Vol. LV. No. 2421. 
NEW YORK, JUNE 20, 1896. 
*1.00 PER YEAR. 
AUSTIN’S IMPROVED OR MAYES HYBRID 
DEWBERRY. 
A NEW BERRY FROM TEXAS. 
This wonderful dewberry was first discovered years 
ago,- growing wild on the farm of Mr. John Mayes, in 
Denton County, 
Texas. In the 
same field, and 
in close prox¬ 
imity, grew the 
common wild 
dewberry o f 
the South, 
Rubus trivialis; 
also, the com¬ 
mon wild up- 
rig h t black¬ 
berry. As was 
very natural, 
the first dis¬ 
coverers pro¬ 
nounced it a 
hybrid between 
the dewberry 
and black¬ 
berry ; thus the 
name Mayes 
Hybrid dew¬ 
berry. Many 
at once secured 
plants, among 
others,Mr.J W. 
Austin, a local 
nurseryman. 
Mr. Austin soon 
found that, un¬ 
der good cul¬ 
tivation, the 
plants in¬ 
creased in vigor 
and productive¬ 
ness, and the 
fruit increased 
in size, until it 
was considered 
wonderful by 
all who saw it. 
Consequently, 
Mr. Austin be¬ 
gan the propa¬ 
gation of plants 
for sale under 
the name of 
Austin’s Im¬ 
proved dew¬ 
berry, thus the 
double name. 
Learning o f 
the fame of this 
new wonder, I 
secured plants 
a year ago last 
March, have 
studied it care¬ 
fully in all the 
different stages 
of growth, and 
can find no evi¬ 
dence in plant, 
flower or fruit, 
that justifies 
the term hybrid 
To satisfy my¬ 
self more fully 
as to the cor¬ 
rectness of my 
judgment in 
the matter, I have planted seeds, and have a number 
of young plants now growing, and, in case there is a 
combination of the two species, the offspring will be 
very sure to show it. The long and well-known 
truth, that the sins of the fathers shall be visited 
upon the children, even to the third and fourth gen¬ 
eration, is as applicable in the vegetable as the animal 
kingdom. 
Catalogue illustrators will certainly find but little 
temptation to exaggerate the size of this new berry. 
The illustration, Fig. 135, hardly does it justice, as the 
berries from which the photograph was made, were 
taken from one- 
year-old plants 
that had not 
had rain or 
water in any 
shape, from the 
time the plants 
were in bloom, 
until the fruit 
was ripe. The 
cluster of small 
berries in the 
picture, are the 
best specimens 
of the Early 
Harvest black¬ 
berry, that 
could be found 
on very vigor¬ 
ous, three-year- 
old plants, 
ripened under 
the same con¬ 
ditions, and 
placed there to 
show the con¬ 
trast in size. 
Better to illus¬ 
trate, if possi¬ 
ble, the size to 
which this 
berry will at- 
tain under 
favorable con¬ 
ditions, I state 
that 53 selected 
berries filled a 
quart box, 
while it re¬ 
quired 347 o f 
the best Early 
Harvest berries 
to fill the same 
box. 
Fig. 137 shows 
the vigor and 
product! vene s s 
of a one-year- 
old plant, the 
first year’s 
growth tied up 
to a stake pro¬ 
ducing fruit. 
The present 
year’s growth, 
to date. May 15, 
is spread out 
on the ground 
as it naturally 
s. The 
time of ripen¬ 
ing is the same 
as that of the 
Early Harvest 
blackberry, but 
i t ripens its 
crop much 
quicker than 
that variety, 
the ripening 
season cover¬ 
ing a period of 
grow 
MAYES HYBRID DEWBERRY. NATURAL SIZE. EARLY HARVEST BLACKBERRY FOR COMPARISON. Fig. 135. 
