FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT. 67 



A. I use considerable tankage, and some barn yard manure. 



Q. Do you ever use sheep manure? 



A. No, not outside. I have used some in the hot houses. 



Q. Is it possible to control the ''anthrax" on black raspberries? 



A. (Mr. Wilkins) : It cannot be controlled by spraying. It can 

 only be done by cutting out the old stock immediately after bearing, and 

 renewing the plants about once in eight years. This disease dries up 

 the sap by hurting the outer bark. If we have a wet season, the fruit 

 may develop in spite of the anthrax. Do not leave the old canes 

 in, but take them out immediately after the bearing season. I would 

 not grow raspberries without cutting out the old canes immediately 

 after they have borne. 



Q. How far above the ground do you pinch back the sprouts? 



A. Six inches. 



Q. Why six inches? 



A. That is the first year. They get a better growth, are stockier. 

 We leave four or five canes to the plant. 



Q. What is the* best in strawberry raising, the hill system or the 

 row system? 



A. The only way to raise them on a large scale is in rows. The 

 fancy stuff can be in hills. The difficulty is to get them picked properly 

 in large quantities. 



Q. On fancy fruit, how far apart do you plant them? 



A. 16 or 18 inches in the row, with the rows three feet apart. 



Q. How about two and one-half feet apart each way? 



A. That would be all right, but would mean a lot of work to keep 

 the runners off. 



Q. How many quarts is a profitable crop, for an average of five or 

 ten years? 



A. I cannot give an idea. , 



Q. Is there a man here Avho has made a success of raising straw- 

 berries on mother plants without runners? 



No answer. 



Mr. Wilkins: Mr. Kevitt of New York claims to have grown them 

 very successfully that way. He caims to have a plant nine years old 

 which is still bearing a good crop. The energy is all in the berries 

 and not in the runners. Of course, the croAvn is a little higher each 

 year. 



Q. Why does California fruit have such a high price in the Eastern 

 markets, when Michigan apples have such a fine flavor; so much better 

 than they have? 



A. Mr. Myham : This fruit is shipped by an association and they 

 get the highest prices for that reason. It is very rigidly graded and 

 is all A Number 1 fruit. 



Q. What do you do for plant lice on curants? 



A. Spray with tobacco extract, or hellebore, either dry or in solu- 

 tion — one ounce to twelve ounces of water. 



