THE WHITE BLACKBERRY 329 



This individual bush, instead of dying down like 

 others, kept growing at the top like a vine or tree, 

 anc'- when it was two or three years old it was so 

 tall that a stepladder was required to reach the 

 fruit. Its berries, however, were rather small, 

 soft, and jet black in color. 



This plant, then, was an interesting anomaly, 

 but it gave no aid in the quest of a white black- 

 berry. 



But there were other vines of this second filial 

 generation — grandchildren of the Lawton and 

 the original "Crystal White" — that showed a 

 tendency to vary in the color of their fruit, this 

 being in some cases yellowish white. Of course 

 these bushes were selected for further experi- 

 ment. Some were cross-fertilized and the seed 

 preserved. 



The vines that grew from this seed in the next 

 season gave early indications of possessing varied 

 qualities. It is often to be observed that a vine 

 which will ultimately produce berries of a light 

 color lacks pigment in its stem, and is greenish or 

 amber in color, whereas the stem of a vine that is 

 to produce black berries is dark brown or purple. 

 A few of the blackberry vines of the third gen- 

 eration showed this light color ; and in due course, 

 when they came to the fruiting age, they put 

 forth heavy crops of clear white berries of such 



