THE ILLIlSrOIS E^A.R]M:E]R. 



109 



lence, size and beauty of the European 

 varieties, their tenderness will, with most 

 propagators, prevent their extensive in- 

 troduction into the fields oi: the market 

 gardeners. Am-ateurs will continue to 

 produce them, but our markets -svill be 

 chiefly supplied by the hardy kinds, even 

 thongh they be voted inferior by the 

 American Pomological Society. "VVe 

 are told that on the Hudson river fields 

 are planted with the variety of Red 

 Antwerp which has received its Ameri- 

 can cognomen from that river. The 

 cultivators of these fields find it to their 

 advantage for the New York murket to 

 bury their plants with the plow. While 

 speaking of this variety it may be well 

 to mention that it has never been ex- 

 tensively planted in this vicinity — few 

 know it, and those who have it correct, 

 know "well how tender it is, and how 

 unprofitable in fruitr 



The Purple Cane, which has already 

 been referred to as a variety of the 

 species Occidentalis, is, however, no 

 Black-cap, but a very valuable variety 

 of raspberry, to which the sneering ap- 

 pellative of ''thimble-berry" is noivise 

 applicable. This being the common 

 designation of the Black-cap, in the 

 hills of New England, was applied in 

 derision to the berry in question at the 

 late meetings of the American Pomolog- 

 ical Society in Philadelphia. Its origin 

 is unknown, but it has been under culti- 

 vation, for half a century or more, near 

 Philadelphia and in other places. I 

 first heard it called the English, as was 

 once common with every kind of fruit 

 that was good and not found wild. It was 

 then a great favorite with the house- 

 keepers, and though rather soft for 

 transportation, it is rich in saccharine 

 and mucilaginous matter, of very good 

 flavor, excellenc for dessert or fur pre- 

 serving, and for wine, productive and 

 perfectly hardy, and every way deserv- 

 ing of more attention than it has receiv- 

 ed, while a host of new sorts have been 

 introduced to the public, and it has been 

 allowed to subside into a state of neglect. 

 It has still found warm friends, and has 

 been named, from its red stems covered 

 with a thick glaucous bloom, the Purple 

 Cane. I have have found it perfectly 

 successful without any protection in the 

 most tryihg climate of northern Illinois, 

 where all others were cut off by frosts, 

 and under our own more genial clime it 

 is the most certain, the most productive, 

 and altogether the most satisfactory va- 

 riety upon my grounds — it is the one 

 indispensable raspberry ; if I must be 

 reduced to one only variety, let it be 

 the Purple Cane. 



The Kirtland is a favorite wherever 

 known; its origin is uncertain, but it has 

 unmistakable characters of the Ameri- 

 Red family — in the habit, foliage, its 

 spines, in the color and flavor of its 



fruit, and lastly in its hardiness. Its 

 ■period of ripening is with the earliest, 

 and the berry is reasonably firm, bear- 

 ing carriage to market as well as any or 

 the soft berries, and better than some. 



The excellent naturalist of onr own 

 State, whose name it bears, has been a 

 most devoted fruit culturist, and has 

 originated many valuable varieties, par- 

 ticularly of the cherry, but he disclaims 

 all credit for this fruit, which he thinks 

 he obtained from some one else. I saw 

 it in a neglected corner of his grounds 

 many years since. All the plants of 

 this variety which I know have sprung 

 from this source, and our pomological 

 societies not recognizing it as any known 

 sort, have done well to confirm the name 

 given to it by his friends, in compli- 

 ment to the eminent pomological labors 

 of our good friend. Prof. J. P. Kirtland, 

 of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Richmond, of 

 Sandusky, was one of the first to appre- 

 ciate its excellence as a valuable market 

 fruit, and to him are we indebted for our 

 plants of the Kirtland Raspberry. This 

 plant has a tendency to produce an au- 

 tumnal crop, and may yet furnish valu- 

 able seedlings as perpetual varieties. 



There is a variety of the American 

 Red, grown here by F. W. Slack, of 

 Kentucky, which has higli merits. It 

 has been exhibited before our. Society, 

 and was much admired. It labored un- 

 der a disadvantage, by having 

 b*»en understood by the Society to 

 be presented as the Hudson River 

 Red Antwerp — whereas it was apparent 

 that it was not an Antwerp, but evident- 

 ly an American Red, which was present- 

 ed as the Hudson River Red, which is 

 not a name known to the gardeners. 



EVER-BBAEIKG OR AuTUMNAL BEAR- 

 ING Varieties. — Here again we begin 

 with the hardy sorts. The Ohio Ever- 

 bearing is an autumnal Black-cap, which 

 some soils produce most abundant crops 

 in September; the first being larger and 

 better than that produced by the same 

 plants in July. There are several 

 sotrs of this fruit, and the difi'erent 

 stocks may vary a little in their charac- 

 ters — certain it is that some plantations 

 are much more productive than others, 

 and I have known a set of plants that 

 were very productive in the autumn one 

 year, failed to show a blossom the next 

 season — although wild Black-cap plants 

 that had never before shown a tendency 

 to autumnal beating, produced a partial 

 crop in September of the same year. — 

 Something may depend upon the soil; 

 much more influence may be attributed 

 to the treatment. To insure a good 

 fall crop, it has beea recommended to 

 obliterate the summer fruitage by severe 

 trimming in the spring, removing all the 

 bearing wood to the ground; the young 

 canes that come up will then blossom 

 and fruit abundantly. ; :' 



The Catawissa, as already mentioned, 

 cd, appears to be more nearly al- 

 lied to the American Red, antl to 

 belong to the species ; Strigosus. It 

 is a hardy, vigorous plant, making very 

 strong branching canes, every twig of 

 which produces abundant flowers and 

 fruit, until checked by the frost. It is 

 not prone to sucker, and it is evidently 

 different from the Occidentalis in all its 

 characters, as well as never recurving 

 and rooting at the tips, as has been er- 

 roneously reported to be the case. 



The Bagley has been introduced, wiih- 

 in a couple of years, with a high charac- 

 for bearing, but as it has not been culti- 

 vated by your Committee, nothing can 

 be said respecting its merits. It is sup- 

 posed to be of the American species, 

 since it is claimed to be hardy. 



River's Monthly is one of the true 

 Antwerp tribe; said to be a fine fruit, 

 but wherever I have seen it, unproduc- 

 tive. It is also tender, though that is a 

 matter of small moment, in a perpetual 

 raspberry; for we expect the fruit, that 

 constitutes its chief value, to appear 

 upon the young canes of the last year's 

 growth. 



The Belle de Fontenay and Merveillo 

 de Quatre Saisons, are undoubtedly dif- 

 ferent plants, and we have two sorts in 

 this country bearing these two names, 

 one of which is inferior to the other. — 

 They are, however, so mixed, that we 

 find cultivators in so intelligent an as- 

 sembly as the American Pomological 

 Society proposing to use the names as 

 synonymous for one variety, which they 

 mean to identify and to particularize by 

 the character of its foliage and habit. 

 This is a vigorous plant, throwing up 

 numerous canes during the season, all of 

 which produce fruit. The pictures of 

 the Merveille which come to us from 

 Europe, are truly marvelous in their pro- 

 ductiveness, and must needs be highly 

 satisfactory to the planter; but I must 

 confess, that with all varieties in cultiva- 

 tion, I have never had a h;ilf gallon up- 

 on my table at any one time, during the 

 autumn from any but the Ohio, among 

 the ever-bearing varieties. Others have 

 been more fortunate, and we are told 

 that Mr. Pierce, of Washington City, 

 supplies that market with considerable 

 quantities of his favorite (the Catawissa) 

 during the season. 



There is no reason why we may not 

 one day have perpetual raspberries as 

 well as perpetual roses; there is nothing 

 unreasonable or impossible in it, but as 

 yet we have not seen anything of the 

 kind. People will difi'er in their tastes, 

 and some wish to have raspberries, or 

 some other distinctive variety of fruit, 

 ever before them; while others of us 

 think that the gradual succession in the 

 natural order of ripening of different 

 kinds of fruits, from early aummer to the 



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