Edible Wild Fruits of yew York. 



adhering to the roots. The species has several varieties, one of 

 the most notable of which has the berries shining black without any 

 bloom. As in the other species, they grow more or less in clusters 

 and when well ripened can be gathered rapidly by an expert picker. 

 The low blueberry ( Vaccinium vaccilans) is generally one and a half 

 to two feet high. It often grows freely, even in poor sandy soil, and 

 is generally covered with a profusion of flowers before the leaves are 

 fully developed. It may be distinguished from the other low-growing 

 species by its leaves, which are destitute of hairs, pale on the lower 

 surface, and entire on the margin. The fruit is dark blue, but there 

 is also a variety of it in which the fruit is shining black. The com- 

 mendable character of this species is its ability to thrive and produce 

 fruit on poor sandy soil. 



The Canada blueberry ( Vaccinium Canadense) is from one to two 

 feet high, and usually grows in patches of greater or less extent. It is 

 distinguished from the other species by its soft, downy or pubescent 

 young branches, and by its leaves, which are abo downy beneath and 

 entire on the margin. The species is northern in its range and is 

 especially abundant in the Adirondack region. It occurs in the eastern 

 part of Rensselaer county, but I have not seen it south of Albany. It 

 is rare in the western part of the State. Its productiveness is some- 

 thing wonderful, the fruit being so crowded and so abundant as to give 

 its color to the patches, when seen from a little distance. When fully 

 ripe it may be picked by the handful. In some of the northern coun- 

 ties people go long distances to gather this fruit. It is valuable and 

 merits more attention than it has received. The plant is especially 

 adopted to cool climates and is very productive, even on poor soil. I 

 can easily imagine that, in future years, when this plant shall have 

 become domesticated and its fruit enlarged by cultivation, large tracts 

 of land in the Adirondack region, which cannot profitably be devoted 

 to other crops, will be employed in the production of Canada blue- 

 berries and in this way will become valuable and remunerative. 



The dwarf blueberry ( Vaccinium Pennsylvanicum) closely resembles 

 the preceding species, but may be distinguished by its glabrous branch- 

 lets and by its leaves, which are minutely notched, or serrulated on 

 the margin. Its fruit ripens a little earlier than that of the other 

 species and, should the time ever come when these plants shall be 

 brought into general cultivation, nurserymen will probably seek their 

 earliest varieties in this species. It grows freely upon nearly all kinds 

 of soil, no soil being too poor to sustain it. It is found in marshes, in 

 thin woods, in open country, on hillsides and mountain summits. I fe 



