Blackberries. 511 



against the roots with the foot, t}\e plant is laid over in the direction 

 from wliich the earth was removed. The third man now covers the 

 plant with earth or marsh haj. Earth is generally used, and if the 

 variety is a tender one, the whole bush is covered two or three 

 inches deep. Hardy varieties may be simply held down by throw- 

 ing a few shovelfuls of earth on the tops of the canes, thus allowing 

 the snow to fill in amongst the canes. If the grower lives in a 

 locality where he does not fear late spring frosts, the bushes should 

 be raised early in the spring ; but if frosts are feared they may be 

 left under cover until corn-planting time. If the buds become 

 lai'ge and are bleached white under cover, they will suffer when ex- 

 posed to the atmosphere; and one must watch the bushes in spring 

 and raise them before the buds become soft and white. This method 

 of laying down blackberry plants costs less than $10 per acre, and 

 the slight breaking of the roots is no disadvantage. Some growers 

 dig the earth away on both sides of the row, and still others bend 

 over the canes without any digging. Whatever method is employed, 

 the operator must be careful not to crack or split the canes. The 

 method can be varied with different varieties, for some bear sfiffer 

 canes than others. 



Cultivation. — No fruit profits more from careful tillage than the 

 blackberry. This is largely because the fruit requires so much 

 water, if it reaches its full capabilities, and the crop matures in the 

 driest part of the season. The moisture of the soil can be well con- 

 served only when tillage is -begun very early in the spring. We 

 generally plow our patches in the spring, and thereafter keep the 

 land in fine shape by running over it every week with a cultivator. 

 We gcTierally prefer a spring-tooth cultivator, as shown on the title 

 page. It is especially impoi'tant to cultivate as soon after a rain as 

 the soil is in condition, before it bakes. This tillage is continued 

 until within a day or two of picking time. After the crop is har- 

 vested, one good cultivation is given to loosen up the ground which 

 has been tramped down by the pickers and to fit it for winter. 

 With us, this last cultivation occurs about the middle or last of 

 August. In the drier summers west of New York, blackberry 

 growers often mulch with freshly cut clover or manure close about 

 the plants, leaving the center of the rows open for cultivation ; but 

 this is rarely, if ever, necessary in this State. 



These frequent light cultivations are really cheaper than one or 

 two, because the weeds never get a chance to grow and little hoeing 



