ON THE SUNBERRY 



The Sunberry, far from being merely a familiar 

 form of Solanum introduced under a new name, 

 as some ignorant and misguided critics have al- 

 leged, is in reality the product of one of the long- 

 est and most persistent series of experimental 

 hybridizations, culminating in the blending of two 

 specific plant strains that had seemed to be antago- 

 nistic beyond the possibility of amalgamation. 



The parent .plants themselves, though they no 

 doubt belonged to a poison-bearing family, were 

 not in themselves poisonous. And the fruit of 

 their hybrid progeny is not only palatable in high 

 degree, but altogether wholesome, as hundreds 

 who have eaten it habitually could testify. 



Let me quote a paragraph from a letter recently 

 received, by way of substantiation, and then let 

 me turn from this controversial aspect of the sub- 

 ject to consider the story of the Sunberry itself: 



"I have grown the Sunberry for the past three 

 years," says a college professor who is an amateur 

 gardener. "We have used the bjerries for sauce, 

 cobbler, and pies — principally for pies. Some were 

 eaten raw from the vines. For me the pie is the 

 one great way to use the berry. Without excep- 

 tion I place a Sunberry pie at the head of the pie 

 list, and I do this with a full appreciation of the 

 excellence of cherry pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, 

 mince pie, berry pie, etc. 



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