Huckleberries or Blueberries 379 



VACCINIUM VACILLANS, Kalm. Low or Pale Blueberry. 



This is a low, glabrous shrub, from 1 to 3 feet high, with yellowish 

 green stem and branchlets. The leaves are smooth and very pale 

 and glaucous, at least on the under side. The berries are large and 

 sweet, generally with a blue bloom, though sometimes black, ripen- 

 ing from the last of July to September. The fruit is borne in clusters 

 at the end of leafless branches of the previous season's growth, and 

 the plants are very prolific. 



The species occurs chiefly in dry and sandy soil, from New Eng- 

 land to Michigan and Iowa, and southward to Missouri and North 

 Carolina. Growing as it does in dry soils, being a pretty little shrub 

 for ornamental purposes, and a prolific bearer, with fruit of fine 

 quality, it is one of the species which would seem to be promising 

 for cultivation, or for use in hybridizing with other species. 



VACCINIUM CORYMBOSUM, Linn. Swamp Blueberry. High 

 Huckleberry. (Fig. 56.) 



A tall, handsome shrub, from 4 to 10 feet high, with yellowish 

 green branches which turn to a light gray with age, the bark on old 

 stems becoming rough and peeling off in shreds. The leaves are 

 narrow, mostly egg-shaped, either smooth or downy. The flowers 

 are large, and borne on the extremities of the previous year's growth, 

 as in the preceding species. The fruit ripens from August to the 

 latter part of September, and is widely variable in shape, size, color 

 and flavor. 



The species varies greatly, and several botanical varieties have 

 been described. It grows chiefly in swamps and moist woods, though 

 sometimes found in dry, open pastures. It has a wide distribution, 

 occurring throughout the eastern half of North America, from New- 

 foundland to Louisiana. It is the most promising of all the huckle- 

 berries for cultivation. It is the species with which most progress 

 has already been made in the way of propagation and culture. 



Insects attacking the huckleberry 



In Washington County, Maine, is a tract of country 

 comprising some two hundred fifty thousand acres, known 

 as the " Blueberry Barrens." It is a region made up of 



