearing, 

 purple-fruited seedling was in turn backcrossed to black raspberry by 

 Putnam Payne, a graduate student in Horticulture. 



As a result, a plant ripening berries closely resembling a black raspberry 

 and that mature rather early in the fall was obtained. In itself, this black 

 raspberry has been difficult to propagate by the customary tip-layering 

 method, but has been increased by means of softwood cuttings. A generation 

 of self-pollinated seedlings from this fall-fruiting black raspberry gave both 

 black and purple raspberries that were fall-bearing. As noted, everbearing 

 black raspberries seem difficult to propagate aside from the use of softwood 

 cuttings. The fruiting of the terminals makes tip-layering impossible. 



Blaze Strawberry 



From crosses made by Dr. L. P. Latimer between a selection from Simcoe 

 X Pathfinder and a selection of Tupper x Fairfax, there was selected in 1948 

 an attractive seedling that received the number, NH #288. This perfect- 

 flowered selection had medium to large bright red, somewhat rounded berries 

 that ripen in midseason. The berries, though having a light-colored interior, 

 ripen to a brilliant red outside, hence its name. The berries are rather soft 

 and must be handled carefully in harvesting. Since it was named as a 

 variety in 1953, Blaze has continued to be highly productive with yields of 

 15,000 quarts per acre having been reported in trials at the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. For nearby local markets and home use, 

 Blaze has proved popular. Due to their light interior color, the fruits are 

 not satisfactory as a commercial frozen berry, though the flavor is rated 

 pleasant after removal from the freezer. The strong plants have large crowns 

 and make runners freely. Leaf spot has seldom been a serious problem with 

 this variety. 



D. L. Craig, a graduate student, University of New Hampshire. 



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