CHAPTER V 

 THE DEWBERRIES 



THE dewberry as a cultivated fruit has been a relatively 

 recent introduction to American horticulture. 



At the summer meeting of the Fruit-Growers' Society 

 of Western New York, held June 24, 1863, James Vick 

 described the dewberries grown by Dr. Miner, of Honeoye 

 Falls, New York, and his method of training them. This 

 was the same as the present method of tying the fruiting 

 canes to stakes about five feet high, and allowing the new 

 growth to run at will, most of which will root at the tips. 

 He was growing two varieties, one of which was some ten 

 days earlier than the other. Mention is made of the 

 fact that the berries of the earlier variety were sometimes 

 imperfect, "a common fault with the dewberry." The 

 other variety appeared to bear uniformly perfect berries. 1 

 From a later mention of these varieties 2 it seems that 

 they were sent out by Dr. Miner to some extent, but there 

 is no evidence that they ever received varietal names, 

 and therefore they were probably soon lost to cultivation. 



It appears that the Bartel was the first named variety 

 introduced. The originator's account of this, together 

 with directions for its management, were given in Purdy's 

 Fruit Recorder for 1875, p. 182. It does not appear to 



1 Hovey's Mag. of Hort. 1863, p. 319. 



2 Ibid, 1868, p. 286. 



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