EDIBLE WILD FRUITS OF NEW YORK. 



By Chas. H. Peck, New York State Botanist. 

 [Read before the Albany Institute, April 16, 1889.] 



We read that when the Israelites were upon the borders of the 

 promised land, they sent forward certain men to examine the coun- 

 try, and see what kind of a land it was; whether a lean land or a 

 rich land. As an evidence that it was a rich land, and one flowing 

 with milk and honey, they brought back with them specimens of its 

 grapes. The same method of judging of the character of a land holds 

 good to this day. If it produces, or is capable of producing, an abun- 

 dance of good fruits it is a goodly heritage. California, formerly 

 famous for her gold mines, is now becoming more famous for her ex- 

 cellent fruit, which is destined to be, at no distant day, of far more 

 importance and value to her than all her mines of precious metals. 



The wild fruits of a country furnish something of an index to its 

 character and its capability as a fruit-producing land. If wild grapes 

 abound it is pretty good evidence that they would thrive under proper 

 cultivation. If blackberries do well and are excellent in a wild state 

 it is reasonable to suppose that they would do better with proper care 

 and culture. I have therefore thought that a brief dissertation upon 

 the edible wild fruits of New York would not be without interest. 



By the term "fruit" we include not only the seed of the plant and 

 the encasing walla of the ovary or seed vessels, but also whatever 

 parts are consolidated with it. In many fleshy fruits this will include 

 the thickened, or enlarged, persistent calyx, tube or cup of the flower, 

 and in some instances the very receptacle which supports the flower. 

 It is needless to say that a fruit, to be edible, should be digestible, 

 nutritious, healthful and palatable. Wild fruits are those which grow 

 without cultivation. They may be either native or naturalized. 

 Other things being equal, those fruits are best that are seedless or 

 have such minute seeds that they are practically seedless. Blueberries 

 are examples of a fruit with minute seeds. Some varieties of the 

 blackberry are objectionable because of their coarse seeds. The 

 grape which has a tough pulp is less desirable for eating than one 

 with a tender pulp, because of the difficulty of extracting its seeds, 



