04 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



half in June, but feeble plants should be pinched back even more. The lat- 

 erals are cut back either in late fall or early spring. The second year we prune 

 a little higher, but never over two and a half feet. For spring pruning we use 

 a pair of strong shears with blades ten inches long. The laterals are left about 

 a foot in length. The second year blackcaps are liable to be blown over. 

 They are left until spring and then straightened up while the ground is soft, 

 and held in place by earth. Red raspberries are pinched back in the growing 

 season for the first two years only, but they are always cut back in, spring or 

 late fall. In nipping or pinching back while growing I go over raspberries 

 once a week and blackberries twice a week as long as necessary. Have kept 

 red raspberries bearing on the same ground six to eight years. They yield 50 

 to 100 bushels per acre. 



The following notes were furnished by Mr. F. E. Skeels, of Grand Rap ds : 



You ask for a three minute paper upon time and method of pruning rasp- 

 berries. Our experience is somewhat limited and confined to the several varie- 

 ties we think most profitab'e to grow for our local market, viz.: Ohio, Sou- 

 hegan, Cuthbert, Turner, and Shaffer. 



The first year after planting, the pruning will consist in simply nipping off 

 the tips of any shoots that may attain a height of two feet, causing them to 

 throw out lateral branches instead of growing in long canes. This work can 

 be quickest done with an ordinary corn knife or by picking off with thumb and 

 finger. The next pruning will be in the spring of the following year and will 

 consist of cutting back the laterals. This work is quickest done with a pair 

 of shears having long blades as several branches can then be cut at one clip. 

 The amount of cutting will be sometimes dependent upon the severity of the 

 preceding winter. 



No wood that has been injured should be left upon the plants and if they 

 have suffered considerably, the pruning should be deferred until the leaves 

 start, then cut back to where the branches or canes are uninjured and sound ; 

 if the wood has been hurt but little we cut so as to leave from four to eight 

 inches of each lateral to fruit ; upon this point each grower must use judg- 

 ment, making his cuts according to the vigor of each individual plant. We 

 think rules as to how many buds to leave are worse than useless, as no horticul- 

 turist worthy of the name will ever have time to stop and count buds ; when 

 he approaches a plant if he sees it is strong and thrifty or weak and spindling 

 he cuts accordingly, first-class fruit being the desideratum at all times. 



We let the second year's growth of canes attain a height of from two to three 

 feet before cutting back, using an ordinary pruning knife for the work, begin- 

 ning usually about the last week in May, following it up twice a week or often 

 enough to keep the -canes down. The laterals should never be pruned until 

 spring. 



The old canes are removed immediately after fruiting and hauled off the 

 field to be burned at once, thus destroying much insect life. When cutting out 

 the old wood we usually thin out the new growth to four or five of the strongest 

 canes. If the cane borer is prevalent it is perhaps best to leave the thinning 

 until spring. Probably the best tool for cutting out the old wood is a hook 

 devised by E. H. Scott of Ann Arbor and illustrated in No. 1, Vol. I, of Mich- 

 igan Horticulturist. In rare instances, however, a plant is rooted so shallow 

 as to render it liable to be pulled out ; in such cases we prefer a pair of small 

 one-hand pruning shears. We are aware that the time for cutting out the old 

 wood is a disputed question, some growers leaving it until spring, but taking 



