Blueberries were on the mind of one of our Hudson readers who recently wrote, in part: “Can you find which is the absolutely sweet blueberry. We have about 30 bushes and only 3 of them have berries that aren’t hair-raising. The others we have to use for cooking only, no matter how mature they are. Thanks for your answer.”

For an answer to our reader’s question, I phoned the UNH Extension Service office in Keene and spoke with Carl Majewski, extension educator (formerly known as the Cheshire County Agent).

Carl said there were two basic types of blueberries, wild lowbush and commercial highbush. Of the latter, very few varieties have much sweetness, he said. There were two varieties of commercial highbush, however, that were sweeter than the others: Spartan and Nelson.

Most lowbush blueberries were much sweeter than any highbush variety. He continued: “For those folks who do not wish to bend down to pick from the lowbush plants another group has been developed called ‘½ high.’ Of these, three varieties: Polaris, Saint Cloud, and Northsky, were not as sweet as the lowbush berries but were sweeter than the highbush varieties.”

In the Sept. 30, 2009, print of the Market Bulletin, in the always interesting “From Your Commissioner ...” column, Lorraine Merrill’s headline caught my eye! It read: “Make that New Hampshire Blueberry Pie.”

Commissioner Merrill began her column by noting that an average of 75 blueberry pies were sold each day at the New Hampshire Building during the 2009 Eastern States Exposition. The blueberries for those pies were harvested from the Taylor Brown Blueberry Company fields on Prospect Mountain in Alton.

With respect to blueberry varieties, Lorraine quoted Bill Lord, well known UNH Extension professor and fruit specialist emeritus who grew up on a wild blueberry operation in New Durham as saying: “In part because in the area of the state where we grow them, the Lakes Region, the wild species ‘low sweet’ (Vaccinium angustifolium) makes up 100% of our production. It is sweeter than the other wild lowbush species, ‘sour-top’ (Vaccinium myrtilloides) which is more dominant in more northern areas.

‘The wild blueberry is a true native fruit. A field is comprised of hundreds of irregular patches, each one a unique, wild variety. Each of these patches or clones began as a small seedling — which grew and produced rhizomes, underground lateral stems from which roots and more upright shoots developed. Each stem within a patch is identical, and blueberry growers have always called them clones. Growers do not plant wild blueberries but rather they ‘release’ these native fruits from the competition of trees and weeds.

“Each clone has unique fruit and plant characteristics. Fruit color can vary from jet black to almost white although most range from light, powder blue to a darker, slate blue.”

Lord notes: “Blueberry fields offer a blaze of red color in autumn, with each patch sporting a different red hue.”

The “Weekly Market Bulletin,” a publication of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture and Food, has been staple reading here at the farm for as long as I can remember. I have not engaged in animal agriculture since 1966, yet we always have been subscribers of this excellent publication. Mildred always read about Jersey cattle and sheep while I kept up with the market prices and general information on crop conditions. In her later years, Mildred became fascinated with llamas and looked forward to reading all she could about them. The reasonable subscription price for this weekly publication currently is $22 per year. NHDA’s mailing address is PO Box 2042, Concord, 03302-2042.

A mystery bird was inquired of by a Manchester reader who wrote, in part: “I recently saw a bird that I can’t find in my bird book, ‘Birds of North America,’ second edition, by National Geographic Society.

“On Sept. 25 on Campbell Rd. in Manchester I saw a bird that was about the size of a chicken with two white patches on its throat. In the center of the patches was black. The body was streaked with tan and cream feathers. The eye rings were blood-red and large and raised, about a half-inch in diameter. What did I see?” From our reader’s general description I thought it was a member of Gallinaceous or chicken-like birds, grouse or quail. When it came to the specifics, especially the white throat, split with black, and the red eye-ring, I was stumped. I wrote back that it would be difficult for me to identify the bird without a photograph. Perhaps our readers may have the answer.

Stacey Cole’s address is 529 W. Swanzey Road, Swanzey 03446.