1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
791 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH 
JOHN LEWIS CHILDS. 
On July 20 an “interview” with Luth¬ 
er Burbank was printed in The San 
(Francisco Call, with this suggestive 
heading: 
BURBANK BRANDS 
BERRY AS FRAUD 
In this interview Mr. Burbank stat¬ 
ed that “a lot of the common garden 
huckleberry is being distributed as the 
Wonderberry.” We accepted this as a 
direct charge of substitution of seeds, 
particularly as Mr. Burbank refused to 
deny it in response to our letters. Mr. 
John Lewis Childs claimed while the 
Wonderberry was being offered that he 
was the sole introducer. We under¬ 
stood him to mean that the seed could 
not be obtained from anyone else. We 
therefore wrote Mr. Childs, telling him 
of Burbank’s charge, and stating that 
our understanding was that all the seed 
that he offered came from Mr. Bur¬ 
bank. The following correspondence 
resulted: 
A Letter From Mr. Childs. 
Dear Sirs'.—Replying to yours of the 7tli 
I nm glad to give you the information you 
desire regarding Wonderberry seed. All the 
seed I sold the past season was grown by 
iiivself here at Floral Park or supplied by 
Mr Burbank from his place at California. 
Four-fifths of my orders or more were filled 
from stock which I grew here. The rest 
from that which Mr. Burbank furnished. 
I have not had a seed or plant of the 
garden huckleberry on my place for four 
years, and seed of it is distinguishable 
from seed of the Wonderberry. 1 know 
that every package of seed supplied from 
mv stock' was the true Wonderberry and 
I certainly believe that that which came 
from Mr. Burbank was the same. I still 
have some of it on hand, but the crop 
I am growing this year is from my own 
stock of last. year. I also know it to be 
a fact that some other seedsmen received 
orders for Wonderberry seed and supplied 
Ihe garden huckleberry for it, but I do not 
think this was done to any great extent, 
as but few seedsmen had any stock of 
garden huckleberry. 
Now if you were as fair in this matter 
ns you would have your readers believe, 
you would publish some of the favorable 
reports on the Wonderberry as well as the 
unfavorable ones. According to my corre¬ 
spondents you have received many of the 
former. Your assertions have done me un¬ 
told damage and put me on the defensive 
all over the world, as your words have 
been widely copied in other publications. 
You must know by this time that many 
of your assertions were erroneous and your 
editorial announcement that Mr. Burbank 
and myself have been deliberately defraud¬ 
ing the public was certainly broad and 
startling and has lieen duly noted. I am 
glad to say that the volume of reports we 
receive are mainly favorable, and many 
arc very enthusiastic over it. This both 
from individuals who had plants ripen 
fruit and from newspaper clippings from 
many places in the South and West. Many 
people have sent me fruiting branches of 
both the Wonderberry and the wild night¬ 
shade of their locality as proof that your 
assertions were untrue. There is no trouble 
in distinguishing the difference between 
them. Yours very truly, 
JOHN LEWIS CHILDS. 
A Reply to Mr. Childs. 
Mr. John Lewis Childs. 
Dear Sir.—I am obliged to you for the 
information contained in your letter. There 
is no question about the fact that seeds 
bought directly from you and sold as Won¬ 
derberry have produced plants which have 
been identified as black nightshade. Our 
correspondents state positively that the 
seed was bought of John Lewis Childs. 
The plants were carefully watched and 
were finally tested by good observers, in¬ 
cluding farmers, gardeners, and botanists. 
There is absolutely no doubt, therefore, 
that some of the seeds you have sold de¬ 
veloped in this way, and it is these seeds 
and these plants that we are discussing. 
It is aside from the question for you to 
say that other plants are not nightshade, 
or that the Wonderberry has high quality. 
Seed which you sold produced plants which 
are identified as nightshade. As for the 
quality we will let the public decide that. 
You state positively that “some other 
seedsmen” substituted “garden huckleberry” 
seed for “Wonderberry.” That is a very 
serious charge, and. if you know it to be 
true we think it is your duty to name the 
seedsmen. We will print their names. 
You say that we do not publish favor¬ 
able reports of the “Wonderberry” and you 
claim that we have received “many” such. 
Thus far two such reports have reached 
us. You wrote one—which we have 
printed. The other came from a man said 
to have formerly worked for you. and who 
is now reported as growing “Wonderberries” 
for seed. Our representative visited this 
man’s place, and we have printed his con¬ 
clusions. We shall be much pleased to 
have you give us the name of the “many” 
who tell you they have sent such reports. 
canned.” “Greatest boon to the family 
garden ever known.” 
You also permitted Burbank to say: “It 
bears the most delicious, wholesome, and 
healthful berries.” 
You are now on the defensive because you 
said these things, while those who bought 
your seeds and have tasted your berries 
know that the papers do not fit the fruit. 
The “assertions" we have made are, every 
one, founded on the testimony of reputable 
people. If they were not true the character 
and appearance of the “Wonderberry” 
would disprove them at once. In that 
case your "Wonderberry" would be the 
only defense you would need instead of 
being, as now, the worst condemnation your 
claims for it could have. If for the first 
lime in the “novelty" business the public 
lmve an opportunity of expressing their 
honest experience and convictions you have 
only yourself to blame when the perform¬ 
ance of the “Wonderberry” falls so far 
short of your praise of it. We again offer 
you all needed space in which to repeat 
Ulmteb States Department of Horicnlturc, 
^Bureau of plant flnOustrg. 
©nice of Chief of JSnrcan. 
tWlasbtnoton, S>. C., August 18, 1909. 
Mr. H. W. Collingwood, 
Editor, Rural New Yorker, 
Hew .York City, N. Y. 
Dear Air. Collingwood: 
I have your*note of August 16th relative to the kinship of 
the so-called "'Wonderberry" with black nightshade or Solatium 
nigrum. Any one who will study these plants in the field under 
varying conditions of soil and climate muBt necessarily come to 
the conclusion that the "Wonderberry" is only a variant or horti¬ 
cultural variety of the black nightshade. Of course one can set 
down differences in the leaves, internodes, size of flowers, 
fruit, and seed, but these'differences are all found to merge if 
the field study is sufficient.ly extended. 
I have now growing at my place twenty types of cowpeas, 
among which will•be found differences exceeding those occurring 
betv/een the "Wonderberry" and black nightshade and yet every one 
of the twenty types came from a single pea planted three years ago. 
I regard the Wonderberry and garden huckleberry as variants 
or horticultural varieties of the black nightshade or Solanum nigrum 
and as such may have some value in’the dry hot sections of the 
m 
Southwest where I am informed identical forms have been grown in 
back yards and gardens for years . 
Very sincerely, 
We also ask you to name anyone, includ¬ 
ing Mr. Burbank himself, who will say 
that the “Wonderberry” lives up to the 
claims you made for it in your catalogue. 
There are some hundreds of able and un¬ 
prejudiced men at the experiment stations 
and at the Department of Agriculture. 
They are constantly watching for improved 
varieties or useful new plants. Will you 
he kind enough to name some of these 
capable men who will endorse what you 
said of the “Wonderberry"? If these ex¬ 
perts decline to do so, will you repeat the 
claims you made for the berry in your 
catalogue and your advertising? Our rep¬ 
resentative went to your place and brought 
us samples of “Wonderberry” vine which 
your foreman gave him. These berries 
have been sampled here, and you must know 
how far they fall short of your claims. 
If you have been put “on the “defensive” 
you must realize how you came to be there. 
What you are now called upon to defend 
are the claims you and Mr. Burbank made 
when you offered the plant for sale. You 
then said of it: 
“Unsurpassed for eating, raw, cooked, or 
your claims for the berry, now that the 
public can fairly test it. 
Same as Solanum Nigrum. 
At the exhibition of the Massachu¬ 
setts Horticultural Society yesterday, 
August 21, we had on exhibition a 
plant and branches of the Wonderber¬ 
ry which grew from seeds obtained 
from John Lewis Childs. By the side 
of this we had a plant of Solanum ni¬ 
grum from the Harvard Botanic Gar¬ 
den, and identified as Solanum nigrum 
by the Harvard Herbarium. In com¬ 
paring the two plants the only differ¬ 
ence that could be noted was that the 
fruit on Solanum nigrum was black, 
while the fruit on the Wonderberry has 
a bluish tint, and the flavor of the fruit 
of Solanum nigrum is a little sweeter 
than “Wonderberry.” The leaf, flower 
stalk and general habit of the plants 
are just the same, and while we can¬ 
not say that the plants are identical, 
they are so similar that they could be 
readily classed under Solanum nigrum, 
for the fruit of Solanum nigrum va¬ 
ries a great deal, even running to yel¬ 
low in color, and of various shades of 
black and blue, although botanically it, 
Solanum nigrum, is listed as having 
black fruit. Solanum nigrum as culti¬ 
vated in the Botanic Gardens shows ex¬ 
actly the same habit as the cultivated 
“Wonderberry.” w. \v. 
CONNECTICUT PEACH 
GROWERS. 
The Connecticut Pomological Society held 
one of its Summer field meetings on Aug¬ 
ust 6 at Barnes Brothers' Durham peach 
orchards.* The place is a striking example 
of the confidence with which an already 
successful peach grower will extend bis 
business and provide new orchards' to take 
tiie place of those going out of production. 
The orchards at Yalesville, where Barnes 
Brothers live, are eight miles from the 
Durham ones, and the road leads over a 
considerable ridge of bills, so that even 
personal supervision is placed at a premium. 
Besides this, even the team work is hired 
done, so that it can be seen that the prob¬ 
lems to be solved have not been easy. But 
the results have been almost astonishing. 
In February, 1905, when the land was pur¬ 
chased. it was almost entirely old New 
England pasture, which presupposes a rough 
tract, covered with weeds, unplowed for a 
generation if ever plowed at all. and with 
a liberal sprinkling of hardhack, gray 
birches, and similar obstacles. Fortunately 
for iis new owners, there do not seem to 
have been as many large boulders as are 
often found in other parts of the State. 
Part, of the laud was planted that same 
Spring, the trees being set in a furrow 
plowed through the sod, the ground between 
the trees not being broken up until later in 
the Spring or early Summer. Over the 
whole of the 150 acres, the trees have 
been planted 10x18 feet, with the idea 
that if the orchard proved thrifty, half the 
trees would be cut out, leaving the re¬ 
mainder 18x20, while if the yellows at¬ 
tacked it, the greater number of trees would 
give a correspondingly greater return before 
they succumbed. 
The orchard is thoroughly cultivated in 
the early part of the Summer, after which 
Crimson clover and Cow-horn turnips are 
sown. This seeding had been partially com¬ 
pleted at the time of the meeting. Most 
of the cultivation is done with spring- 
tooth harrows with extension heads, which 
throws one side of the harrow next to the 
tree while keeping the team in the center 
of the row. Two trips will cultivate all 
the land at the wider distance apart. Since 
the trees are headed at about six inches 
from the ground, they are already interlac¬ 
ing at the 10-foot distance, and it is hard 
to see how such good cultivation can be 
given in this direction without more in¬ 
jury to the trees than is apparent. But the 
whole ground is in an excellent state of 
tilth, and hardly a weed can be seen. 
Chemical fertilizers have been used from 
the beginning, and they and the cover crops 
have supplied all the plant food. The deep 
green of the leaves shows a well-balanced 
ration, and certainly the orchard has been 
pushed. Part of it is four years old and 
part .only three years, yet the estimated 
yield this year is 15,000 baskets. Durham 
is some eight miles south of Middletown, 
and the orchards occupy a tract of rolling 
land at an elevation of some three hun¬ 
dred feet. They are not far from those of 
Charles M. Lyman, who entertained the 
Society last year, and who has some three 
hundred acres in peaches. avalon. 
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