1871 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST. 



26 



The Wbortleberry. 



The whortleberry, or huckleberry as commonly 

 called, like the blackberry, is fast passing away 

 from among us as a wild fruit; and unless some ex- 

 ertions are made toward its cultivation, not many 

 years can pass ere the fruit will become a rarity in 

 any section, and entirely unknown where perhaps 

 now it is abundant. Although a native wild truit, 

 yet it has ever been confined to certain limits and 

 sections of the countrj', and as soon as these sections 

 are cleared up and cultivated, the whortleberry dis- 

 appears ; while it is yet to be had in some sections 

 for the picking, its value in the New York and 

 other city markets is such that we feel assured it 

 would prove a more remunerative crop than straw- 

 berries ; and once a plantation of it is made, it is 

 permanent and will rec|uire but little care annuallj' 

 to continue it. The past season the fruit has sold 

 as high as eleven dollars a bushel, and not below 

 five, to our knowledge. In productiveness it is sur- 

 passed by no plant or fruit producing shrub, we 

 having often gathered a cjuart from a single bush, 

 which, if allowed as a rule, and we consider an acre 

 planted with bushes, at a distance of one by three 

 feet, would give about three hundred and eighty 

 bushels, that, counted at the lowest price — five dol- 

 lars — would amount to nineteen hundred dollars. 

 But we consider this a fancy estimate, and only 

 produce it to show how the matter can be figured 

 up. Let us take a more moderate view, and put- 

 ting the crop at half a pint to the plant — certainly 

 a safe estimate — and we have then ninety-five bush- 

 els to the acre, which, at five dollars, would give 

 over four hundred dollars to the acre, an amount 

 beyond the average of the berry crop generally. 



Thus showing its value when produced, we have 

 next to take the soil, cultivation, etc., required to 

 produce it. In its wild conditions it is found in 

 almost all soils, from a poor, hard, thin clay, run- 

 ning through all the grades of sand and loam, to a 

 deep, rich, but wet, swamp muck, so that we can 

 have little doubt of success, plant it where we may. 

 In its varieties, it is found wild in shade and in 

 open bleak exposures, so that here again we have 

 reason to look for success in almost any location ; 

 but whether it will bear cultivation of the soil, or 

 require the surface to be kept in turf or mulched, 

 as it is found wild, is a point 3'et to be proven by 

 practice ; but that it can be grown as a crop, and 

 profitably, we have not a doubt, and trust the sub- 

 ject will be soon brought before our nation by some 

 energetic person as to induce general attention and 

 soon extensive planting. 



The foregoing remarks from the HorticuUurid 

 concerning the huckleberry are true. Why so val- 

 uable a fruit, and one so easilj- propagated, should 

 have received so little attention from the pomolog- 

 ical world, and especially from amateur cultivators, 



may well be wondered at. That the huckleberry 

 and the blueberry, which are almost identical, dif- 

 fering but very little in quality or habit of growth, 

 can be succe.ssfully grown in Iowa, we have fully 

 demonstrated. 



In the fiill of 18G4, we obtained from the fields of 

 our old homestead in N. IIamp.shire, a few plants of 

 the high bush blueberry. They were buried for the 

 winter, and in the following spring planted out in 

 the garden. They have done well, and bid fair to 

 be as fruitful here as in their old locality. 



Tlie blueberry makes a very slow growth, is very 

 hardy and very productive. There are two varie- 

 ties of the blueberry — or rather, two habits of 

 growth — the high and low bush, as they are called. 

 The former attains a height of four to six feet — the 

 latter docs not exceed fifteen to twenty inches. The 

 high bush is the mo.st productive ; larger and better 

 than the fruit of the low bush. The blueberry and 

 the huckleberry may be readily propagated from 

 the seed. For pies, the blueberry and the huckle- 

 berry take precedence over any other fruit. The 

 fruit is easily preserved by drying, and retains its 

 natural flavor quite as well, if not better, than eith- 

 er the raspberry or the blackberry. 



Fruitrulness and Ijongevity. 



It is a qLestion whether in our eagerness to pro- 

 mote the fruitfulness of trees and grape vines, we 

 do not thereby impair their vigor. At least, there 

 are many facts which look in that direction. 



For example ; if we prune a vigorous growing 

 tree in mid-summer, it will be likely to bear fruit 

 the next year, but will make little new wood. For 

 the tree has received a shock which it will take a 

 year or two to recover from. We dwarf our pear 

 and apple trees tp throw them into early bearing, 

 but every one knows that such trees are not long 

 lived. And they will become weak and die out 

 just in proportion as they are allowed to overbear. 

 If we let a young grape vine bear heavily, it checks 

 its growth for several years. So too, if we would 

 keep a mature vine or pear tree in good uniform 

 health and productiveness from year to year, we 

 must thin out the fruit every year. 3} 



Every observer must have noticed that the foliage 

 of a vigorous tree which produces little fruit, is 

 much'larger and greener than one which is very 

 productive. The foliage of the latter is pale and 

 sickly, and falls ofl" early in autumn. If a tree is 

 planted in poor soil, it may be thrown into early 

 bearing, but the fruit will be small, and the tree 

 w ill lack in vigor. 



Both in the vegetable and the animal kingdoms, 

 there must be kept up a strong base of phisical 

 strength, if we would gain the best results, and for 

 a long period. There must be generous food and a 

 good physical development, in order to a sound 

 mind, healthy feelings and permanent activity. So 

 there must be a good soil and an avoidance of ex- 

 cessive fruitfulness, if we would keep up the vigor 

 of our trees and vines for a lonj succession of 

 years. — Sural American. 



