THE WHITE BLACKBERRY 



others, kept growing at the top like a vine or tree, 

 and when it was two or three years old it was so 

 tall that a step-ladder was required to reach the 

 fruit. Its berries, however, were rather small, soft, 

 and jet black in color. 



This plant, then, was an interesting anomaly, 

 but it gave no aid in the quest of a white black- 

 berry. 



But there were other vines of this second filial 

 generation — grandchildren of the Lawton and the 

 original "Crystal White" — that showed a tendency 

 to vary in the color of their fruit, this being 

 in some cases yellowish white. Of course these 

 bushes were selected for further experiment. Some 

 were cross-fertilized and the seed preserved. 



The vines that grew from this seed in the next 

 season gave early indications of possessing varied 

 qualities. It is often to be observed that a vine 

 which will ultimately produce berries of a light 

 color lacks pigment in its stem, and is greenish or 

 amber in color, whereas the stem of a vine that is 

 to produce black berries is dark brown or purple. 

 A few of the blackberry vines of the third genera- 

 tion showed this light color; and in due course, 

 when they came to the fruiting age, they put forth 

 heavy crops of clear white berries of such trans- 

 parency that the seeds, though unusually small, 

 could readily be seen through the translucent pulp. 



[45] 



