18 The Bulleti^^ 



stretched about 2 feet from the ground, throw the vines over this 

 wire, and let them grow at random. The gi-eat disadvantage of this is 

 that, if the vines are long, the upper end of the vine lies on the 

 gTOund, being elevated only at the middle of the vine. A large por- 

 tion of the fruit actually lies on the ground, where it is badly shaded, 

 remains wet, becomes covered with sand, and in some instances rots 

 badly. The vines are also blown about by the wind, bruising many 

 of them where they cross the wire. 



Another modification of this method is to draw the wire about 

 3 feet from the ground, bring the vines up to 'this wire, tie them, 

 and then train the vines along this wire in both directions. (See 

 Plate VII.) The chief objection to this method is that, if the plants 

 are planted as closely as they should be, the vines will crowd badly on 

 this wire ; in general, it is not to be recommended. In fact, no form 

 of the single-wire method is recommended by the writer. 



CULTIVATION. 



The cultivation, as has already been suggested, must be very 

 thorough. The second season it should begin immediately after 

 tying up the plants, and then should be kept up vigorously just as 

 long as the young growth w^ill allow it ; in many instances it could 

 be continued much longer than it is by some of our growers. Even 

 if some of the young growth is broken or entirely destroyed, it does 

 not injure the plant, since all of this growth is destroyed later on in 

 the season. The plant requires an enormous quantity of water at 

 the time the fruit is ripening, as it enlarges very much at this time, 

 and the amount of moisture in the soil has a great influence on the 

 size of the berries produced. If the amount of moisture is not suffi- 

 cient the berries are small, and if the soil is very dry the berries 

 often shrivel up and never ripen; hence the importance of cultiva- 

 tion at. this sea.-on. 



The cultivator ;-'hould be composed of a large number of small 

 teeth instead of a few large ones. A perfect mulch should be kept 

 on the surface all the time, never allowing it to become hard or 

 crusted. By keeping such a mulch the moisture is retained in the 

 soil. 



The number of cultivations will depend somewhat upon the season 

 and conditions. It is almost impossible to state just how often one 

 should cultivate. In general, once a week is not too often. The 

 cultivation should be given just as soon as practicable after every 

 shower of rain. This can be done in all the dewberry sections, since 

 the soil is of a sandy nature and is not injured by cultivation when 

 wet. By practicing this, the soil does not become hard and compact, 

 and it helps to conserve the moisture in the soil. The importance of 

 such thorough cultivation is usually not appreciated by most of our 



