THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
163 
Early Wonder and McDonald Berry 
By S. L. Watkins, Pleasant Valley, California. 
No person wlio ow ns a farm or city garden should l)e 
w itliout some plants of the early w onder berry and Me- 
Donald berry. 
These two varieties of berries should he grown in 
close proximity to each other, as the McDonald berry is 
jin imperfect flowering sort. 
After many tests as to the most fitting plant to fertilize 
and perfect the fruit of the McDonald berry, w e have de¬ 
cided u])on the early wonder;—this latter blooms at the 
same time as the McDonald berry and their blossoms 
are heavily charged w ith pollen. There is considerable 
difference in the fruit of the two varieties, but both 
types are of a very superior order. 
Both the McDonald and early w onder are on the dew- 
jjei-iy—blackberry order of plants, but still not true 
dewberries or blackberries. Both commence to ripen 
early, and both are long season croppers. 
It is very advisable w^hen growing these two berries 
to have two row^s of McDonald berry, and every third 
row of early wonder berry. 
Set all plants six feet apart in the rows, and the row^s 
seven feet apart. 
Both varieties have a trailing prostrate habit of grow th 
the first season, the second year they form dense up¬ 
right hushes, and do not trail so much. 
A very important point in their cultivation is this, 
about the middle of July, take a brush scythe and mow^ 
all the old as w^ell as the new^ growdh off. and w^hen dry 
burn this. Then plow around the plants, and if too dry 
irrigate the ground so it can be plowed easilv. After 
the ground is w^ell plowed give a good irrigating, if you 
live in an irrigated section. In a few days these plants 
wnTl start a new'^ growth and be fairly good sized plants 
before fall. The great point in cutting these plants off 
is this: that the new crop of fruit the next spring will 
be double in size and double in yield to plants not so 
treated. 
The early wonder berry is a miicb improved type of 
the Haupt berry and superior to it in every respect. 
So that a description of the Haupt berry is a good de¬ 
scription of the early w onder berry. A Texas nurserv- 
man has this to say of the Haupt berry: “The late Col. 
Haupt of Hayes Co.. Texas, spent much time and money 
in collecting dew^berries and blackberries. He got one 
probably from Wharton Co., Texas, that eclipses every¬ 
thing. It is certainly the most valuable varietv of fruit 
of anv kind. A few'^ years ago we paid a fancy pricr* 
for all the plants he wmuld spare—we found them robust 
growers, never turning yellow^ ripening early in April, 
and Mav. and best of all, they never have a faultv or 
poorly filled berrv.—they are of good size, and of the 
very highest quality; they keep for a lonjj time after 
turning black; they are productive beyond description. 
Our foreman declared that the best vine had 40 quarts on 
it. It has those characteristics which denote it is a 
cross between a dewberry and a blackberry.” 
Regarding the McDonald l)erry Prof. L. B. Johnson 
says: “I leel that in the McDonald berry there has 
arisen the greatest of all the blackberry family. The 
McDonald is three weeks ahead of the Cl Dorado black¬ 
berry, e(jualing it in every other particular; it surpasses' 
it in quality and size. The berries are very large, long- 
ish, and uniform in size. In quality it is ecjual to any 
variety of any season—the plants are extremely vigorous, 
bearing immense crops. One man harvested 500 bushels 
per acre. It stands the dry w eather perfectly, and holds 
its foliage perfectly. It will hang on the hushes sev¬ 
eral days after ripening. Their earliness, large size, 
fine quality, command for it a high market price. It 
is as hardy as most blackberries, and w ill stand colder 
weather than early king, early harvest, Lucretia and 
Ward, and in fact will stand as much cold weather as the 
peach tree. The plants will trail during the first year, 
but become upright afterwards. For market, we know 
of no better berry that will pay as w^ell. For home use 
it extends the season being at least a week earlier than 
the Lucretia dewberry.” 
In the California soil and climate both of these var¬ 
ieties will give a big crop in the fall if watered w ell, 
without any detriment to the spring crop. 
The vines should not be trellised and tied to stakes. 
It has been found that the largest and sweetest berries 
grow near the ground. 
In cultivating, the vines can be pushed aside, as they 
are quite strong and pliable, there is little danger of 
breaking them. 
SOUTHERN CUT-OVER LAND ASSOCIATION, 
NEW ORLEANS, LA. 
A tentative organization w as formed April 13th at New 
Orleans. Louisiana, under the title of Southern Cut-Over 
Land Association, a body which it is proposed to incor¬ 
porate immediately for the purpose of colonizing and de¬ 
veloping one hundred million acres of cut over land 
throughout the southern states; the largest unused cul¬ 
tivable area on the American continent. The new’^ or¬ 
ganization wdll try to foster the live stock industry and 
reforestation of these lands. 
A tentative plan is adopted to interest officials and com¬ 
mercial bodies in the ])rincipal southern cities, to dem¬ 
onstrate honestly and on a large scale to w^hat purposes 
these lands are best adapted; to invite immigration and 
settlement by honest advertising and in other w'ords to 
work the land rather than the public. 
