, never be used on fruit or edible vegetables. There
cannot be safety in this course. I never heard of any one that was
injured by white hellebore, used as I have directed; and I have
found that if the worms were kept off until the fruit began to
ripen, the danger was practically over. If I had to use hellebore
after the fruit was fit to use, I should first kill the worms, and
then cleanse the bushes thoroughly by spraying them with clean
water.
In treating the two remaining small fruits, blackberries and
strawberries, we pass wholly out of the shade and away from trees.
Sunshine and open ground are now required. Another important
difference can also be mentioned, reversing former experience.
America is the home of these fruits. The wild species of the
blackberry abroad has never, as far as I can learn, been developed
into varieties worthy of cultivation; and before importations from
North and South America began, the only strawberry of Europe was
the Alpine, with its slight variations, and the musky Hautbois.
I do not know whether any of our fine varieties of blackberries
are cultivated abroad, but I am perfectly certain that they are
worthy of the slight attention required to raise them in
perfection here.
Like the blackcaps, all our best varieties are the spontaneous
products of Nature, first discovered growing wild, and transferred
to the garden.
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