32 



W. F. Allen's Plant and Seed Catalogue, Salisbury, Md. 



DEWBERRIES. 



AUSTIN'S IMPROVED (MAYES) 



The dewberry Is constantly growing in favor, and 

 Is today, next to the strawberry, the most popular of 

 all the small fruits. The vines trail on the ground 

 similar to sweet potato vines. In size and quality it 

 is the equal of any blackberry, and greatly exceeds 

 them in productiveness. The plant is perfectly hardy, 

 and commences ripening its fruit immediately after 

 late strawberries. By planting the latest varieties of 

 strawberries and the earliest varieties of dewberries, 

 such as Austin's, there need not be a single day's gap 

 between the two. The dewberry is sweet and luscious 

 with few seeds and no hard core. The fruit has be- 

 come very popular in all markets where known, and 

 more and more are being grown every year and nearly 

 always market at paying prices. If let trail on the 

 ground they should be well mulched to keep the im- 

 mense load of fruit from being spoiled by falling on 

 the ground, and the vines should be cut back to two or 

 three feet in length. The best way, however, is to 

 stake them. Our plan of cultivation is to plant in 

 rows each way two and one-half. feet one way by five 

 feet the other, making about 3,500 plants per acre. 

 Cultivate both ways until plants get long and trouble- 

 some, and then cultivate only the wide way and turn 

 vines to keep cultivator from tearing them off ; or. 

 better yet, use sweeps on your cultivator. These will 

 run five or six inches under the vines and cut up the 

 grass without disturbing them. Leave vines lay on 

 the ground until all dancer of winter cold is over and 

 then very early in the spring, before buds put out. 

 stakes should be driven between each alternate hill the 

 two and one-half foot way. The stakes should be two 

 and one-half feet to three feet above ground and one 

 hill from each way should be tied to the top of the 

 stake, using binder twine for tying. If timber is 

 scarce the stakes can be used at longer intervals by 

 fixing a wire along on the stake to lay the vines over, 

 the same as grapes. When grown as above directed the 

 plot or field in bloom is prettier than you can imag- 

 ine, and will bear an immense load of attractive and 

 delicious fruit. 



AUSTINS IMPROVED (Mayes).— An early^- 



dewberry of excellent quality and large yield, but then* 

 berries lack firmness for long shipment hence valuable^, 

 -hiefly for home use and local markets. If, however, || 

 they are kept picked up close as soon as ripe and not.J 

 allowed to stand too long on the vines, they may be'^ 

 Shipped to a reasonable distance. I have shipped tueni'; 

 successfully to Philadelphia, 125 miles, and to New't 

 York, 200 miles, and received good prices, having mar-'f 

 keted over one-half of the crop before other varieties 1 *' 



were in th way. The berries are large, short and 

 thick. Canes vigorous, hard and productive ; ripens 

 fully a week earlier than Lucretia, and for this reason 

 is valuable to grow in connection with that variety. 



I always plant about one-third of my field in Austin's. 



II is very hardy and uever fails to give a full crop. 



LUCRETIA. — The most largely grown of all dew- 

 berries, earlier than the earliest blackberry and as 

 large as the largest of them. The canes are of great 

 hardiness and exceedingly prolific, thriving every- 

 where : of slender, trailing habits, and entirely free 

 from disease and insect attacks. The fruit is superb, 

 large a ad handsome, jet black, rich and melting. This 

 is one of the best shipping varieties that I know of. 

 I grow the Lucretia largely for market, having had as 

 many as 50 acres in fruit at one time. 



