The Wineberry, An Amateur's Fruit— By Ida M. Angell 



New 

 York 



A BERRY WHICH IS TOO SOFT FOR THE MARKET, BUT IS CONSIDERED BY SOME TO BE SUPERIOR TO THE 

 RASPBERRY FOR HOME USE— A COMPLETE ACCOUNT, INCLUDING RECIPES FOR CANNING AND PRESERVING 



Photographs by the author 



AFTER ten years' experience we still feel 

 that the wineberry is one of the best 

 small fruits for the amateur. Our garden is 

 small, but if we had to give up something it 

 would not be wineberries. They are de- 

 lightful as fresh fruit for hot weather, on ac- 



214. One day's picking, nine pint baskets of rich, 

 ripe wineberries, at the height of the season (July 

 25th), from a row fifty feet long 



count of their pleasant flavor; with plenty 

 of sugar we prefer them to raspberries. 

 They make one of the best of jellies, very 

 like currant jelly both in taste and looks. 

 They are also good for jams, preserves and 

 canning. The bushes and the size and form 

 of the fruit are similar to raspberries, but the 

 fruit is dark, transparent red, like a currant, 

 and the flavor is like a combination of the 

 two. The season lasts for three weeks in the 

 vicinity of New York, from the middle of 

 July to the first week in August. 



Our bushes yield every year, and have given 

 us enough to eat fresh and to preserve for 

 winter. Thev are worth raising for the 



215. A bush of wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) 

 growing in the shade, under a tree, where it seems 

 to thrive even better than in the sun, both plants and 

 berries being larger. It winter kills in some sections, 

 and no one can tell beforehand where it will thrive. 

 Try it for yourself unless north of Boston 



jelly alone. Unripe berries should be used. 

 If left on the vines till dead ripe they will 

 make a darker, guava-like jelly, that has a 

 very good taste but is harder to make and 

 may require gelatin to thicken it. 



Put the unripe berries in the inner section 

 of a double boiler without water. In the 

 outer section put cold water and set on the 

 stove until the berries are heated until soft. 

 Mash and strain and boil the juice twenty 

 minutes, adding an equal bulk of heated 

 sugar stirred until dissolved. Bring the 

 mixture to a boil quickly, and pour at once 

 into hot jelly glasses. It is the quickest of 

 all jellies to thicken; put in a cold place, it is 

 hard and solid in an hour. 



We also make a good hot-weather drink 

 from the wineberries. Thev are just cov- 

 ered with water and heated till soft, then 

 strained. One-third the bulk of sugar is 

 added and it is boiled up and bottled for 

 present use, to mix with an equal amount of 

 cold water. 



Our experience is that the plants are hardy, 

 easily cultivated, bear transplanting well in 

 fall or spring, and easily adapt themselves to 

 climate and soil. But, on the other hand, 

 many people report failures with them — the 

 plants seem to winter kill in one garden and 

 to thrive in another one close by. 



Quite independently of the plant as a 

 fruit, it is very valuable as an ornamental 

 shrub. The under sides of the leaves are 

 silvery white, and in a wind the waving of 

 the silver and green colors is very charming. 

 The calyx forms a bur, like a moss rosebud, 

 which provides a covering from before the 

 blossoming season, after which it closes and 

 protects the berry until it is ready to ripen. 

 As the fruit turns red the bur opens again. 

 This and the slight honey-like stickiness on 

 both bur and berry seem to protect against 

 all insects. But the stickiness is no disad- 

 vantage, for they are the cleanest of berries 

 to pick and to handle. Each bunch con- 

 tains berries in all stages, from the small, 

 hard burs to dead-ripe fruit, ready to fall to 

 the ground. The canes are also covered 

 with a reddish, hairlike growth. 



Our patch was started from about a dozen 

 plants bought two or three years after their 

 introduction, at the cost of one dollar, and 

 the value of one day's picking in the height 

 of the season would almost equal the original 

 cost of the plants. Four quarts on July 25th 

 was our best picking this year. 



The plants were set in a rough spot, next 

 to a stone wall, but the place evidently agreed 

 with them. They have nourished and taken 

 possession, rooting (like blackberries) from 

 the tips of their canes until there was a 

 growth which we had to clear out, trans- 

 planting some last summer (which grew 

 abundantly and bore well this season). 



If left alone they make a thicket. We do 

 136 



not understand where the report originated 

 that they winter kill. One authority recom- 

 mends cultivating until the second year as the 

 fruit is setting, claiming that later culture 

 injures the setting of fruit and encourages a 

 continuation of wood growth that may win- 



216. The wineberry is worth growing for its dec- 

 orative effect when in fruit. The wide-open bur in 

 the middle of the bunch is where a berry has ripened 

 and been picked. The others are still unripe. The 

 bur is covered with red hairs, and does not open 

 until the berries are turning red 



ter kill. According to that, lack of cultiva- 

 tion is no drawback. In spite of stony 

 ground and the ignorant culture, pruning 

 and transplanting by an Italian laborer, our 

 plants have run riot and claim more room 

 than we can spare. Those under the trees, 

 in partial shade, have larger berries and 

 more of them and are the stronger-looking 

 vines. 



The new canes that grow this year are the 

 bearers of next year. Those that have borne 

 this year can be cut off after the bearing 

 season or left until March. If the plants are 

 cut at a convenient height they send out side 

 shoots that bear the following season. 



217. Wineberries are the size and shape of rasp, 

 berries, the color of currants, and have a flavor like 

 a combination of both. They are excellent for home 

 use, but are so tender and juicy they cannot be shipped 



