CULTIVATION OF BLACKBERRIES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1801, 28 March 1888, Page 3

CULTIVATION OF BLACKBERRIES

Wq noiico than an English paper nrgos tho cultivation of th' 3 hUherto nrgleouid frait. I-, B»y< : f( We cannot bti think thai tho sterling advantages which, have accrued to our Trr,nßstlan<ia co'icias m return for the troub'.o ami oaro they disp'ayed m tho cultivation and. perfeoilon of thfi humble bramble (Rubus fructicosus) might with advantage be tried, at any rato ?s an experiment, on thsa aide of t! c Atlan'ic He>e In England tho bremble, or blackberry, ia coifiaod — 3UV3 la n fen isolated in&tar 03a where Ua development has been st'emptcd, aid nod without success — (o one specie?, th*t i* i"d!g3tiuUs to cur he di-e-rows and dt-ches ; hut hcroea the water thorn are et the present tlnae npwards of 140 distinot epsoies under cultivation. And not only are nsw varieties being introduced sea3on after season, but many hundreds of acres ere act apart for their culture year af <er ye&r — a sufficient proof that the enterprlee la ; a payfng one. What others can do why cannot we 1 The answer Is probaV.y to be found In the fact that our fruit growers are esEentl l'y old-faehloned and conservative m their ideaa. What their fathers and forefathers cultivated before them ia good enough for them, and bo they continue faithfully to follow m their footsteps. The special medicinal propertfea for which the blackberry la famed, partly m relation to gouty ailments, but rao r e especially m regard to bronch'al and oheßt affeo'ions, have always been acknowledged by the medical profession, and we imagine that it would be quite possible to preserve the fruit m such a way as to retain these properties In their fullest degree. This alone should enable it to oommand a ready sale at a remunerative price ; but apart from this, viewed m tho light of ancient historians, the blackberry is possessed of nourishing elements to an extent not met with In other English fruits, m support of which it la recorded that Linnraas, when travelling In northern wilds, narrates m one of his letters having maintained himself (or a considerable period on the fruit of the dwarf orlraeon bramble, which, if not actually the blackberry of modern times, was probably similar to it. Then, again, the extract of blackberries is admitted on all sides to be capable of being transformed into a jelly far eufpaseing ia escoUenca tho juice of currents, rod or black ; and used aa an admixture with the fruit of the apple, m the proportion of two-thirds of the rormar to one of the latter, the result is a preserve which will compare favorably with any of oar English fruits, and, above all, can be produced at a lower cost. The oxcelleno3 of blaokb3rry wine ha* long been acknowledged m America, and there is reason to auppose that very considerable quantities of the aame are conBurned annually m this country under a very different titlo. It cannot be urged th^t the experiment would involve a very costly outlay io the same way as the recently aMempted effort at tobaooo cultivation, and any odd plot of land would serve for a beginning. Judging from the auc3PSB which haa attended the venture m America, the idea would, at an rate, appear vrorthy of conaidt ra: lon ; and it is this convic'ion that makes us propound tho not alt. getheralarualng query. • Why not blackbe'rles ? '