Slimmer Meeting. 43 



THIRD SESSION— Wednesday, 2 p. m. 

 Topics — Raspberry, Blackberry, Dewberry and Grape. 



RASPBERRY. 



(By Wm. H. Strong, Seligman, ]Mo.) 



The raspberry has been cultivated to a considerable extent in Barrjr 

 county for 10 or 12 years and does well and is profitable in some years. 

 The causes of years of partial failure is the drouth and hot sun in Jul>^ 

 and August. Raspberries will not stand too much drouth and hot 

 weather in the last of summer. These must be overcome by cultivation 

 at the right time of the season, and by planting corn every other row. 

 Raspberries require good fertile soil, not too heavy or wet. If the 

 soil is not fertile manure should be used — not fresh manure. Rasp- 

 berries do well on new land, and the finest I .ever saw grown were on 

 new land. The soil should be plowed deep and marked off with a small 

 plow 4 1-2 by 6 feet; or if you wish to shade with corn, 4 1-2 by 8 feet. 

 Plant a row of corn in the wide way, every other row, so you can plow 

 both ways, using a double shovel plow or a cultivator. Do not plow 

 so deep as to cut the roots. Plant tips, as they are better in every re* 

 spect than older plaiits. The new growth should be pinched ofi: at the 

 heighth of 2 or 2 1-2 feet. This is very important, as it causes them not 

 to get too high, and also to branch like a tree, and raspberries grown this 

 way do not require stakes to keep them from falling' down. Some top 

 two or three times in the season when they do not want to grow plants. 

 If you wush to grow plants tip only once and let the branches grow 

 down to the ground and cover the Tips in September or earlier if there- 

 is rain enough to wet the soil. If the tips are covered in dry weather 

 they will die. Plow or cultivate early in spring and at the same time 

 cut out all dead wood and also trim all hanging down vines. After 

 the harvest of the berries trim out all old wood and cultivate so as to 

 keep the soil from drying out in the hot, dry \yeather of July and Au- 

 gust. The Kansas is much the best variety to grow, as it is much har- 

 dier, and bears more berries than any other hardy variety. Gregg is 

 a fine variety, but tender and kills badly and is not so early as Kansas. 

 Hopkins is earlier than Kansas, but will not stand drouth as well, was 

 largely grown in Barry county, but now discarded on that account. 



