ON THE THORNLESS BLACKBERRY 



Not a single horticultural variety of black- 

 berry was introduced until almost the middle of 

 the nineteenth century. Then the Dorchester 

 was brought to notice, and about a decade later a 

 better berry, the Lawton, which is still a standard, 

 and two other varieties, the Holcomb and Wil- 

 son's Early, were brought to the attention of fruit 

 growers. 



As a significant industry, blackberry cultiva- 

 tion is even more recent. It has almost wholly 

 developed since 1870. It began with planting, on 

 a commercial scale, the Lawton, which was later 

 supplanted by the Kittatiny in some sections. 

 This in turn gave way to the Snyder, and still 

 more recently better varieties were developed. 

 The evolution of the fruit had been gradual, but 

 it has at last established a place in the horticul- 

 tural ranks. I repeat my prediction that it will 

 gain a new impetus now that the one great draw- 

 back of the blackberry, its thorny stem, has been 

 eliminated. 



It will take some time, how r ever, to spread the 

 thornless berry universally, and in the meantime 

 the blackberries of the older type retain a meas- 

 ure of interest. 



MATERIALS FOR DEVELOPMENT 



The chief American wild species, which fur- 

 nished material for the development of the races 



[25] 



