1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



165 



THE MAELBOEO EASPBEEEY. 



The gradual decline of the onee famous 

 Hudson River Antwerp, in the most favored 

 regions of the Highlands of the Hudson even, 

 has caused among fruit growers an anxious 

 search for some new and hardier kind which 

 could take the place of that time-honored 

 and excellent Raspberry. Dozens of claim- 

 ants have from time to time presented them- 

 selves for the honor, but none have as yet 

 filled all the requirements of a first-class 

 market and shipping berry. They were 

 either too small or too soft or too tender, 

 or possessed of some other defect which 

 unfitted them for the purpose. 



Our illustration represents a new and 

 highly promising variety, — the Marlboro, — 

 the development of which we have watched 

 for several years with considerable interest. 

 It is a cross of the last one of a long series 

 of seedlings, raised by 

 Mr. A. J. Caywood, of 

 Marlboro, N. Y., and the 

 Highland Hardy. These 

 seedlings were started 

 from the old English 

 "Globe" and the "Hud- 

 son River Antwerp," over 

 thirty years ago, this be- 

 ing the sixth generation. 



" The Marlboro," says 

 Mr. Caywood, "is the 

 largest grower, with 

 stronger canes and side- 

 arms, of any known va- 

 riety. After being tied 

 to stakes all winter, 

 having no protection, the 

 branches from the ter- 

 minal buds, at the height 

 of eleven feet, have 

 borne as fine fruit as any 

 other down the cane. It 

 is hardy in the fullest 

 sense. The side branch- 

 es are two to three feet 

 long, with clusters oc- 

 curring on short joints 

 more than half-way 

 down, and are of unus- 

 ual strength, bending 

 with a heavy load and 

 not breaking. The size 

 of its dark-green foliage 

 is one of the means of 

 its early, regular, and 

 late bearing, and size of 

 fruit, which is one-quar- 

 ter larger than the old 

 Hudson River Antwerp. 



" The berries, which ai 

 color, average three-quarters of an inch in 

 diameter, and, when not retarded by long 

 and severe drought, one-third of them will 

 measure an inch. They are free from the 

 strong, musky aroma of the Antwerp, and 

 are considered by all as delicious in flavor. 

 Unlike any other, they will remain four days 

 on the bushes after ripe, and are still mar- 

 ketable. Growers here have picked them 

 from the ground and declared they were in 

 shipping order. In quantity of fruit they 

 exceed any variety we have ever handled." 



The extraordinary vigor and healthiness 

 of the large foliage of the plants, as we saw 

 them on Mr. Caywood's grounds, impressed 

 us very favorably, and the bushes, although 

 past their prime, were still loaded with an 

 abundance of large, delicious berries. 



We are informed that, as the stock of 

 plants is as yet small, plants will not be 

 offered for sale before another year. 



THE HUCKLEBEEEY. 



Although this is a wild fruit, it is a great 

 favorite in all large cities where it can be 

 obtained. In New-York there is no cul- 

 tivated berry more popular, and the quan- 

 tities used for pies are simply enormous. 

 One firm of bakers in our city frequently uses 

 as many as twenty-five bushels per day; and 

 during the season when they are cheapest, 

 they contract for hundreds of bushels to be 

 canned for spring and early summer use, 

 while the fruit is selling at a high price. 



As a ride, our market is well supplied from 

 Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey with 



THE MARLBORO RASPBERRY 



Copyright, 1! 

 of bright scarlet 



y William C. Serantou 



early ones, and New- 

 York State with late 

 ones. Monmouth, 

 Ocean, and Burling- 

 ton counties, N. J., 

 send us the bulk of 

 the crop from that 

 State, while the moun- 

 tainous district of Ul- 

 ster and Shawangunk 

 furnish most of the' supplies from this State. 



The first arrivals sell at high prices, — say 

 from six to eight dollars per bushel,— and 

 when the price rules at four dollars, they 

 sell quickly ; but quantity governs the price, 

 and frequently they sell for a dollar and a 

 half per bushel. The Delaware shippers 

 send their fruit to market in the quart berry- 

 basket and crate. The New Jersey people 

 in eight and sixteen-quart boxes. The eight- 

 quart boxes are packed in cases from four to 

 six each ; some of these cases have hinged 

 ! covers, others have simply rough boards 

 j nailed over them. The sixteen-quart boxes 

 are open at the top, with a single narrow 

 slat across the top, to prevent the fruit from 

 becoming bruised. The mountain boxes are 

 not so deep as the Jerseys, but broader, 

 and have a lid to them. All these packages 



are returnable to the shippers when emp- 

 tied. 



There are several varieties of Huckleber- 

 ries, which are received in due order of ripen- 

 ing. 



The first to ripen in New Jersey is the 

 "Blueberry," grown on the higher lands. 

 They are small and sweet, and are covered 

 with a beautiful bloom, and, owing to their 

 firmness, ship well. The variety known as 

 "Swamps" are the most popular if they 

 arrive in fine condition ; but as they are soft, 

 they often arrive in a very ' ' mussy " con- 

 dition, and have to be sold to the bakers. 

 This variety is the largest of all, and should 

 always be picked with care, and shipped in 

 small boxes. 



The ' ' Cracker " is a black, tart berry, and 

 full of hard seed, good for cooking, and a 

 favorite for shipping on account of its firm- 

 ness, but not popular 

 with city consumers, 

 The " Dangleberry " is 

 also large, with a bright 

 blue skin, slightly acid, 

 firm, and sells well when 

 picked free from the 

 long stems on which 

 they grow, and from 

 ? which they derive their 

 name, Dangle. 



A later variety is 

 known as the " Shiney 

 Blacks." They are large, 

 firm, slightly acid, and, 

 as the name indicates, 

 black and glossy, and 

 last till frost destroys 

 them, being frequently 

 found in New Jersey, 

 where they are known as 

 "Hogberry"; they are 

 sometimes picked and 

 shipped, but they pos- 

 sess little merit, and sell 

 slowly, as they are taste- 

 less, dry, and hard. 



The Huckleberry is not 

 cultivated, nor does 

 there seem to be any 

 danger of the supply falling short, except 

 when Jack Frost nips the fruit, which he fre- 

 quently does. It is quite common that fires 

 burn over large sections of country where 

 they grow, clearing the ground of all green 

 things, and one not acquainted with the pe- 

 culiarities of these fires would conclude that 

 the berry crop was ruined for all time ; but 

 not so, for, owing to the thin growth of veg- 

 etable matter on the surface, much of which 

 is quite dry, the fires run over it with the 

 rapidity of a race-horse, so that the roots of 

 these bushes are not destroyed 



When a fire takes place in early spring, 

 succeeded by a rain, the roots start almost 

 immediately, and by fall get a good growth ; 

 so that the following season some of them 

 begin to bear, and from the second to the 

 fifth year produce the best crops of fruit. 

 Viewed from this point' these occasional 

 fires are a benefit rather, causing a renewal 

 and continuance of the crop. 



Attempts to improve the Huckleberry by 

 cultivation have occasionally been made, but 

 not of sufficient extent to show whether they 

 could not be cultivated profitably. Experi- 

 menters in this direction should rely more 

 upon seedlings than transplanted bushes. 



C. W. Idell. 



