44 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



time, especially among those that are propagated by a division of 

 the roots, for the more they are broken the more abundant will be 

 the suckers, and except what few are wanted for making new 

 plantations, or for fruiting canes directly in the row, these are use- 

 less as weeds, and should be treated as such as soon as they appear 

 above ground. Cutting them off just at the surface will soon* 

 destroy them. 



Most cultivators advise cutting out and removing all old wood 

 directly after fruiting, to marke room for the new canes; but as it 

 soon dies, it does not take any nourishment f i-om them, and being 

 hard and dry it furnishes an excellent support for the young, green 

 wood until such time as it is fully ripened and matured, and able 

 to sustain itself. We very rarely remove any of the old wood 

 from our raspberry plantation, not disturbing it at all till the fol- 

 lowing spring, when it is dry and brittle, and is trodden down and 

 broken up and left around the plants by the men as they pass 

 along pruning and thinning out the bearing canes. 



After fruiting, cultivate same as first year up to about the first 

 of September, and with such cultivation give an annual dressing of 

 manure of some sort. The black-cap varieties may be kept in 

 full fruiting from four to six years, and the red varieties twice as 

 long. 



Blackberries. — Blackberries require much the same general 

 care and culture as raspberries, except, perhaps, it is not neces- 

 sary to manure quite so liberally to get good crops, and they can 

 often be grown successfully on soil that is too light and dry for 

 raspberries. The earlier varieties will ripen here by the middle or 

 last of July, with the late raspberries, while the later sorts, espe- 

 cially if on heavy, moist soil, will continue in fruiting through 

 August, and often into September. 



Currants. — Currants, for the best results, require a deep, rich, 

 rather moist soil, yet can be grown on any, even on land that is 

 very dry and sandy, they can be grown to perfection if heavily 

 mulched during the siimtner. Four feet apart each way, or in 

 rows five feet apart, and plants three to three and one-half feet in 

 the row, is about the right distance. Early in the fall, or as soon 

 as the leaves drop, is the best time to plant; or it may be done 

 successfully at any time before the ground freezes, or, again, very 

 early in the spring. But, like raspberries and blackben'ies, while 



