THE BUFFALO-BERRY 



THE BUFFALO-BERRY 



357 



fruit. This is the form usually sold by nur- 

 serymen. The fruit of the American type is 

 hardly better than that of the European as 

 usually found, but the plant seems to be more 

 variable; occasionally plants are found bearing 

 fruits of pleasant acid taste, which are very 

 agreeable substitutes for the cranberry. Tak- 

 ing advantage of this fact, A. E. Morgan, 

 Dayton, Ohio, has spent some years in de- 

 veloping varieties suitable for garden culture. 



Plants of six of Morgan's named varieties 

 and many of his unnamed seedlings are now 

 growing on the grounds of the New York Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, Geneva, New 

 York, in charge of the author. These are just 

 coming into fruit, and their merits cannot as 

 yet be passed upon with certainty, but the 

 behavior of the various plants shows clearly 

 that the groups are distinct and that in them 

 we have a newly domesticated fruit of much 

 value. The product is as palatable as that of 

 the true cranberry, although hardly as pleas- 

 ant eating, because of the seeds. The fruits 

 are as attractive in appearance as those of the 

 cranberry, will probably keep as long, and will 

 certainly ship as well. The plants are hardier, 

 as the originals came from the cold northern 

 plains of Canada; they are probably freer 

 from insects and fungi; whether more or less 

 productive on equal areas of ground remains 

 to be seen, but certainly they can be grown 

 more cheaply, since the cost of establishing 

 a plantation is far less; and, probably, they 

 can be grown in many of the northern states, 

 whereas the true cranberry grows in very re- 

 stricted areas in a few states. 



From what has already been done, it can be 

 seen that the cranberry-tree responds quickly 

 to the plant-breeder. Fruits and plants have 

 many merits to recommend them, which is 

 sufficient reason to continue their improve- 

 ment; but perhaps a stronger reason is that a 

 fruit of this type is needed to supplement the 

 common cranberry. Another small-fruit for 

 winter consumption as a fresh fruit could 

 hardly fail to attract attention from consum- 

 ers. Also, the late season of ripening; the 

 difference in cultural operations; its probable 

 occupation of land not suited to other small- 

 fruits; and the possibility of its use as a hand- 

 some ornamental, all commend it as a desir- 

 able addition to the pomological flora of the 

 country. 



THE BUFFALO-BERRY 



The buffalo-berry is cultivated somewhat in 

 the colder parts of the Great Plains as a sub- 

 stitute for the currant. It is doubtful whether 

 its merits are sufficient to give it a place in 

 regions other than those where currants and 

 gooseberries cannot withstand dry or cold 

 climates. It is one of several fruits belonging 

 to the oleaster or Elaeagnacese family, the only 

 other hardy fruit worth present notice being the 

 goumi. The buffalo-berry belongs to the genus 

 Shepherdia, which may be briefly characterized 

 as follows: 



Shepherdia. Shrubs or small tree with scurfy scales. 

 Leaves opposite, entire, deciduous, petiolate, oblong, 

 silvery-scurfy. Flowers dioecious, small, nearly sessile 

 in their axils on the branches ; sterile ones clustered, 

 but the fertile flowers solitary or in 2's ; sterile flowers 

 with a 4 -parted calyx and 8 stamens alternating with 

 8 processes of the thick disk ; fertile flowers with an 

 urn-shaped 4-cleft calyx, a slender style and a 1-sided 

 stigma. Fruit drupe-like, the fleshy calyx enclosing a 

 nut or achene. The two American species bear edible 

 fruits, but only that of one is worthy cultivation, this 

 now to be described. 



Sheperdia argentea, Nutt. Fig. 323. Buffalo-Berry. 

 Rabbit-Berry. Nebraska Currant. Shrub erect, very 

 thorny, attaining a height of 18 feet, the young 

 growth covered with white tomentum. Leaves oblong 

 or oblong-wedge shaped, silvery on both sides. Flowers 

 small, yellowish, in dense fascicles at the nodes. Fruit 

 round or ovoid, the size of a large currant, red or 

 yellow, acid but pleasantly flavored. 



323. Buffalo-berry. (XV 2 ) 



The buffalo-berry is one of the hardiest wild 

 fruits, being found as far north as Manitoba 

 and Saskatchewan and westward, thence south- 

 ward to Colorado and Utah as far as the 

 mountains of New Mexico. Indians and pio- 

 neers have long used the berries to enliven the 

 scant fare of fruits. Their use as a sauce with 

 buffalo-meat suggested the name. The species 

 has been more or less cultivated, according to 

 numerous accounts in horticultural literature, 

 for nearly a century, but now finds favor only 

 in localities where other fruits cannot be 

 grown. 



Once in hand, the fruits have much merit, 

 but the crop is hard to obtain. Sprouts taken 

 from wild thickets do not behave well in the 

 garden, requiring a transitional period of a 

 year or two in the nursery-row. Seeds must 

 be stratified for winter-keeping and planted 

 in nursery-rows to receive care for two or 

 three years, before the plants are ready for 

 the garden. Cuttings treated as those of the 

 currant seem to grow readily. While not more 

 difficult to grow than other bush-fruits, the 

 crop is not easily harvested, because of the 

 thorny plants and the small berries. More- 

 over, as the plants are dioecious, it is necessary 

 to grow staminate and pistillate plants in 

 proximity, but in what proportion has not yet 

 been determined. In purchasing plants in 

 small numbers, very often but one sex is ob- 

 tained. Because of these difficulties, attempts 

 to introduce the buffalo-berry as a garden 

 plant have met with but indifferent success. 

 They are not uncommon, however, as orna- 

 mental plants, and on the plains of the slopes 



