542 
AUG. 23 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Kansas Agricultural College. 
Editor R. N.-Y. July 23. 
Childs’s Japanese Wineberry is undoubtedly Rubus phoe- 
nicolasius. C. C. Georgeson. 
Mount Hope Nurseries. 
Editor R. N.-Y. Rochester, N. Y„ July 5,1890. 
River Edge, N. J. 
Dear Sir —We are duly in receipt of your favor of the 
1st instant, and as requested have sent by mail to day a 
few branches and fruit of the Rubus phcenicolasius. 
Yours respectfully, Ellwanger & Barry. 
The specimens (three, a foot long) were carefully com¬ 
pared and found to be precisely the same as the specimens 
growing here—two from J. T. Lovett, the third from J. 
Lewis Childs. 
Ed. R. N.-Y.: Rochester, July 11,1890. 
Dear Sir —Replying to yours of the 8th inst. we find 
the Rubus phcenicolasius offered in our catalogue in 1882 
at 35 cents each. This, we think, is the first time it was 
offered by us. Yours respectfully, 
Ellwanger & Barry. 
The Rural New-Yorker’s “Proper Explanation.” 
From the above correspondence it will appear that Mr. 
J. Lewis Childs has made several important statements 
which are not true. First. The plant is 
Rubus phcenicolasius. Second. It is not a 
“novelty.” Third. It is not a “sweet” 
berry. Fourth. The price ($1.00) will not 
“probably stand for two or three years.” 
It has been offered every year since 1881 in 
the catalogue of Ellwanger & Barry for 35 
cents. Fifth. It has been grown in private 
collections in this country for over 12 years. 
Sixth. The U. S. Pomologist did not say 
that Childs’s Japanese Wineberry and Ru¬ 
bus phcenicolasius were different. Neither 
did Mr. Lovett. The writer has evidence 
that Mr. J. Lewis Childs knew them to 
be identical when the above letters were 
written to THE R. N.-Y. Finally, not to 
dwell upon minor misstatements, Mr. J. 
Lewis Childs did not pay $1,000 per plant 
to Mr. Lovett or any other person for his 
stock. Neither did he pay as much as 
50 cents a plant for the entire stock pur¬ 
chased. 
We trust that the above statements 
may be accepted by Mr. J. Lewis Childs 
and his attorneys as a “ proper explana¬ 
tion ” with “ample apologies,” and that 
they will not deem it advisable to “take 
further action ” in the matter. 
RUBUS PHCENICOLASIUS. 
As has been stated, fruiting plants of this 
remarkable Japan raspberry were received 
from Mr. Lovett early during last April. 
The iollowing notes have been taken from 
time to time since: 
June 12. — The flowers are white and 
smaller than those of other raspberries. 
The calyx sepals, when expanded, are 
narrower also, the apex being lengthened 
into a thread-like prolongation as long as 
the sepal itself. The canes, as well as the 
entire buds, are covered up to the very tips 
with crimson, glandular, glutinous hairs, 
from which small insects find it difficult 
or impossible to escape, giving, it would 
appear, some security against the attacks 
of larvae of any kind. Weak prickles grow 
at irregular distances all over the canes. 
The bush is itself an ornamental object, 
growing prettier as the mossy buds form. 
The petioles are also provided with hairs, 
and weak, yielding spines of the same red¬ 
dish color. The leaves, while differing 
from those of other raspberries in color 
and venation, are not conspicuously unlike 
them. 
Later.—The mossy calyx spreads open 
when the flower blooms. If the fruit sets, 
the calyx sepals gradually return to the 
unopened bud position, inclosing and con¬ 
cealing the forming berries completely. 
The hairs of the sepals retain their viscidity 
as if a further protection to the fruit. If 
fruits do not form, the sepals wither. 
July 20.—The Japan “Wineberry” be¬ 
gan to ripen this date, being later than other raspberries. 
The berries, as they begin to ripen, are of a bright 
orange color, which deepens to scarlet, and finally to 
crimson. The calyces begin to separate while yet the 
berries are green, falling back, like those of a rose, when 
they open. The berries do not cling firmly to the receptacle 
which is cf such a bright yellow color as to resemble little 
yellow flowers after the berry has fallen or been picked 
off. The receptacle is thrice as large as that of other 
raspberries, and increases in size as the berry ripens, thus 
pushing the berry off. 
July 27.—Full ripening. The berries are often “ crumb¬ 
ly;” that is, the drupelets do not cling together as do 
those of most other kinds of raspberries. The quality is 
very juicy, refreshing, sprightly and pure, without any of 
the odor or characteristic raspberry flavor. Comparing a 
fruiting branch received from Ellwanger & Barry, we 
find that the number of berries is about the same as those 
of our own specimens, viz., 23 to 25. The seeds are small, 
much smaller than those of other raspberries. 
There is as much difference between the flavor of a 
“Wineberry ” and other raspberries as there is between a 
“foxy” and pure grape. The berries average in size 
nearly as large as those of the Hansel, as our illustration 
(from nature) shows. They are so glossy that they remind 
one of a collection of glass beads, each reflecting a bright 
ray of light. In the absence of a familiar name, “Ruby- 
berry ” would be appropriate, or “ Moss-Berry.” 
As to the quality as estimated by others: It was deemed 
“ too acid” by one person, and “the acidity is not agree¬ 
able.” Another remarked: “I could not possibly eat a 
plate of them.” A third: “I prefer them decidedly to 
either red or black raspberries.” A fourth: “They do 
not taste like other raspberries—the flavor is peculiar to 
itself.” A fifth: “The seeds are few and small—I like 
them.” A sixth: “In a short-cake they would not be so 
good, because of their juiciness and neutral flavor. Sugar 
improves them.” A seventh : “ I think they are delicious; 
mild, sub-acid, and superior to either the blackberry or 
raspberry. They are very juicy, practically seedless, and 
destitute of the raspberry odor or flavor.” 
The three bushes have made a strong, healthy growth. 
The canes of the largest are seven feet in hight at this 
date—August 5. 
Prof. Georgeson Talks About the Berry. 
The raspberry, Rubus phcenicolasius, has this year been 
brought prominently before the public by the enterprising 
■ 5aifr .V 
m 
STEM SECTION OFTHE JAPAN “WINEBERRY” Rubus phcenicolasius. 
From Nature. Fig. 218. 
dealer in nursery stock, Mr. J. Lewis Childs, who has 
named it Childs’s Great Japan Wineberry. The seed from 
which the stock was grown was sent to this country from 
Japan by the writer in the summer of 1887. It is a beauti¬ 
ful plant, which on its merits as an ornamental shrub 
alone is worthy of culture in every garden, and Mr. Childs 
deserves credit for bringing it to the notice of the public. 
By request of the editor of The R. N.-Y., I state what I 
know concerning this plant and its introduction. In the 
summer of 1887 I spent my vacation in the mountains of 
Central Japan, partly for the purpose of exploration, but 
chiefly to escape from the excessive heat in the city of 
Tokio. I went to the Usui Toge (South Pass) Mountains, 
in the province of Shinshin, about 100 miles north of r l o- 
kio, and within a few miles of the famous active volcano 
Asama-Yama. From my headquarters in a little moun¬ 
tain village I made frequent excursions over the neighbor 
ing mountains, and it was on one of these wanderings that 
my attention was first attracted to this, as it appeared to 
me, remarkable species of the raspberry. It grew some¬ 
what abundantly in certain places at an elevation of be¬ 
tween 3,000 and 4,000 feet, and 1 may add that I never 
found it wild below 3,000 feet in that latitude, though the 
next year I discovered an occasional plant at a lower alti¬ 
tude several hundred miles farther north. It did not grow 
in the grass, or in the shade under large trees, but 
seemed to prefer open places on hillsides, which here and 
there had been washed bare by the rains, where it grew 
among other shrubs. What struck me especially was the 
remarkable vigor and fruitfulness which it attained on this 
barren volcanic soil, composed almost exclusively of disin¬ 
tegrated scoria. On my first arrival in the mountains, in 
the middle of July, I found ripe fruit on Rubus trifidus, 
(Thunb.), and a little later on R. incisus (Thunb.), while R. 
phcenicolasius, at that time a stranger to me, was heavily 
laden with what appeared to be large flower buds. But, 
imagine my surprise, when on opening one of them I 
found a well-developed berry instead of a flower. I tried 
another, but there was no mistake; the plump buds were 
growing berries, each closely clasped by its calyx, which 
grew with the berry, and continued to cover it till it be¬ 
gan to ripen. The berries did not ripen till the last of 
August, when the sepals relaxed their grasp and, turning 
back, displayed the large and beautiful berries, white at 
first, but in the course of two or three days turning to a 
bright red. When fully ripe they proved to be rich and 
luscious, with a flavor something between that of the 
common red raspberry and the blackcap. I washed out 
some of the seed and sent it to Mr. J. T. 
Lovett, of Little Silver, N. J., assuring 
him that if it would grow and fruit in 
America as it did in Japan, it would be 
a valuable acquisition both as a late rasp¬ 
berry and foe ornament. The stock grown 
from this small lot of seed is what Mr. 
Childs purchased two years ago. It has 
probably not been sufficiently tested as yet 
to ascertain if the berries will suit the 
American markets, but there are these 
points in its favor : It comes in after other 
raspberries are gone; it is firm and will 
bear shipment well; it is very attrac¬ 
tive, of fair quality, and, better than all, 
while all other raspberries are more or 
less wormy, this species never is. The 
calyx which incloses the berry until it is 
full-grown is covered with a thick growth 
of long viscid hair, which effectually re¬ 
pels the attacks of insects. This point 
alone would compensate for many defects 
in the eyes of the consumer. It is of 
no little comfort to know that one’s plate 
of berries is free from the wriggling, 
nauseating “worms.” 
The plants on the Japanese mountains 
formed broad bushes, sometimes seven 
feet high, the pendant canes being eight to 
nine feet long. The foliage resembles that of 
the common red raspberry ; but is a lighter 
green above and silvery white beneath. The 
odd beauty of the plant consists mainly in 
the thick coat of brown-colored hair which 
covers the canes from base to tips, and 
which gives the buds a striking resemblance 
to the moss rose. The Moss-rose Raspberry 
would, I think, be a more descriptive com¬ 
mon name for the plant than Wineberry. 
There is a gradual transition from the hairs 
to prickles, and many of the former harden 
into the latter with age. It is propagated, 
like the blackcap, by bending the tips of the 
canes to the ground, where they take root, 
and so far as I have learned, no other 
method of propagation, except by seed, has 
been entirely successful. It does not sucker. 
The annual crop of young canes springs 
from the crown of the old stools ; but the 
stools can be divided when there are several 
shoots. 
On leaving the mountains, I carried sev¬ 
eral plants with me to Tokio. They grew 
well, but did not attain the vigor peculiar 
to them in their mountain home, and the 
berries ripened there by the last of July in¬ 
stead of the last of August, as in the moun¬ 
tains. The flowers remain open only a 
couple of days, and the petals are very 
small, white, rounded bodies, not much 
more than 1-16 of an inch in diameter. The 
bush will undoubtedly be hardy every¬ 
where in the United States. The winters 
are cold in those mountains, and the sum¬ 
mer heat for July and August while I was there ranged 
between the extremes of 63 deg. F. and 76 deg. F. The 
Japanese gather the wild berries and relish them greatly, 
but I have nowhere seen the plant cultivated by them, 
except in botanical collections. It is one of the many 
pretty things of their floral wealth, which has thus far 
flourished in obscurity, unappreciated both at home and 
abroad. 
State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan. 
Mr. J. T. Lovett’s Remarks. 
The berry now known as the Japanese Wineberry, was 
produced by me from seed sent to me from Japan by Prof. 
C. C. Georgeson, at the time he was Ailing the chair of 
Professor of Agriculture and Horticulture in the Imperial 
College of Agriculture, Tokio, Japan. The plants fruited 
freely the second year from seed and have borne very 
abundantly each season since. At this moment, July 18, 
the plants are a mass of fruit and foliage so beautiful 
that I cannot give any correct idea of them in words, and 
when gathered, it is also, without exception, the most 
beautiful fruit I have ever beheld. The plant propagates 
readily from the tips of the canes in the mauner of the 
