VOL.  XXXIV.  No.  {] 
VVUOliE  No.  1387. 
NEW  YORK  CITY,  AUO.  26,  1876. 
1 
!K  SXX.  CENTS. 
«5  I’Ell  YEAR. 
[Entered  according  to  Act  of  rongroHH.  In  the  yn-ir  I.S76.  by  ibo  Itnriil  I'ubllshliig  Company,  in  the  office  of  the  I.lbnirlan  of  OunKrea)i  at  WaMhinKton.i 
NEW  AND  OLD  RASPBERKIE8. 
It  is  said  that  all  strawbemes  are  good,  but 
sonic  arc  a  little  better  tlian  others.  And  the 
same  may  bo  said  of  rasiiberries.  Of  course  wo 
sfioak  for  the  majority  in  expressing  tliia  opin¬ 
ion,  for  there  are  persons  who  cannot  see,  or 
taste,  any  good  in  either  of  these  extensively 
cultivated  and  almost  universally  admirtsl  fruits. 
But  what  most  interests  the  majority  of  those 
who  have  gardens,  is  to  know  which  are  tlie  heat 
varieties  now  in  cultivation.  This,  however,  is  a 
difticull  (luestion  to  answer,  inasmuch  as  the 
host  for  one  l<x:ality  and  climate  may  not  be  the 
host  for  another.  In  addition  to  this  variation 
in  a4laptatlon  of  varieties  to  localities  there  is  a 
wiile  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  quality, 
which  may  be  attributed  to  individual  tastes. 
One  person  seeks  sweet  finiits,  another  acid, 
while  a  tliird  delights  in  a  musky  flavor  of  cer¬ 
tain  kinds,  consequently  it  requires  just  the 
wide  range  found  in  nature  to  suit  all  tastes. 
But  the  adaptation  of  varioUos  to  climate  and 
soils,  hi  a  serious  barrier  to  the  wide  distribution 
and  cultivation  of  many  kinds  of  fruits,  and 
with  none  is  it  more  apparent  than  with  the 
raspberry.  The  wild  species  are  found  over 
a  very  wide  range  of  country,  but  generally 
most  abundant  in  situations  protecUxI  from  se¬ 
vere  cold  in  winter  and  the  hot  soorohlng  rays  of 
the  sun  ui  summer. 
Our  horticulturists  have  been  raising  new  va¬ 
rieties  of  the  raspberi-y  for  the  past  century  or 
more,  vainly  endeavoring  hi  jiroduco  ono  in 
wliich  are  combined  all  the  valuivhlo  properties 
belonging  to  this  fniit ;  and  while  muoli  jirogress 
has  been  made  towards  the  production  of  sucli  a 
a  sort,  still  it  has  not  as  yet  apiiciired  among  us. 
Very  cxcellout  varieties  we  ecriainly  have  in 
abundance,  among  which  sorts  are  fun  ml  adajit.- 
ed  to  almost  all  soils  and  climates,  hence  few 
persons  owning  gnrduiis  and  desiring  to  cultivate 
raspbeiricH  need  foiir  a  failure  if  a  proiiev  selec¬ 
tion  he  made. 
The  ordinary  farmer  who,  perliaps,  docs  not 
[WsMoHs  the  sldll  of  tho  exiiorience<l  liorticiiltnr- 
ists  In  cultivating  fruits,  or  has  not  the  time  to 
spare  for  giving  the  best  atnl  most  canfful  atten¬ 
tion  to  his  plants,  will  siKWCfsl  liest  with  oiir 
hardy  native  varieties,  ami  while  they  may  not 
be  quite  ns  largo,  or  possos.'i,  in  every  instance, 
the  exiiulsilo  llavor  of  tho  foreign  tliey  will,  as  a 
rule,  give  the  Isjsl  satisfaction. 
The  black-caps,  as  they  are  termed,  are  not 
only  very  hardy  and  prollHo.  hut  succeed  in  a  va¬ 
riety  of  soils  and  over  a  with.r  range  of  climate 
than  the  red  sorts.  Tlu-y  thrive  in  tho  extreme 
Southern  States,  where  it  is  next  to  irapossiblo 
to  keep  a  vaiiety  of  our  wild  red  rasplierry, 
(Jiubufi  strujoKUi),  alive.  The  caiies,  also,  are  so 
very  hardy  that  they  grow  throughout  the  entire 
Northern  Htatos  and  in  the  (lanadas. 
I 
Tliore  is,  jicrViaps,  some  choico  in  the  different 
varieties,  but  the  Doolittle,  Ijargo  Miami  or 
McCormick,  (now  called  by  some  Mammoth 
Cluster),  known  twenty  or  more  years  ago,  have 
no  superiors  among  tho  latest  introductions. 
Surprise,  Seneca,  Pay's  and  Davison’s  Thorulesa 
are  excellent  and  well-known  varieties.  Tho 
j  yellow-caps  are  ornanioutal  and  of  fair  quality, 
but  none  of  them  aro  as  good  or  valuable  as  the 
blacks. 
NATIVE  RED  VARIETIES. 
VVe  hare  tested  uiion  our  grounds  nearly  overy- 
tliing  offered  to  tho  public  in  the  way  of  native 
rod  rasjiherrioR,  Dioroforc  can  speak  from  expe¬ 
rience  as  to  their  merits. 
Tho  KirlLnntl,  which  was  one  of  the  first  of 
our  native  sorts  ciiltivatwl  for  market  imriioses, 
is  still  a  favorite  with  many  on  account  of  its 
oarlinoHS,  firmness,  good  flavor  and  brilliant  col¬ 
or.  Tho  berries  aro  rather  small,  howevis’,  to 
HnccoHsfnlly  oomiieto  in  market  with  tho  foreign 
sorts,  hut  elsewhere  it  wUl  jirohahly  always  eom- 
raaud  a  ready  sale  at  remunerative  prices. 
Wibninglon,  also  called  by  the  Imliun  name, 
Su8i}wco,  is  another  native  sort  long  known  to 
cultivators  of  small  fnuts  In  Die  Eastern  Btates. 
The  berries  of  good  sizo,  globular,  firm,  bright 
color  and  goixl  flavor,  Tho  plants  are  somew’hat 
dwarfish  in  habit,  and  unless  the  ground  among 
them  is  covered  with  some  kind  of  mulch  lu  ^ 
summer  the  berries  arc  liable  to  got  splashed 
with  mud  during  heavy  rains.  Tho  caiios  are 
very  hardy  and  seldom  su.stiiiii  injury  during  our 
wldivd  ^  <v  *  tors- 
Tunn'r,-  This  is  a  variety  of  recent  introduc- 
tlmi,  and  said  to  ho  very  poimlar  ainung  the  fruit 
growers  of  the  Western  States.  It  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  prorluetivc  sorts  in 
cultivation,  hut  with  us  the  fruit  is  not  as  firm  as 
the  WlluAnglnn  or  Kirlland,  although  as  largo 
as  the  former  and  about  equal  to  it  In  flavor.  It 
will  doubtless  become  a  popular  sort  in  tho 
North-west,  if  not  in  tho  East. 
Culhhrrt. — This  is  a  now  and  promising  varie¬ 
ty,  hut  wo  have  not  testerl  it  suilleiently  to  speak 
positively  us  to  its  merits. 
Jilni  City,  Allm'n  Rvd  Prolific  and 
Jlrialol  aro  old  sorts  which  have  been  discarded 
by  a  majority  of  our  fruit  growers.  A  few,  how 
eviT,  liokl  on  to  tho  first  and  think  it  worthy  of 
cultivation. 
//ers/iuc.  — This  is,  wo  believe,  the  only  ono  of 
some  four  or  live  jiromisirig  sorts  known  ns  the 
llerstiiu!  Seedlings,  which  has  gained  oven  a 
slight  local  rc[)utatiou.  Tho  Herstino  Seedlings 
were  sujiposed  to  be  pure  native  sorts,  or  at  most 
but  slightly  tinctured  with  foreign  hlooil,  but 
unfortunately  those  described  and  disseminated 
show  more  of  the  Jiulms  Jdcvu.'i  characteristics 
than  of  the  li.  Mrigomis.  This  is  especially  the 
case  in  tho  one  hearing  tho  name  of  Dieir  origi¬ 
nators,  vi/.,  the  tliTHlinc.  It  is,  however,  a 
handsome  variety  an<l  valued  highly  by  many 
cultivators.  The  UA^companying  illustration  of  a 
branch  loaded  with  fruit  was  drawn  from  life 
and  fairly  represents  this  variety  in  both  form 
and  size.  Sonic  of  our  raspberry  culturists  re¬ 
port  tho  lIi'Tsthw  i>erfeotly  hardy  as  far  North  as 
Central  and  Western  New  York  ;  others  consider 
it  tender  even  in  (unch  v  .inner  latitudus  ;  but  all 
this  differoiuie  nuiy  arise  from  the  soil  in  which 
the  iilants  arc  growing,  or  the  care  hostowed,  for 
it  is  a  W(;ll-knowii  fact  that  a  vigorous  late 
growth  in  a  raspberry  oano  itiercases  its  chances' 
of  passing  safely  through  the  winter.  This  is  a 
peculiai’ity  of  the  raspberry  which  applies  to  but 
few  other  jilants,  for  with  most  kinds  we  look  for 
a  full  ripening  of  Die  wooil  in  order  to  insure 
hardiness. 
THDE2  HERIBXIIVE 
