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canes. But with all his fine house and elaborate fixtures he did not root a 

 plant, as any practical propagator could have told him in the first place. If 

 he had known enough to have used good root cuttings, a great success 

 would have taken the place of a disastrous failure. 



Pruning Raspberries. — Evart H. Scott of Ann Arbor, than whom there 

 is no more successful small-fruit culturist in Michigan, gives the following 

 hints concerning the pruning of raspberries : As soon as possible after a 

 plantation of raspberries and blackberries is through bearing for the season, 

 it is best in my opinion to take out all of the old and a good portion of the new 

 canes. For this purpose I have vised for a number of years a hook made 

 from a thin piece of steel (an old narrow file will do) and have found it the 

 best tool, all things considered, for this purpose. It is fastened into a han- 

 dle about two to two and one-half feet long, and from three-quarters to one 

 inch in diameter. Have the blade sharpened the whole of the way to the 

 ferule on handle, so in cutting the canes, you can make a side cut and not 

 pull direct. For black raspberries three to four or at the most five canes 

 will be plenty to leave in a hill. In the case of red raspberries I aim to leave 

 the canes not nearer than six inches in the row. (Where grown in hills 

 they should be left about the same as black raspberries.) For blackberries 

 the canes should not be left nearer than ten inches to a foot in the row, or 

 if in hills not over four stalks. It is best to remove the canes and old wood 

 cut out as soon as possible, and burn. By this method many insect eggs are 

 destroyed. Very late in fall or early in spring the canes left should be cut 

 back, so that the laterals should not be over one foot in length. For this 

 purpose I use a pair of shears. The blades of these shears are ten inches 

 long and three-quarters of an inch wide, set in light handles well feruled. 

 Do not be afraid to prune well, for by so doing it will increase the size of 

 fruit, and the quantity will be as large. 



Low Pruning. — The following experience related by a writer in Ohio 

 Farmer is parallel with our own experience, only we found it necessary to go 

 over the field several times: " I have too often neglected to stop the growth 

 of raspberry canes at the proper height. The canes almost always require 

 cutting off when other work is pressing. This year I have cut the new 

 growth when from a foot to two feet. It was necessary to go over the plan- 

 tation of two and a half acres twice, from the fact that a portion of the new 

 growth is backward. I have found that with me a low bush will give more 

 satisfactory results than a high bush. A low bush supports itself and, as its 

 branches are near the ground, they do not suffer from cold winters, since 

 the snow is apt to lodge among them, thus affording protection. I have 

 found my experience to be contrary with high bushes respecting these points; 

 furthermore, a high bush becomes less vigorous than a low one, consequent- 

 ly does not produce as well. If a young cane is stopped when eighteen or 

 twenty inches high it will soon throw out its laterals and form a vigorous 

 plant that will be self-supporting, and will withstand everything better than 

 high bushes that are injured by being blown down by the wind and storm, 

 which loosens the roots and thus lessens the vitality of the bush." 



Only One Cane. — Judge Samuel Miller relates some extraordinary 

 yields of raspberries when only one cane was allowed to grow from a stool. 

 His suggestion is that commercial planters try on a larger scale what he has 



