42 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



around Stockton considerable quantities are sometimes gathered 

 for sale. The fruit, which has been held in high repute ever since 

 pioneer days, is oblong, black, and sweet. The species is variable, 

 and the anomaly, a white blackberry, has been reported from Del 

 Norte county. The native wild blackberry is one of the parents 

 of the Loganberry and of some of Mr. Burbank's hybrids which 

 are widely grown. 



Wild Strawberries (Fragaria sp.). We have in California two 

 Eastern species : Fragaria vcsca and F. Virginiana. Thus far these 

 have only been reported from localities in the Sierra mountain 

 region. Another, the sand strawberry, has been found identical 

 with a South American species, Chilensis, and it occurs along the 

 coast, where the fruit is esteemed, and is sometimes abundant 

 enough to gather in quantity. A fourth species, wood strawberry, 

 is local, and is named Calif ornica. It bears a small round fruit and 

 is partial to the coast region. Recently some cultural attention 

 has been given to the wild strawberries, and varieties worthy of 

 propagation have been reported by growers resident in the Sierra 

 region. Mr. Albert F. Etter of Ettersburg, Humboldt county, has 

 secured notable results in crossing with the wild strawberry, as will 

 be noted in the chapter on that fruit. 



Wild Gooseberries and Currants (Ribes sp.). Some of our 

 currant species are achieving quite a reputation abroad as orna- 

 mental shrubs, but they bear insipid fruit. The fruit of Ribcs 

 tenuiflorum is, however, more agreeable, and is esteemed for jellies, 

 etc., by dwellers in its region, which is the mountain region of the 

 extreme north of the State. We also have a species (Bract eosum) 

 which has something of the black currant flavor and a fair-sized 

 fruit, black with whitish bloom, and very sweet. 



There are also several species of Ribcs which are classed with 

 the gooseberries, but only three bear edible fruit. One of these 

 (Ribes divaricatum) is peculiar to this, coast; another (Ribcs 

 oxyacanthoides) occurs at an elevation in the Sierra Nevada and 

 thence extends eastward beyond the Rocky Mountains. The berries 

 are small to medium, of pleasant flavor, and well armed with spines, 

 Another species (Ribes leptanthum), common in San Luis Obispo 

 and Kern counties, resembles the flavor of the' cultivated goose- 

 berry, and is free from spines. 



Cranberries and Huckleberries (Vaccinium sp.). We have sev- 

 eral species belonging to the same botanical genus as the Eastern 

 cranberry, but quite different from it both in growth of plant and 

 character of fruit. The fruit of two species is reddish, but insipid. 

 Other species (V. ovatum, etc.) have dark blue or purple fruit. 

 Some of these are locally esteemed, and the argument drawn from 

 them is that the cranberry of commerce would succeed. It should 

 be stated, however, that the situations in which these plants thrive 



