The raspberry of
Europe (Rubus idaeus) has been developed, and in many instances
enfeebled, by ages of cultivation. Nevertheless, few other fruits
have shown equal power to adapt themselves to our soil and
climate, and we have obtained from foreign sources many valuable
kinds--as, for instance, the Antwerp, which for weeks together
annually taxed the carrying power of Hudson River steamers. In
quality these foreign kinds have never been surpassed; but almost
invariably they have proved tender and fastidious, thriving well
in some localities, and failing utterly (except under the most
skilful care) in others. The frosts of the North killed them in
winter, and Southern suns shrivelled their foliage in summer.
Therefore they were not raspberries for the million, but for those
who resided in favored regions, and were willing to bestow upon
them much care and high culture.
Eventually another process began, taking place either by chance or
under the skilful manipulation of the gardener--that of
hybridizing, or crossing these foreign varieties with our hardier
native species. The best results have been attained more
frequently, I think, by chance; that is, the bees, which get more
honey from the raspberry than from most other plants, carried the
pollen from a native flower to the blossom of the garden exotic.
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