Miscellaneous. 21 1 



I will say that plants two feet hig-h should be cut back to fourteen inches 

 and the lateral branches cut to within six inches of the main stem. The 

 number of canes to be left in a hill depends upon the strength of the canes. 

 I would leave all the canes that seem strong and vigorous, and should there 

 be weak canes among the strong ones, the former should be removed. 

 Pruning may be done any time during the dormant stage, excepting in 

 the north, where plants are liable to be injured by cold. There it is 

 advisable to postpone the pruning until toward spring, when the severest 

 weather is over. In the extreme north, however, where vines have to 

 be laid down for protection, it is an advantage to prune in fall, as there 

 is less to handle in laying down and straightening up again in spring. 

 While this does not apply to California, it may be appreciated by others. 

 When young canes come up in early summer, they should be topped at 

 fourteen inches high, and this work should be done while the canes are 

 soft, so that the tip may be pinched off with the thumb and finger. It 

 is very wrong to do as many do; that is, wait until plants are tall and 

 woody, and then cut and slash with a knife. Such treatment not only 

 means a loss of vitality, but it leaves an ugly wound, which is an injury 

 to the crop and the plant in general. 



When the crop is gathered, the old wood, that from which the crop 

 was gathered, should be removed, so that the nourishment that these old 

 vines would continue to take up will go to the young canes, and thus 

 considerable value will be added to the coming crop. Blackberries should 

 be planted three feet apart in the rows and the rows seven feet apart. 

 They should be cultivated in a manner so that the crust will be con- 

 tinually broken, or in other words, so that no crust will be able to form. 

 It is next to impossible to get soil too rich for blackberries, as they take 

 kindly and respond freely to heavy feeding. Some varieties, however, 

 will succeed fairly well on the poorest kind of soil. The best varieties 

 nere are Illinois, Rathbun, Snyder and Taylor. 



Fall Planting for Bush Fruits. — There are several points in favor 

 of setting bush fruits in the fall, especially currants and gooseberries, as 

 these start so early in spring that in cases of wet weather they cannot 

 be planted before they have advanced considerably; in which condition 

 it is injurious to handle them. If set in the fall, when perfectly dormant, 

 they are sure to succeed well, if the work is properly done. We are 

 having an excellent fall for this kind of work, and no time should be lost 

 in getting out what we intend to plant of blackberries, raspberries, etc. 

 It is also a good time to plant shrubbery, more or less of which should 

 be seen about every home. — Colman's Rural World. 



