THE WINDOM DEWBERRY 343 



covered and is cultivating a hardy dewberry, which, if 

 it comes mar up to what he claims for it. will prove of 

 great value t<> our lists of hardy fruits. It has been 

 cultivated here thirteen years. We have many testi- 

 monials showing its hardiness, productiveness, fair size, 

 au<l good quality <>t' fruit, elc, and have secured plants 

 and had them senl to several <>t' our experiment stations 

 tn be tested and reported upon." A. \\\ Sias, one of 

 the Commission, writes me as follows: "In the fall of 

 L887, J. S. Han-is, Rev. G. W. Puller and myself were 



00 the Seedling Commission of the Minnesota State Hor- 

 ticultural Society, and while acting in this capacity Mr. 

 Han-is and myself visited Dewain Cook, at Wmdora, and 

 were greatlj pleased with the dewberry. Hi> plants were 



very heavily loaded with g 1 fruit. The fruit is small 



— perhaps not more than half the size of Lucretia — but 

 what it lacks in size it more than makes up in quality. 



1 purchased 1,000 plants of Mr. Cook while at his place, 

 and set them on a very heavy clay. While thy suc- 

 ceeded much better than the Mammoth and Lucretia 

 near by, they did nol equal Mr. Cook's plants, which 

 were on soil containing Borne sand."' The variety 

 appears to have been sent out as early as 1886, at least 

 to experiment stations. It was first known as Cook's 

 Hardy. The exact origin of this dewberrj is not known. 

 Mr. Cook informs me thai he obtained his plants from 

 a neighbor, •!. Q, Pickett, who had been growing them 

 for seventeen or eighteen years, but who refuses i<> dis- 

 dose the origin of the variety. Mr. Pickett came from 

 Iowa, and it is commonly thought that he brought the 

 dewberr) with him ami that it grew wild in that state. 

 Mi-. Cook resides near the Mennonites, and some have 

 supposed that the variety was originally introduced bj 



