BERRIES AND GARDEN FRUITS 



MAKING A WHITE BLACKBEEEY 



Let us see the methods applied by Mr. Burbank 

 in one or two typical experiments. Take, for in- 

 stance, the case of the white blackberry. This is 

 one of Mr. Burbank 's most interesting (though 

 not most useful) small-fruit developments. We 

 may briefly trace its pedigree. 



It appears that a small brownish-white black- 

 berry was found growing wild in the eastern 

 states, and introduced by a New Jersey firm a 

 good many years ago as a curiosity, under the 

 name of the Crystal White blackberry. Notwith- 

 standing the name given it, the fruit was by no 

 means white, and it was of very inferior quality 

 as to size and flavor. 



It occurred to Mr. Burbank, however, that he 

 might be able to improve the quality of the fruit 

 and remove its traces of brownish pigment. 



In attempting to accomplish this, Mr. Burbank 

 hybridized the little berry with the Lawton black- 

 berry. The hybrid offspring all bore berries that 

 were black in color. In the second generation, 

 however, there appeared a small proportion of 

 vines that bore fruit that was almost white, and 

 yet was of fair quality. 



These vines, being inbred, gave in the next gen- 

 eration berries that were pure white and of large 

 size and excellent flavor. 



What had happened, in effect, was that the good- 

 fruiting qualities of one ancestor had been com- 

 bined with the unpigmented fruit of another 



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