172 Bush-Fruits 



for its medicinal properties as the blackberry. Gerard Dewes, in 

 his translation of "Dodoen's Niewe Herball," or "Historic of 

 Plantes," published in 1587, enumerates the following "vertues:" 



"The leaves, tender springes, fruit and roote of this Bramble 

 are not much unlyke, in vertue and working, to the leaves, shutes, 

 fruite and rootes of the other Bramble, as Dioscorides writeth. 



"The flowers of Raspis are good to be bruysed with hony, and 

 layde to the inflammations and hoate humours gathered togither in 

 the eyes, and Erysipelas or wilde fire, for it quencheth such hoate 

 burninges. 



"They be also good to be dronken with water of them that have 

 weake stomackes." 



The illustration (Fig. 22) shows a specimen of the text of this 

 work, giving the description, habitat and time of flowering of the 

 Framboye, Raspis or Hyndberie, as the raspberry was then called 

 in French, English and German, respectively. The figure of the 

 plant (Fig. 23) is reproduced from John Gerarde's "Historic of 

 Plantes," published in 1597. 



After the settlement of this country the first attempts at culti- 

 vation, as with other fruits, were with varieties which had been- 

 familiar in England. In the second edition of William R. Prince's 

 "Pomological Manual," published in 1832, fourteen varieties are 

 described and six others mentioned as meriting culture. All but 

 four of these are probably varieties of R. Idceus, although in some 

 cases it is impossible to decide with certainty. Of these four, at 

 least three appear to be forms of R. strigosus from different lo- 

 calities, while the fourth may belong to the Rubus neglectus, or 

 Purple-cane type. One of the varieties which appears to be European 

 may also belong here. The American Pomological Society, at its 

 second session in 1853, recommended four varieties for general culti- 

 vation, and commended one more as promising, all of which were 

 foreign sorts. In the catalogue, as recommended by the last session 

 in 1891, there appear fourteen varieties of Rubus Idceus, one of which 

 is placed there doubtfully, and six of which are seedlings of American 

 origin. There are also twenty-nine native varieties, six of which are 

 classed under R. neglectus, fourteen under R. occidentalis, and nine 

 under R. stngosus. This, however, is far from representing the true 



