1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



2f)9 



Raspberries and Blackberries. 



At the July meeting of the Montgomery (Ohio) 

 Horticultural Society, attention was called to these 

 two fruits, and we are gratified to see our commen- 

 dation of the Kittatinny and Philadelphia so fully 

 endorsed by so good authority. 



Mr. Munima had grown quite a list of varieties 

 of the raspberry, but had found only four sorts 

 profitable to grow for market, and these were Phil- 

 adelphia, Red Antwerp, Doolittle and Mammoth 

 Cluster. These varieties are liardy and very pro- 

 ductive. The Philadelphia is not of the best flavor 

 but it is good. Its immense yield of fruit will al- 

 ways make it popular with the fruit grower. The 

 Mammoth Cluster is one-third larger than the Doo- 

 little; bears in clusters, and ripens later than the 

 Doolittle. 



Mr. Cramer said the Philadelphia with him is 

 the best bearer he has tested. 



Mr. Ohmer said the Philadelphia raspberry is a 

 favorite with him. He finds it perfectly hardy and 

 unusually productive. Advises every land or lot- 

 holder to plant one or two dozen plants of this fruit. 

 These will produce enough fruit for a large family 

 during the ripening sea.son. 



BLACKBERBIES. 



Mr. Mumma has cultivated the Wilson's Early. 

 Lawton and Kittatinny. The "Wilson's Ear'}' has 

 proved productive, and is of very fine flavor and 

 large size. If confined to one variety he would 

 choose the Kittatinny. This sort ripens more uni- 

 formly than the Lawton, is of better flavor, and has 

 less core. 



Mr. Cramer said the Wilson's Early ripens the 

 whole crop of fruit in a few days, and he does not 

 find it earlier than liis Lawtons and Kittatinuies. 

 It has claimed value on account of its earliness, but 

 it fails on this test with him. It has no other qual- 

 ities which make it equal to the Kittatinny and 

 Lawton as a market fruit. 



Mr. Ohmer said he prefers the Kittatinny to the 

 Lawton. The former is ripe as soon as black, is 

 more uniform in ripening, and fully as productive 

 as the latter. The Lawton continues in ripening 

 six weeks. No family sliould be without its black- 

 berry patch, as with the raspberry, a few plants 

 will produce suflicient for the use of a family. 



[We suppose in "flavor" Mr. Mumma places Phil- 

 adelphia in competition with Red Antwerp — if with 

 Doolittle, we differ. It is not quite so firm — is 

 more juicy but ships very well. Both should have 

 a place in every fruit garden in the west. — Ed.] 



PROPAGATrNQ THE Verbena. — In reply to an 

 inquiry of a correspondent concerning the propa- 

 gation of the verbena, the Rural New Yorker says : 



Verbenas are propagated in the spring by taking 

 young, soft shoots of this year's growth, making 

 them about two inches long, and leaving only four 

 leaves on each cutting. When well rooted, put 

 them in two -inch pots; after they have grown 

 three or four inches, plant in open ground. To 

 have them flower well in winter, prune the plant 

 severely, the first of September ; give each plant to 

 be taken up a top-dressing of fine manure; this 

 will cause young shoots to start near the center of 

 the plant. Before frost, take up those that are to 

 be kept through the winter, and put in six- or 

 eight -inch pots; they will usually bloom and grow 

 vigorously if kept in a warm room. Do not water 

 too freely until they flower. It is useless to keep 

 verbenas in a cellar, as it is too damp. If young 

 plants are wanted for the following spring, take 

 cuttings as before stated, from the young growth ; 

 but never take up old plants or layers, as they are 

 more liable to be infested with insects during the 

 winter than young and thrifty plants. To have 

 seed, select the largest cluster of flowers after the 

 petals have dropped ; when the seed vessels begin 

 to turn yellow, cut them and lay them away until 

 dry. The seed may be sown in March in hot beds, 

 or in open ground in May. 



1 ♦ » 



Davtson's Xliornless Raspberry* 



A correspondent of the Horticulturist speaks 

 highly of this fruit. After three years experience he 

 finds it possessing many good points— hardy as any 

 other Black Cap, a good grower, a cood bearer and 

 thornless. " One can crowd through, and under and 

 handle the bushes without one serious scratch. 

 There are small thorns at the jointure of the leaf- 

 lets, but they are only imitation. A lady's dress is 

 safe, and the gatherer's hands are safe. Just con- 

 trast your experience with any of the thorny vari- 

 eties—clothes torn, hands bleeding, and temper 

 worse ofi' than either clothes or hands. You are 

 caught and twitched at every move. No sooner 

 has one plague let go with a bit of your skin, than 

 another takes hold by the coat tail ; till you feel 

 fairly whipped and afraid to enter." 



We find it more economical for small garden 

 lots than ai-y other sort, from the fact that the 

 plants may tec grown twice as closely as any one 

 of the thorny v rieties. Of course thorny varie- 

 ties must be set , r enough apart to allow a free 

 passage, while thet .crnless can be allowed to stand 

 in hills just far enou', li apart for getting among 



them. 



* » » 



The White Wiegela.— Let no lover of shrubs 

 omit from his collection the "White Wiegela— IFiV- 

 gela nivea, the catalogues call it. Its flowers are 

 pure white, and it keeps in bloom longer than the 

 other varieties. Last year it bloomed nearly all 

 summer. 



