Fruit Brevities. 441 



-avoided by training the plants on a rack or trellis, or upon stakes, 

 and by keeping them well pruned. 



6. Various methods of training and cultivation are advised. 

 In the earlier methods, the plants were generally set about the 

 same distance as blackberries (3x7 or 4x7) and the canes are 

 allowed to lie upon the ground, being headed in when they reach 

 about three feet in length. A mulch of straw beneath the canes 

 was sometimes used to keep the berries clean and render picking 

 pleasanter. At present, the canes are either trained on a two- 

 wire or three-wire trellis, or tied to stakes, and the plants are 

 set in rows which are three or four feet apart. Only three to six 

 fruiting canes should be allowed to the plant. Some varieties, 

 particularly Windom and Bartel, appear to do best if the fruit is 

 shaded. 



7. About twenty varieties of dewberry have been named and 

 more or less disseminated during the last twenty years. Of these 

 four have gained more or less prominence east of the Rocky 

 Mountains, and are found to possess decided merits in certain 

 places. This is a fair proportion of good varieties to inferior 

 ones, as indicated by the annals of other fruits. These four are 

 Lucretia, Bartel, Windom and Manatee. 



8. Many persons have found dewberry culture to be profitable. 

 "This is evidence that the fruit is an acquisition. But it has not 

 yet found general favor, and it is probable that it will never 

 become as popular as the blackberry. Only the Lucretia is well 

 known in New York. 



9. The Windom possesses promise for the northwest. It is a 

 native of Minnesota. It has not yet been tested to any extent 

 elsewhere. It appears to demand partial shade for the best 

 success. 



10. The Lucretia has been found to be a desirable and profit- 

 able fruit in many places over a large extent of territory, and it 

 is therefore safe to conclude that its range of adaptation is large. 

 Many, however, have failed with it. It appears to be variable 

 and many of the plants are worthless. It is sometimes seriously 



