SMALL FRUITS 225 



that some varieties are self-sterile and will 

 require that some other sort be planted near 

 them. These sterile varieties are always so 

 indicated in the catalogues so you can not go 

 far wrong in that one respect. 



Blueberries, or huckleberries, are native 

 American fruits, some kinds of which are now 

 being grown commercially. This seems to be a 

 more promising field in the South than in the 

 North where many acres of wild plants still 

 furnish a considerable quantity to the New 

 England markets. And when I speak of 

 huckleberries I do not include that notorious 

 fake that has been offered to the public period- 

 ically under the name of "garden huckle- 

 berry." It is, of course, not a huckleberry at 

 all but a member of the night-shade family — 

 edible, if you are hungry enough and if it is 

 doctored up with sugar and perhaps a bit of 

 spice. Your grandfather knew them as well as 

 he did their relatives the "husk tomatoes,' ' but 

 neither of them ever became popular in his gar- 

 den. 



The unscrupulous nurseryman has preyed 

 upon the public in this way many times, re-in- 

 troducing old varieties under high-sounding 

 names to catch those of the class of which it is 

 said one is born every minute. We are all of 

 us impressed more or less by distant objects. 

 Old things seen in a new environment or shown 



