SOCIETY OF NOETHEEN ILLINOIS. 381 



Raw bone meal, about one pint to ei^^ht hills, applied near the 

 roots about the time growth l)egins, will touch the right spot. Hard 

 wood ashes, that have not been wet, are ^\orth twenty-five cents a 

 bushel to scatter in the furrows when the ground is being prepared. 

 The raspberry wants plenty of good food and moisture to make 

 strong canes and large berries. I plant the blacks seven feet by 

 three in the row; I prefer one year tips. Plant three to four inches 

 deep, but do not cover the jtlants over two inches, until they have 

 made a little growth. Kee}) the plants clean and stir the soil often 

 till about August 15th, when the earth should be drawn up to the 

 ]dants. If the soil is not drawn up to the rows they should be 

 mulched with cow manure or straw that does not contain any grass 

 seed. The next spring cut back the canes to eight inches, and now 

 comes the secret of success. Cultivate shallow. The black rasp- 

 berry loves to send out roots near the surface where it finds the best 

 food. Deep tillage would cut off these little feeders and the result 

 would be small, stunted plants. 



If the canes are pinched off when three feet high they will carry 

 the crop better and not be in so much danger of breaking off by the 

 wind. The strongest and best canes are from the main canes, and 

 if these are intended for tips they should not be pinched back, but 

 allowed to mature as early as possible. 



The raspberry does its best during May, June and July. It is 

 this time that stirring the soil tells. There is no time during the 

 growing season when a ])lant will respond quicker than just at 

 the time when everything is all right. One week of stirring the soil 

 at the proper time is often the means of saving many dollars at pack- 

 ing time. 



The drouth of last season has settled in my mind the difference 

 between plants rooted deep or shallow. I believe that if the soil be 

 thoroughly enriched, and the cultivator kept going right along up 

 to the time to lay them by, there will be very little, if any, loss from 

 dry weather. I believe it is the lack of cultivation at the proper 

 time that causes a weak growth early in the season, which often, 

 during a warm, wet autumn, is the means of making a second 

 growth. This is always very injurious to plant life. The wood, if 

 not winter-killed, is injured to such an extent that the fruiting canes 

 for next season are so weakened that the crop will be anything but 

 satisfactory. 



As to the best varieties to plant, I think that any of the hardy 

 sorts are good enough; but I will say that after thirty-five years 

 among these little pets, I like, for all purposes, a few Davidson's 

 Thornless for early and the good old Doolittle improved. The Doo- 

 little is my choice. I have never found anything, taking all things 

 into consideration, that was as sure of a good crop or more profitable 

 to ship than this old reliable. The red sorts should be planted six 

 inches deep, rows five feet apart, and from two to two and one-half 



