154 THE HOME ACRE. 



until the fruit began to ripen, the danger was 

 practically over. If I had to use hellebore after 

 the fruit was fit to use, I should first kill the 

 worms, and then cleanse the bushes thoroughly 

 by spraying them with clean water. 



In treating the two remaining small fruits, black- 

 berries and strawberries, we pass wholly out of 

 the shade and away from trees. Sunshine and 

 open ground are now required. Another impor- 

 tant difference can also be mentioned, reversing 

 former experience. America is the home of these 

 fruits. The wild species of the blackberry abroad 

 has never, as far as I can learn, been developed 

 into varieties worthy of cultivation; and before 

 importations from North and South America 

 began, the only strawberry of Europe was the 

 Alpine, with its slight variations, and the musky 

 Hautbois. 



I do not know whether any of our fine varieties 

 of blackberries are cultivated abroad, but I am 

 perfectly certain that they are worthy of the slight 

 attention required to raise them in perfection 

 here. 



Like the blackcaps, all our best varieties are 

 the spontaneous products of Nature, first discovered 

 growing wild, and transferred to the garden. The 

 blackberry is a fruit that takes kindly to cul- 

 tivation, and improves under it. 



