BLACKBERRY-RASPBERRY HYBRIDS 485 



the winter; berries large, black, sweet, rich, and delicious. It con 

 tinues to ripen from July to November, which makes it one of the 

 best berries for family use." It loses size and quality notably 

 on scant moisture. 



Some effort has been made to secure improved varieties of our 

 native blackberry, and a most striking result has been secured by 

 Judge J. H. Logan, of Santa Cruz, by crossing the wild berry with 

 Crandall's Early, producing a fruit so large that it has been named 

 " Mammoth " by its originator. The canes of the Mammoth are 

 very peculiar, being very large and thickly covered with small, 

 short spines. The canes start early in March, grow thick and 

 stout until about five feet high. They then take on a running 

 habit and grow from twenty-five to thirty feet in a season. Late 

 in the fall the tips or stolons seek the ground and take root. The 

 Mammoth is not an evergreen like its Texas parent, although it 

 does not entirely lose its leaves in winter. It begins to grow and 

 flower very early in spring and ripens its fruit the last of May, 

 some weeks earlier than the Lawton. The fruit is more acid than 

 the Lawton, but, when perfectly ripe, is sweet and of superior 

 flavor. When cooked or canned the flavor is identical with the 

 wild berry of California. This variety is often wrongly called 

 " Black Loganberry." 



The Himalaya is a blackberry of wonderful growth and pro- 

 lificness, highly praised by amateurs but not yet fully made out 

 from a commercial point of view. It is magnificent on a garden 

 fence or trellis. 



The Dewberry. The improved varieties of the dewberry, or 

 trailing blackberry, are now quite widely known and highly praised. 

 Some growers use trellises; others train the vines along rows on 

 the ground surface. The following is the method of Mr. A. M. 

 M linger, of Fresno, and includes irrigation arrangements : 



For planting the Lucretia dewberry, prepare the ground by plowing deep 

 and cultivating until the dirt is thoroughly pulverized. Set the plants about 

 three inches deep and four feet apart, in rows, leaving a space of six feet 

 between the rows. Plant between February I5th and March I5th. Irrigate as 

 often as once a month, always thoroughly cultivating after each irrigation. By 

 so doing a sufficient growth is secured to produce a good crop the second year. 

 Immediately after the first rainfall, generally in October, the vines should be 

 pruned by cutting back within about sixteen inches of the base of the vine. 



In February of the second year, plow between the rows with a small one- 

 horse plow, turning the furrows toward the vines, but using a shield so as not 

 to cover them. Follow immediately with a hoe, drawing the dirt up under 

 the vines and forming a ridge. This ridge should be high enough to keep the 

 vines up out of the water when irrigating. After this ridge is formed, water 

 should be run quite often, as the dewberry requires a great deal of water to 

 mature properly. The vines should be irrigated as often as three times at 

 least during the spring. The fruit begins to ripen in Fresno about May 25th, 

 and continues about one month. The dewberry roots readily from the tips 

 without covering if the soil is loose and moist. If many plants are desired 

 it is ^advisable to cover slightly, and the tips will root as soon as the soil is 

 moistened by the fall rains. 



