THE BUFFALO BERRY 487 



suckers are produced but sparingly, but are readily separated 

 whenever found. From the fact that a large number of plants 

 produced from suckers proved to be all staminate, Professor S. B. 

 Greene was lead to infer* that perhaps the staminate plants pro- 

 duce more suckers than the pistillate. He still thinks that this 

 may be true, though he writes that later observations have not 

 enabled him to settle the point definitely. It is said to grow 

 readily from cuttings taken in autumn and treated like grape and 

 currant cuttings. Seeds should be planted when the fruit is ripe, 

 or mixed with sand and planted the following spring. Fuller 

 states! that the best way is to plant at once in rows, one or two 

 inches deep, transplanting into nursery rows when one year old. 

 He says that they will usually bloom the third year from seed, 

 when the staminate and pistillate plants can be readily marked 

 or separated. 



In planting, it is important to see that both sexes are placed 

 together; otherwise no fruit can be produced. Failure has often 

 resulted from inattention to this detail. Professor L. C. Corbett 

 has pointed outj that it is unnecessary to leave the young plants 

 until they flower to determine their sex. He says: "There is 

 another and easier way of distinguishing the staminate from the 

 pistillate plants; i. e., by bud characters while in a dormant con- 

 dition. With care and experience one can readily separate the 

 two." In the pistillate plants the buds are smaller, more slender, 

 and arranged in less compact clusters. 



The buffalo berry is worth planting as an ornamental shrub 

 or small tree. Its silvery foliage is distinct and attractive, and 

 its loads of fruit, if not taken by birds, render it a showy object 

 throughout the closing months of the year. It appears to be 

 perfectly hardy in the northern states when once established. 



The fruit has a sprightly, agreeable flavor, which makes it 

 pleasant to eat from the hand. It dries, but keeps indefinitely. 

 Fruit which has laid in my desk for several years still retains its 



*Bull. 18. Minn. Exp. Sta., p. 129. 

 tSmall Fruit Culturist, 252. * 

 jAmer. Gardening, 1895:45. 



