With the exception of the
Philadelphians, perhaps, we as a people will not stand on the
question of ancestry, and shall be more inclined to see how she
"queens it."
Of course the enthusiastic discoverer and disseminators of this
variety claim that it is not only like the Cuthbert, but far
better. Let us try it and see; if it is as good, we may well be
content, and can grace our tables with beautiful fruit.
There is another American species of raspberry (Rubus
occidentalis) that is almost as dear to memory as the wild
strawberry--the thimble-berry, or black-cap. I confess that the
wild flavor of this fruit is more to my taste than that of any
other raspberry. Apparently its seeds have been sown broadcast
over the continent, for it is found almost everywhere, and there
have been few children in America whose lips have not been stained
by the dark purple juice of its fruit. Seeds dropped in neglected
pastures, by fence and roadsides, and along the edges of the
forest, produce new varieties which do not propagate themselves by
suckers like red raspberries, but in a manner quite distinct. The
young purple canes bend over and take root in the soil during
August, September, and October. At the extreme end of the tip from
which the roots descend a bud is formed, which remains dormant
until the following spring.
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