1 84 



Garden and Forest. 



[June 13, 18 



syringing toward evening, as the plants are not deeply rooted yet, 

 and delicate rootlets are soon destroyed if allowed to dry. 

 After the middle of August the syringing may be discontinued, 

 so that the plants may ripen well. When freezing weather comes 

 the beds should be mulched with Pine needles, Oak leaves, or 

 other similar material, to keep the plants from heaving. 

 After the second year they are transplanted to the nursery and 

 need only ordinary care. When finally removed they will 

 be found to transplant with the greatest of ease, and no per- 

 ceptil)le loss. 



The Huckleberries and Blueberries can also be propagated 

 from cuttings of the underground stems or stolons which are 

 found on many varieties. These can be taken up in the 

 autumn, cut in lengths of two or three inches, planted in 

 boxes of sandy peat or loam, and kept in a cool pit or house 

 away from severe frost until about the ist of Febrviary. They 

 then require a gentle heat and moisture until they start. 

 When they have made a good growth they should be hardened 

 off and treated as other hard wood plants, but, like other mem- 

 bers of the Heath Family, theycaimot endure saturation while 

 growing under artificial treatment. 



These plants can also be grown by layers, by Ijending down 

 the branches and tonguing, as with other hard wood plants. 

 A good moist mulch of moss around the young layers will 

 accelerate the rooting. I have not as yet propagated them 

 from cuttings or grafting, but I see no reason why this should 

 not be done with cuttings of the young wood, just as other 

 Ericaceous plants are propagated. 



I should advise those not having green-house facilities to 

 select healthy young plants from an open pasture if possible, 

 not more than a foot high. Much larger ones can be trans- 

 planted, bat greater care is needed for success. Take them 

 up early in September and plant them (irmly and thickly in a 

 well prepared bed, which should have a good share of sand 

 and peat with the loam. Protect well with a heavy mulch, 

 and during the first summer keep them well watered when the 

 weather is dry. If the ground is kept well stirred and clean, 

 liy the second spring they will have an abundance of fine roofs, 

 when they can be transplanted where they are to remain with 

 the greatest ease and safety. I have liandled thousands of 

 them in this way with perfect success. My reason for trans- 

 |)lanting early in Septemlier is that new roots are then formed 

 ijcfore winter sets in, and if well mulched, as stated above, 

 they are ready for a strong start in the spring. While they 

 will do w'ell in any good soil not overcharged with manure, 

 I tind they give more satisfaction if a few inches of peat or leaf 

 mold is spaded in with the soil. On poor light lands a top 

 dressing of well decomposed cow-manure would be benefi- 

 cial. Strong, rank manure should be avoided, as most plants 

 of this family resent its use. 



The following are a few of the best known North American 

 species : The Black Huckleberry {Gayhisscicia rcsuiosn) is a 

 shrub from two to three feet high, with dull, reddish yellow 

 flowers and sweet, crisp, globular berries of a shiny black color. 

 The fruit is firmer than tliat of other species, which makes it of 

 more value as a market berry. But it is much more difficult to 

 start and isnot so easily transplanted as the Blueberry. Of seve- 

 ral marked varieties, one has very sweet, pear-shaped berries, 

 with blue-black bloom; the common name of "Sugar Plums" 

 has been given to them. Another variety has glaucous leaves, 

 and berries covered with a glaucous bloom. A third has large 

 bluish berries, with rich flavor, and a fourth has white berries, 

 which are much more delicate to the taste and bring in 

 market more than double the price of the common varieties. 

 Large areas of Huckleberries now grow wild, and yet the 

 crop is diminishing each year, and it would be prudent to pre- 

 pare for future supplies. Superior varieties could be origin- 

 ated, and they might be made as profitable, no doubt, as other 

 small fruits. Naturally, the Huckleberry is found in open 

 woods and dry rocky hills from Canada to Georgia. 



The Dangleberry or Tangleberry {G.frondosa) is easily dis- 

 tinguished from the common Hucklel.ierry by its large pale 

 green leaves, which are glaucous beneath, and its loose 

 drooping racemes of flowers often from two to three inches 

 long. When neither in bloom or in leaf, it can be distinguished 

 by the reddish yellow wood of the new growth, and the ashy 

 gray bark, often peeling from the old wood. Tlie fruit is large 

 and has a blue bloom. It ripens much later than the former 

 species and is more acid in flavor. It is not common in east- 

 ern Massachusetts, except along the seashore. I have never 

 found it more than three or four miles from the coast. It is a 

 much stronger growing shrub than G. resinosa and of a more 

 open, branching habit, often being found more than four feet 

 high. Farther south it comes to greater perfection and is con- 

 sidered superior in flavor to other varieties. It is native fmm 



Massachusetts to Florida. It grows much more readily in 

 cultivation than G. resinosa and might be improved like the 

 other species by selection or hybridization. 



The Bush Huckleberry {G. duinosa) is a small shrub not 

 more than two feet high and not as common in eastern Massa- 

 chusetts as the other species. I have usually found it in sphag- 

 num bogs with Andromedas and Cassandras. The leaves are 

 narrow and shining above. The flowers are in short racemes 

 and bracted. The berries are of a good size and shiny black, 

 not abundant and rather insipid, but not unpleasant to the 

 taste. Plants transplanted into a deep moist soil at the 

 Arboretum only two years planted are doing fairly well. 



The Deerberry, or Squaw Huckleberry [I'acciniuiii stamin- 

 iuiii), is a neat bush two or three feet in height, with slender 

 green branches which afterward turn brown. The foliage is 

 often two inches long and one wide. The racemes of flowers 

 are conspicuous on account of the long yellow anthers project- 

 ing beyond the spreading corolla, which is pure white. Few of 

 our hardy Ericaceous plants are more beautiful in bloom, and 

 it is well worth a place in every garden if only for cut flowers, 

 which appear like fairy bells. The berries are greenish white 

 or dull red and can hardly be called edible. The fruit from 

 North Carolina is much larger than that grown in Massachu- 

 setts. Its range is from Massachusetts to Florida. 



The High Bush Blueberry ( V. corymbositm) forms hand- 

 some clumps of shrubbery from four to ten feet high in deep 

 swamps and moist woods, but seldom reaches more than four 

 feet in open pastures. The young branches are usually yel- 

 lowish green, turning to a light gray when old or much ex- 

 posed, while the bark on old stems becomes rough and peels off 

 in shreds. The leaves are narrow, mostly egg-shaped, often 

 purple at the time of flowering, but afterwards becoming much 

 l>roader and coarse veined. The flowers are large, white, bell- 

 shaped, and borne on the extremity of the branches of the pre- 

 vious year's growth. They appear in May and early June, 

 and the fruit is ripe from August to late in September. The 

 latter is variable in shape, size, flavor and color. Of many 

 well marked varieties, one has large black fruit of a pleas- 

 ant acid which seems exactly the flavor to add to a bowl 

 of new milk. Another, a large blue one, has a delicate sugary 

 flavor. I chanced upon a bush in East Foxboro last summer 

 which was twelve feet high, loaded with berries of a beautiful 

 blue, rich, juicy, and half an inch in diameter, while some were 

 even larger. In this swamp ten or twelve good forms of fruit 

 might have been found, and by carefifl selection and hybridiza- 

 tion there is no reason why the High Bush Blueberry should not 

 become an excellent and abundant fruit, as it is more easily 

 cultivated than any of the others. An acquaintance in Cam- 

 bridge planted a few, some years ago, and now he has all the 

 fruit he needs during the season, while during the rest of the 

 year nothing can exceed the beauty of the shrubs. A dwarf 

 form of V. corymbosum which I'arely grows inore than eighteen 

 inches high has large fine abimdant fruit of a bluish black 

 color. 



The Low Blueberry ( V. vacillans) is a shrub from one to 

 three feet high with a yellowish green stem and glaucous 

 leaves, usually growing on high rocky ground and at the edge 

 of woods. It bears an abundance of large sweet berries which 

 are chiefly covered with a blue bloom, though I have found 

 black varieties. The fruit and flowers are formed at the ex- 

 tremities of the last year's growth, which is from one to four 

 inches long without leaves, so that a large part of the plant 

 seems leafless. The ends of the branches are covered with 

 fruit, however, which can be stripped off by the handful. As 

 it is very prolific, the flowers of this species in May look 

 much richer and more abundant than in any of the others. 

 The fruit is ripe from late July to September. This plant is 

 well worth cultivation as an ornamental shrub, and for its valu- 

 able fruit. I saw a white variety of it some years ago in Plym- 

 outh, Massachusetts. 



The Low Blueberry ( V. Pc nnsylv aiiic um) is a low growing 

 shrub seldom exceeding a foot in height with narrow shining- 

 leaves and white flowers in early spring. This is found in im- 

 mense beds in Pine woods and rocky, shady places, often cov- 

 ering great areas of rock when there is not more than an inch 

 of soil, with a carpet of rich soft green which in May and June 

 is covered with white and pale pink blossoms and in Jul}' 

 loaded with its delicately flavored fruit. This is the first Blue- 

 berry to ripen in New England, and the early crop brings such 

 prices that the children earn many a dollar by picking it, besides 

 the fun of going a-berrying. These berries are somewhat 

 easily bruised, but if carefully handled can be carried a long 

 distance. There are several recognized varieties of this spe- 

 cies. One is black fruited, flat at the end and much finer 

 than the species. This might be made profitable as well as 



