Chapter 36

CLOSING WORDS

Our ramble among the small fruits is over. To such readers as have not grown weary and left my company long since, I will say but few words in parting.

In the preceding pages I have tried to take from our practical and often laborious calling its dull, commonplace, and prosaic aspects. It should be our constant aim to lift life above mere plodding drudgery. It is our great good fortune to co-work with Nature, and usually among her loveliest scenes. Is it not well to "look up to the hills" occasionally, from whence may come "help" toward a truer, larger manhood, and then, instead of going home to the heavy, indigestible supper too often spread for those who are weary and feverish from the long, hot day, would it not be better to gather some sprays of the fruit whose mild subacid is just what the material man requires in mid-summer sultriness? The horticulturist may thrive if he will, in body and soul; for Nature, at each season, furnishes just such supplies as are best adapted to his need. She will develop every good quality he possesses, especially his patience.

As we have passed from one fruit to another, I have expressed my own views frankly; at the same time, I think the reader will remember that I have taken no little pains to give the opinions of others. Dogmatism in pomology is as objectionable as in theology. I shall be glad to have my errors pointed out, and will hasten to correct them.

As a part of this book appeared as a serial in "Scribner's Magazine," I was encouraged by words of approval from many of the best horticultural authorities. I shall not deny that I was very glad to receive such favorable opinions, for I had much and just doubt of my ability to satisfy those who have made these subjects a lifelong study, and to whom, in fact, I am largely indebted for the little I do know. Still more am I pleased by assurances that I have turned the thoughts of many toward the garden--a place that is naturally, and, I think, correctly, associated with man's primal and happiest condition. We must recognize, however, the sad change in the gardening as well as gardeners of our degenerate world. In worm and insect, blight and mildew, in heat, frost, drought and storm, in weeds so innumerable that we are tempted to believe that Nature has a leaning toward total depravity, we have much to contend with; and in the ignorant, careless, and often dishonest laborer, who slashes away at random, we find our chief obstacle to success. In spite of all these drawbacks, the _work_ of the garden is the _play_ and _pleasure_ that never palls, and which the oldest and wisest never outgrow. I have delayed my departure too long, and, since I cannot place a basket of President Wilder Strawberries on the tables of my readers, I will leave with them the best possible substitute, the exquisite poem of H. H.:

MY STRAWBERRY

O marvel, fruit of fruits, I pause To reckon thee. I ask what cause Set free so much of red from heats At core of earth, and mixed such sweets With sour and spice; what was that strength Which, out of darkness, length by length, Spun all thy shining threads of vine, Netting the fields in bond as thine; I see thy tendrils drink by sips From grass and clover's smiling lips; I hear thy roots dig down for wells, Tapping the meadow's hidden cells; Whole generations of green things, Descended from long lines of springs, I see make room for thee to bide, A quite comrade by their side; I see the creeping peoples go Mysterious journeys to and fro; Treading to right and left of thee, Doing thee homage wonderingly. I see the wild bees as they fare Thy cups of honey drink, but spare; I mark thee bathe, and bathe again, In sweet, uncalendared spring rain. I watch how all May has of sun Makes haste to have thy ripeness done, While all her nights let dews escape To set and cool thy perfect shape. Ah, fruit of fruits, no more I pause To dream and seek thy hidden laws! I stretch my hand, and dare to taste In instant of delicious waste On single feast, all things that went To make the empire thou hast spent.

APPENDIX

NEW VARIETIES

NEW STRAWBERRIES

_The Jewell._--I quote the following description by the originators: "This new variety was raised from seed by P.M. Augur & Sons, in 1880, and is one of a lot of seedlings produced from one quart of Jersey Queen and one quart of Prince of Berries (the seed being sown together and taken from exhibition berries). The Jewell is the finest growing variety we have ever seen, producing an abundance of very large, high-colored fruit, of fine quality. Season medium, color bright red, changing to crimson when very ripe; flower pistillate; enormously productive; berry very solid and firm, promising to become the great market strawberry. The plant is robust and vigorous, and has never shown any signs of rust or blight." It has received the following high praise from Hon. Marshall P. Wilder: "The large size, good form, bright color and remarkable solidity and productiveness will make it a permanent variety for years to come."

_Parry._--"All things considered, this surpasses any novelty that has appeared for many years. Fruit extra large, firm, handsome, and good; plant vigorous and productive, We can recommend it both for market and the home garden. Early to medium."--J.T. Lovett. This is high praise of a fruit produced by a rival fruit-grower, and does credit to the fairness of the writer. The Parry strawberry was produced from seed of the Jersey Queen, planted in the summer of 1880 by Mr. William Parry, the veteran fruit-grower of New Jersey. He thus describes it. "Plant a rank, vigorous grower, clean foliage, and very productive. Berries large, obtuse conical, bright glossy scarlet, firm, and of the best quality, ripening all over at once. Blossoms perfect."

Dr. F.M. Hexamer, editor "American Garden," also speaks highly of it, as follows "The Parry has proved quite satisfactory on my grounds. The plants are very vigorous, healthy, have wintered well, and have yielded an abundant crop of large, handsome berries." It is also strongly praised by many other authorities, and has received many premiums.

_Jersey Queen._--The plant is strong, stocky, and vigorous, but only moderately productive; the fruit large and beautiful. It must have high culture, and not be allowed to run, or it is not satisfactory. Pistillate.

_Henderson._--Said to be moderately vigorous, producing handsome fruit of exquisite flavor. Early and perfect in flower. Not yet generally tested, but probably one of the best for amateurs.

_Daniel Boone._--"Produces good crops; fruit of large size, attractive in appearance, medium quality, rather soft, and late in ripening; plant hardy and vigorous."--Charles A. Green. Further south and on light soils the foliage is said to blight. Pistillate.

_Dollar._--"For beauty, firmness, and high quality has but few equals, but the foliage blights so badly at Monmouth as to greatly impair its value. However, it blossoms and fruits quite profusely in the autumn, giving us strawberries when other patches are bare of fruit. Perfect in flower."--J. T. Lovett. If the tendency to autumn bearing is so great as to enable us to secure a fair crop of berries in late summer and fall this variety is a valuable acquisition. I shall certainly give it a fair trial. Further north and on heavier soils the foliage may be entirely healthy.

_Cornelia._--Highly praised by some, and declared to be unproductive by others. It undoubtedly requires high culture and runners clipped. With such treatment it promises to be one of the best _late_ berries. Pistillate.

_Crystal City._-Said to have been found growing wild in Missouri. I have fruited it for years, and have ever found it the earliest and one of the most delicious of berries. It is not valuable for market, but for home use, if the runners are clipped, it yields a fair crop of berries, with the genuine wild flavor.

_May King._--Described as almost identical with the old Crescent, with the advantage that the flower is perfect.

_Garretson._--Much is claimed for this variety. As its chief virtue it is declared to maintain a uniform size and regular form throughout a long picking season. It has been awarded several flattering premiums. Pistillate.

_Old Ironclad._--One of the best early berries, produced on an exceedingly vigorous plant that is said to be more productive on the second and third years of bearing than on the first. The fruit, not the plant, closely resembles the Wilson. Perfect flower.

_Vineland._-Said to be an improvement on the Kentucky, which it resembles. Perfect flower.

_Indiana._--Also said to be an improvement on the Charles Downing. If it is we all want it, but we have tried improvements on the fine old standards before. Perfect flower.

_Hart's Minnesota._--"I know of no variety that responds more readily to good culture than this. Under neglect the berries are small, but of a bright scarlet color, quite firm and very good. With high culture it is very large, attractive, and holds its size remarkably well. Perfect flower."--M. Crawford.

_Jumbo._--Another name for the old Cumberland Triumph.

_Prince of Berries._--Originated by Mr. E. W, Durand, and, like nearly all the varieties sent out by him, requiring very high culture. The fruit is large, meaty, and firm in flesh, of excellent flavor, and possessing a fine aroma. It is a berry for the amateur to pet and enjoy upon his table, but not adapted to ordinary culture. Perfect flower.

_Manchester._--Pistillate. "The Manchester has been a favorite with us, but, like most varieties, has its defects. It is deficient in flavor, is too light in color, is subject to leaf blight, and is exceedingly soft. It is necessary to pick every day in order to get it into market in good condition. We were pushed hard the past season, and did not pick the Manchester every day. The berries left the farm in apparently good condition, but our men reported that they melted on hot days like so much butter. They were often obliged to throw them away, from the fact that they were too soft to be sold. This softness, however, might have been obviated in a measure by picking more frequently. It is very productive, and the berries are of large size."--Charles A. Green. The words quoted above embody my own experience with this variety.

_James Vick._--Should have been a better berry to bear so honored a name.

After a thorough test I have discarded it. Nevertheless, in some localities it has proved a valuable market berry. Perfect flower.

Many others might be named, but, as far as I can learn, they have but short careers before them. If by well-doing they win their way to the front we shall all be glad to recognize their merits. The _Jessie_, and _Crawfard's No. 6_ promise to claim considerable attention in the future.

NEW RASPBERRIES

_Golden Queen._--This new variety has a curious history. Apparently it is simply an albino of the Cuthbert, for to all intents and purposes it is this favorite berry with the exception of its color. Mr. Ezra Stokes, of New Jersey, found the parent bush growing in a twelve-acre field of Cuthberts, but is unable to say whether it is a sport or a seedling. At all events, it was taken up and propagated, and the result apparently is a fixed and valuable variety for home use. I doubt whether a white raspberry will ever find much favor in market--not, at least, until the people are sufficiently civilized to buy white grape currants. In color it is said to be a beautiful yellow; in flavor, hardiness, and vigor it is declared to be superior to its parent, which it nevertheless closely resembles.

_Rancocas._--Another raspberry of New Jersey origin. It was found growing wild. Its discoverer claims that it has a sturdy upright growth, with a tendency to make branches like a miniature tree. These branches load themselves with red berries, which ripen early and nearly all together. Hardiness and other good qualities are claimed for it by the discoverer, who is the originator of the Hansel. If it is no better than this variety it is not destined to long-continued popularity in regions where better fruit can be grown.

_Hansel._--Red. A variety of the wild or native type which in my grounds so closely resembled the Highland Hardy that, apart from its quality of earliness, I do not regard it of value. It is not by any means identical with the Highland Hardy; but, having picked berries of both varieties at the same time, I could not tell them apart, either in appearance or flavor. Such berries are better than none at all, and may be grown by those who can raise no better. It is also claimed that earliness in ripening, and hardiness of plants made the variety profitable; and this, no doubt, is true in some localities.

_Marlboro._--A large, showy, good-flavored, red raspberry that was originated by Mr. A. J. Caywood, of Marlboro, N. Y. It has done well on my grounds, and promises finely as a market berry, as its earliness, bright color, firmness, and tendency to ripen its fruit rapidly and all together give the grower a chance to gather and sell his crop within a short period. I do not advise any one to grow only this variety, either for market or home use, for the reason that it gives too short a season. Employed to secure a succession of fruit, it is an excellent variety. I doubt whether the canes will prove hardy throughout any wide extent of country, for it evidently contains foreign blood. I think it well worth protection, however, if, in some regions, experience proves it to be not entirely hardy.

BLACK-CAPS

Of the newer black-cap varieties the _Souhegan_ is the best that I have seen or have heard spoken of. I think it may be regarded as the best early type of this class of berries. The fruit is of good size and flavor, moderately firm, and wonderfully abundant. For vigor, hardiness, and freedom from disease I do not know that it is surpassed by any other kind.

The _Tyler_ in my grounds resembled the Souhegan so closely that I do not think that a distinction between them is worth maintaining.

The _Centennial_ promised wonderfully well at first on my place, but after two or three years developed a feebleness and tendency to disease which led me to discard it.

The _Ohio_ is said to be the most valuable of all for drying purposes, for the reason that it is very firm, and retains its flavor and form better than any of the others. It has been stated that but two and a half to three quarts of fresh berries will make a pound of dried fruit. I think it would be well for those who are far from market to experiment with this variety. If it is equal to the claims made for it, it can be made very profitable.

The _Nemaha_ originated with Ex-Governor Furnas, of Nebraska. Charles A. Green says of this variety: "The season for ripening with the Nemaha is a trifle later than the Gregg. The berries are equally large, of better quality, equally productive and vigorous, and by far more hardy. This point of hardiness of the Nemaha, it is hoped, will make it the leading late variety, giving it preference over the Gregg." I have fruited it alongside of the Gregg on my grounds, but have failed to note any difference in fruit, cane, or season of ripening.

The _Chapman, Hopkins,_ and others have been introduced, but I fail to see why they should take the place of the fine old standard varieties already described. For either market or home use the Souhegan (early) and Gregg (late) leave little else to be desired.

BLACKBERRIES

Of the blackberries recently introduced, _Wilson Junior_ without doubt produces the largest and finest fruit, and in this respect is probably unsurpassed by any variety now in existence. But it is a child of the old Wilson's Early, and I do not believe it will prove hardy north of New Jersey. It resembles its well-known parent, but the fruit is earlier, finer, and larger, fit for use as soon as black, and sufficiently firm to carry well to market. Those who have tested it affirm that, although it yields enormously, it has not failed to perfect its crop. I should give it winter protection in this latitude.

The _Early Harvest_ is said to be the best very early blackberry yet introduced. Mr. J. T. Lovett describes it as "first-class in every respect, perfecting its entire crop before any other blackberry can be gathered," and as "wonderfully prolific," It is of medium size, of good flavor, and so firm that it carries to market in excellent condition. In hardiness it is said to be second only to the Snyder and Taylor.

_Taylor's Prolific_ is a variety that I was testing when this book was written. It has fulfilled its promise. The plants have proved hardy with me, the fruit of medium size, unusually fine-flavored, and very abundant.

In the West Mr. M. Crawford speaks of the _Stone_ and especially of the _Agawam_ as the hardiest of all the varieties that he had tested. They were comparatively uninjured when nearly all the others were killed to the ground.

There are other kinds which are good, but since they do not equal the varieties already named in this volume, I see no reason for keeping them before the public.

The _Industry_ gooseberry has been introduced by Ellwanger and Barry, of Rochester, N.Y., who think it will "revolutionize gooseberry culture in this country." It is an English variety, but has succeeded so well in this country that it has been propagated and disseminated. It remains to be seen whether it will continue to retain its vigor and health in our climate. It is said to be unequalled for size, of fine flavor, very productive, and showing no signs of mildew.