The Thornless Blackberry 

 —And Others 



Some Transformations in the Bramble Patch 



THE nursery rhyme about the wise man and 

 the bramble-bush will probably have little 

 meaning for our grandchildren. For the 

 brambles of their day will havfr no thorns with 

 which to scratch out eyes — let alone scratch them 

 in again. 



This, I think, is a fairly safe prediction, for 

 the thornless blackberry is an accomplished fact, 

 as anyone who has visited my gardens can testify; 

 and the value of thornlessness in a berry-produc- 

 ing vine is so obvious that the new product can 

 hardly fail to supplant the old type of briar bush 

 quite rapidly. 



"Whoever has visited a blackberry or raspberry 

 patch of the old type and attempted to gather the 

 fruit, will recall, doubtless, bringing away sou- 

 venirs in the form of scratches that were far more 

 lasting than the fruit itself. 



[Volume VI — Chapter I] 



