BLACKBERRIES--VARIETIES, CULTIVATION, ETC.
The small-fruit branch of the rose family is assuredly entitled to
respect when it is remembered that the blackberry is the blackest sheep
in it. Unlike the raspberry, the drupes cling to the receptacle, which
falls off with them when mature, and forms the hard, disagreeable core
when the berry is black, but often only half ripe. The bush is, in
truth, what the ancients called it--a bramble, and one of our Highland
wildcats could scarcely scratch more viciously than it, if treated too
familiarly; but, with judicious respect and good management, it will
yield large and beautiful berries.
It would seem that Nature had given her mind more to blackberries than
to strawberries, for, instead of merely five, she has scattered about
150 species up and down the globe. To describe all these would be a
thorny experience indeed, robbing the reader of his patience as
completely as he would be bereft of his clothing should he literally
attempt to go through them all. Therefore, I shall give Professor
Gray's description of the two species which have furnished our few
really good varieties, and dismiss with mere mention a few other
species.
"_Rubus Villosus_, High Blackberry. Everywhere along thickets,
fence-rows, etc., and several varieties cultivated; stems one to six
feet high, furrowed; prickles strong and hooked; leaflets three to
five, ovate or lance-ovate, pointed, their lower surface and stalks
hairy and glandular, the middle one long-stalked and sometimes
heart-shaped; flowers racemed, rather large, with short bracts; fruit
oblong or cylindrical.
"_R. Canadensis_, Low Blackberry or Dewberry. Rocky and sandy soil;
long trailing, slightly prickly, smooth or smoothish, and with three to
seven smaller leaflets than in the foregoing, the racemes of flowers
with more leaf-like bracts, the fruit of fewer grains and ripening
earlier."
The _R. Cuneifolius_, or Sand Blackberry, is common in the sandy ground
and barrens from New Jersey southward; the _R. Trivialis_, Southern Low
Blackberry, is found in light soils from Virginia southward; the _R.
Hispidus_ is a Running Swamp Blackberry whose long, slender stems creep
through low, damp woods and marshes; the _R. Spectabilis_ produces
purple solitary flowers, and grows on the banks of the Columbia River
in the far Northwest. Whatever improvements may originate from these
species in the future, they have not as yet, to my knowledge, given us
any fine cultivated variety.
_R, fruticosus_ is the best-known European species, but neither has it,
as far as I can discover, been the source of any varieties worthy of
favor. It is said to have a peculiar flavor, that produces satiety at
once. The blackberry, therefore, is exceptional, in that we have no
fine foreign varieties, and Mr. Fuller writes that he cannot find "any
practical information in regard to their culture in any European work
on gardening."
The "bramble" is quite fully treated in Mr. R. Thompson's valuable
English work, but I find little to interest the American reader. He
suggests that the several native species that he describes are capable
of great improvement, but I cannot learn that such effort has ever been
made successfully. I do not know of any reason why our fine varieties
will not thrive abroad, under conditions that accord with their nature.
In America there are innumerable varieties, since Nature produces wild
seedlings on every hillside, and not a few seeds have been planted by
horticulturists in the hope of originating a prize berry. Nature
appears to have had the better fortune, thus far, for our best
varieties are chance seedlings, found growing wild.
It is not so many years since the blackberry was regarded as merely a
bramble in this country, as it now is abroad, and people were content
with such fruit as the woods and fields furnished. Even still, in some
localities, this supply is so abundant as to make the culture of the
blackberry unprofitable. But, a number of years since, Mr. Lewis A.
Seacor led to better things, by observing on the roadside, in the town
of New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York, a bush flourishing where
Nature had planted it. This variety took kindly to civilization, and
has done more to introduce this fruit to the garden than all other
kinds together. Mr. Donald GK Mitchell, in his breezy out-of-door book,
"My Farm at Edgewood," gives its characteristics so admirably that I am
tempted to quote him:
"The New Rochelle or Lawton Blackberry has been despitefully spoken of
by many; first, because the market fruit is generally bad, being
plucked before it is fully ripened; and next, because, in rich, clayey
grounds, the briers, unless severely cut back, grow into a tangled,
unapproachable forest, with all the juices exhausted in wood. But upon
a soil moderately rich, a little gravelly and warm, protected from
winds, served with occasional top-dressings and good hoeings, the
Lawton bears magnificent burdens. Even then, if you wish to enjoy the
richness of the fruit, you must not be hasty to pluck it. When the
children say, with a shout, 'The blackberries are ripe!' I know they
are black only, and I can wait. When the children report, 'The birds
are eating the berries!' I know I can wait. But when they say, 'The
bees are on the berries!' I know they are at their ripest. Then, with
baskets, we sally out; I taking the middle rank, and the children the
outer spray of boughs. Even now we gather those only which drop at the
touch; these, in a brimming saucer, with golden Alderney cream and a
_soupcon_ of powdered sugar, are Olympian nectar; they melt before the
tongue can measure their full soundness, and seem to be mere bloated
bubbles of forest honey."
Notwithstanding this eloquent plea and truthful statement, the Lawton
is decidedly on the wane. It is so liable to be winter-killed, even
with best of care, and its fruit is go unpalatable, in its half-ripe
condition, that it has given place to a more successful rival, the
Kittatinny--discovered in Warren County, K. J., growing in a forest
near the mountains, whose Indian name has become a household word from
association with this most delicious fruit. Mr. Wolverton, in finding
it, has done more for the world than if he had opened a gold mine.
Under good culture, the fruit is very large; sweet, rich, and melting,
when fully ripe, but rather sour and hard when immature. It reaches its
best condition if allowed to ripen fully on the vines; but the majority
of pickers use their hands only, and no more think of making nice
discriminations than of questioning nature according to the Baconian
method. They gather all that are black, or nearly so; but if this
half-ripe fruit is allowed to stand in some cool, dry place for about
twelve hours, Kittatinny berries may be had possessing nearly all their
luscious qualities. The plant is an upright and very vigorous grower,
exceedingly productive if soil and culture are suitable. Its leaves are
long-pointed, "finely and unevenly serrate." The season of fruiting is
medium, continuing from four to six weeks, if moisture is maintained.
Both of these varieties are derived from the _Rubus villosus_ species.
In contrast is the next-best known sort, Wilson's Early--having many of
the characteristics of the Dewberry, or running blackberry, and,
therefore, representing the second species described, _R. Canadensis_.
Whether it is merely a sport from this species, or a hybrid between it
and the first-named or high blackberry, cannot be accurately known, I
imagine; for it also was found growing wild by Mr. John Wilson, of
Burlington, N. J. Under high culture, and with increasing age, the
plants become quite erect and stocky growers, but the ends of the cane
are drooping. Frequently, they trail along the ground, and root at the
tips, like the common Dewberry; and they rarely grow so stocky but that
they can be bent over and covered with earth or litter, as is the case
with the tender raspberries. It is well that this is possible, for it
has so little power of resisting frost that a winter of ordinary
severity kills the canes in the latitude of New York. I have always
covered mine, and thus secured, at slight expense, a sure and abundant
crop. The fruit is earlier than the Kittatinny, and tends to ripen
altogether in about ten days. These advantages, with its large size and
firmness, make it a valuable market berry in New Jersey, where hundreds
of acres of it have been planted, and where it is still very popular.
Throughout the North and West, it has been found too tender for
cultivation, unless protected. In flavor, it is inferior to the
Kittatinny or Snyder.
For many years, the great desideratum has been a perfectly hardy
blackberry, and this want has at last been met in part by the Snyder, a
Western variety that seems able to endure, without the slightest
injury, the extremes of temperature common in the Northwestern States.
From Nebraska eastward, I have followed its history, and have never
heard of its being injured by frost. It originated on, or in the
vicinity of, Mr. Snyder's farm, near La Porte, Ind., about 1851, and is
an upright, exceedingly vigorous, and stocky grower, a true child of
the _R. vittosus_. Its one fault is that it is not quite large enough
to compete with those already described. On moist land, with judicious
pruning, it could be made to approach them very nearly, however, while
its earliness, hardiness, fine flavor, and ability to grow and yield
abundantly almost anywhere, will lead to an increasing popularity. For
home use, size is not so important as flavor and certainty of a crop.
It is also more nearly ripe when first black than any other kind that I
have seen; its thorns are straight, and therefore less vicious. I find
that it is growing steadily in favor; and where the Kittatinny is
winter-killed, this hardy new variety leaves little cause for repining.
There are several kinds that are passing out of cultivation, and not a
few new candidates for favor; but the claims of superiority are as yet
too doubtful to be recognized. Mr. James Wilson, of West Point, N. Y.,
found some magnificent wild berries growing on Crow Nest Mountain. The
bush that bore them is now in my garden, and if it should produce fruit
having a flavor equal to Rodman Drake's poem, Mr. Wilson has, then,
found something more real than a "Culprit Fay." Occasionally, a
thornless blackberry is heralded, and not a few have reason to recall
the "Hoosac," which was generally found, I think, about as free from
fruit as thorns. We have, also, the horticultural paradox of white
blackberries, in the "Crystal," introduced by Mr. John B. Orange, of
Albion, Illinois, and some others. They have little value, save as
curiosities.
PROPAGATION, CULTURE, ETC.
In most instances I think more difficulty would be found in making a
blackberry die than live. A plant set out in fall or early spring will
thrive if given the ghost of a chance. Late spring planting, however,
often fails if subjected to heat and drought while in the green,
succulent condition of early growth. Like the raspberry, the blackberry
should be set, if possible, while in a dormant condition. If planted
late, shade should be given and moisture maintained until danger of
wilting and shrivelling is past. I advise decidedly against late spring
plantings on a large scale, but in early spring planting I have rarely
lost a plant. Almost all that has been said concerning the planting and
propagation of raspberries applies to this fruit. Set the plants two or
three inches deeper than they were before. With the exception of the
early Wilson, all speedily propagate themselves by suckers, and this
variety can be increased readily by root cuttings. Indeed, better
plants are usually obtained from all varieties by sowing slips of the
root, as has already been explained in the paper on raspberries.
The treatment of the blackberry can best be indicated by merely noting
wherein its requirements differ from the last-named and kindred fruit.
For instance, it does best on light soils and in sunny exposures. The
partial shade, and moist, heavy land in which the raspberry luxuriates
would produce a rank growth of canes that winter would generally find
unripened, and unable to endure the frost. Warm, well-drained, but not
dry land, therefore, is the best. On hard, dry ground, the fruit often
never matures, but becomes mere collections of seeds. Therefore the
need in the preparation of the soil of deep plowing, and the thorough
loosening, if possible, of the subsoil with the lifting plow. Any one
who has traced blackberry roots in light soils will seek to give them
foraging-room. Neither does this fruit require the fertility needed in
most instances by the raspberry. It inclines to grow too rankly at
best, and demands mellowness rather than richness of soil.
More room should also be given to the blackberry than to the raspberry.
The rows should be six feet apart in the garden and eight feet in field
culture, and the plants set three feet apart in the rows. At this
distance, 1,815 are required for an acre, if one plant only is placed
in a hill. Since these plants are usually cheap, if one is small or
unprovided with good roots, it is well to plant two. If the ground is
not very fertile, it is well to give the young plants a good start by
scattering a liberal quantity of muck compost down the furrow in which
they are planted. This ensures the most vigorous growth of young canes
in the rows rather than in the intervening spaces. As generally grown,
they require support, and may be staked as raspberries. Very often,
cheap post-and-wire trellises are employed, and answer excellently.
Under this system they can be grown in a continuous and bushy row, with
care against over-crowding.
The ideal treatment of the blackberry is management rather than
culture. More can be done with the thumb and finger at the right time
than with the most savage pruning-shears after a year of neglect. In
May and June the perennial roots send up vigorous shoots that grow with
amazing rapidity, until from five to ten feet high. Very often, this
summer growth is so brittle and heavy with foliage, that thunder-gusts
break them off from the parent stem just beneath the ground, and the
bearing cane of the coming year is lost. These and the following
considerations show the need of summer pruning. Tall, overgrown canes
are much more liable to be injured by frost. They need high and
expensive supports. Such branchless canes are by no means so productive
as those which are made to throw out low and lateral shoots. They can
always be made to do this by a timely pinch that takes off the terminal
bud of the cane. This stops its upward growth, and the buds beneath it,
which otherwise might remain dormant, are immediately forced to become
side branches near the ground, where the snow may cover them, and over
which, in the garden, straw or other light litter may be thrown, on the
approach of winter. It thus is seen that by early summer pinching the
blackberry may be compelled to become as low and bushy a shrub as we
desire, and is made stocky and self-supporting at the same time.
Usually it is not well to let the bushes grow over four feet high; and
in regions where they winter-kill badly, I would keep them under three
feet, so that the snow might be a protection. It should be remembered
that the Kittatinny is so nearly hardy that in almost all instances a
very slight covering saves it. The suckers that come up thickly between
the rows can be cut away while small with the least possible trouble;
but leave the patch or field to its own wild impulses for a year or so,
and you may find a "slip of wilderness" in the midst of your garden
that will require not a little strength and patience to subdue. By far
the best weapon for such a battle, and the best implement also for
cutting out the old wood, is a pair of long-handled shears.