INTRODUCTION. 



The cultivation of- the Small Fruits^ as a distinct feature 

 in horticulture^ commenced less than twenty-five years 

 ago. It is true we had rasjDberries^ strawberries, currants^ 

 and other berries in our gardens, and nurserymen propa- 

 gated the plants for sale to a very limited extent, but a 

 catalogue made up exclusively of the Small Fruits was 

 unknown, and I may add, the common anuouncement in 

 catalogues of to-day, Small Fruits a Specialty/*' has 

 come into use within the past twenty years. In Europe 

 there were a few men who made a specialty of the Small 

 Fruits, some choosing the Gooseberry, others the Straw- 

 berry, and cultivating these on a limited scale, but to 

 take the entire group of Small Fruits, and make these 

 the prominent feature, or specialty, was as rare in the old 

 world as in the new. The further we go back into the 

 history of horticultu.re, the less do we find in regard to 

 the berries, and even two centuries ago scarcely any of 

 the English and French authors give anything more than 

 a passing notice of some wild berries, which were occa- 

 sionally transplanted into the garden. The family supply 

 of these fruits was drawn from the fields and woods, and 

 while the apple, pear, plum, and other larger fruits were 

 attracting attention, as they had done from the earhest 

 times, the Small Fruits remained in their natural and 

 undeveloped state. 



Early in the present century, some attempts were made 

 in England to improve the Strawberry, and these being 

 quite successful, a new interest was awakened in this 

 fruit among the horticulturists of the old world, but do 

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