Page Ten 



BETTER FRUIT 



Fine Record With Raspberries 



By W. S. Thornber 



Clarkston, Washington 

 summer of 1912 the dard it established at the start, and contin- 



DURING the 

 writer made a careful study of the 

 possibilities of the; commercial culture o*' 

 small fruit in the Lewiston-Clarkston fruit 

 district, and especially investigated the 

 growing and marketing of the red rasp- 

 berry. At that time there were no planta- 

 tions large enough to be considered com- 

 mercial and there was practically no market 

 for the small surplus of the home gardens. 

 As a result, the situation appeared anything 

 but attractive. 



Two or three factors, however, were ap- 

 parent. First, only a mass of many varieties 

 were grown and no one seemed to know 

 what wjs best adapted to the district. 

 Second, the Puyallup, Sumner, Monroe, 

 Snohomish and other coast districts were 

 marketing at a profit large quantities of 

 small fruit, and there was only one con- 

 clusion possible. Why, should not this 

 district grow and market berries in the 

 surrounding country? 



As a result of the study the writer 

 pl.inted over 30 varieties of the best and 

 most promising red raspberries then in 

 cultivation, and proceeded to study their 

 behavior and habits for three years. On 

 i ,.-.„_. .^J ijom tne farm and the 

 necessity of depending almost entirely 

 r-^-^" h'-'-^ h"'D it was very difficult to 

 secure accurate results on all of the 

 varieties grown. Nevertheless, it was soon 

 apparent that only two or three varieties 

 were at all promising, and none of these 

 showed sufficient promise to make it advis- 

 able to plant extensively. 



About this time there appeared a new 

 and strange raspberry plant in our patch. 

 It soon surpassed all other varieties in vigoi, 

 freedom from sunburn, hardiness and bear- 

 ing possibilities, and when it fruited we re- 

 alized it had surpassed its neighbors in size 

 of berry, richness of flavor, and produc- 

 tivity. What more could we ask in one 

 variety? 



In 1916 we made our first patch, plant- 

 ing of this variety one-tenth of an acre, for 

 further trial. It was given ordinary culti- 

 vation and irrigation but no fertilization. 

 It continued to maintain the same high stan- 



ued to produce canes from six to sixteen feet 

 in height, depending on richness of the soil. 

 The first real crop was harvested during 

 the summer of 1919. While two families 

 picked for table use all berries desired, and 

 canned abundantly, over $300 worth was 

 harvested from the tenth of an acre. The 

 price per crate received was a little better 

 than $3.70 per 24-pint crate. We then 

 realized to a certainty that our new plant 

 was worthy of a place in any commercial 

 planting. The people to whom we had sold 

 fruit began to call for the new variety, and 

 the canned product more than ever upheld 

 its reputation as a high class berry. 



Early in the spring of 1920, another half 

 acre patch of this variety was planted, as 

 was another of the most profitable of the 

 varieties in culture. These two varieties 

 v/ere given practically the same care for the 

 season, and because we did not feel 

 that there could possibly be much of a crop 

 on either patch, no staking or supports were 

 given to the plants. It was apparent early 

 in June, that while no supports would be 

 necessary in the old variety, our new one 

 would need support and that a very prom- 

 ising crop was beginning to develop. 



A careful tabulation was kept of the fruit 

 harvested, and at the close of the season 

 we had obtained just a little over $300 

 worth of fruit from one-half of an acre of 

 one-year-old plants. The fruit was sold at 

 a little better than $2.87 per crate. 



The plants were set in rows 7J^ feet 

 apart, and thirty inches apart in the 

 row. While our plants have never 

 been well fertilized, it is needless to 

 say that from now on they will get the best 

 there is available. 



Some of our friends have insisted that we 

 now name this new berry and have been 

 kind enough to suggest that we call it the 

 "Thornber." I trust that it is worthy of a 

 real name, and that it will add to the pleas- 

 ure and profit of the raspberry growers here 

 in the Pacific Northwest. I know of no 

 one thing that I would rather do than give 

 something worth while to my thousands of 

 fellow fruit-growers here in the Northwest. 



January, 192^' 



Furthermore, I wish that Better Fruit 

 have the credit of officially announcing 

 the development of my first plant addition 

 to the horticultural world. 



I realize that it is a horticultural crime to 

 add one more name to nomenclature, and 

 have hesitated for years in doing so, but 

 now I feel we have something worthy, es- 

 pecially since there is such an awakenmg in 

 the field of small fruit. 



The culture of raspberries has advantages 

 over vegetables, in that one can plant in 

 even poor soil and increase its fertility as 

 the opportunity comes. With vegetable 

 crops it is almost a waste pf time and labor 

 not to have the soil in first-class shape. The 

 raspberry grower likewise has the advantage 

 over the orchardist in getting returns in 

 less time and while the original outlay is 

 greater, it does not cost very much more to 

 grow an acre of raspberries than an acre of 

 apples. 



It would of course be folly for every 

 one to plant raspberries, but they can be 

 planted profitably in many sections where 

 they are not now grown. We are findii'i: 

 them a splendid companion crop with other 

 fruits. 



New Variety of Apple 



A new variety of apple is reported as 

 having been developed on the fruit farm 

 of William D. Johnson, at LeRoy, N. Y. 

 It has been named the "Winter Blush," by 

 Asher S. Davis, farm orchardist. In ap- 

 pearance it is much like the Lady Blush 

 apple. The flavor is tart, but pleasant, 

 resembling the Banana apple. It keeps 

 well and is best for eating about holiday 

 time. 



Back in 1913 Mr. Davis discovered an 

 apple seedling growing in a fence corner 

 and instructed his men to save it. Later 

 it was transplanted and trimmed. About 

 two years ago, when the first fruit appeared 

 on it, Mr. Davis recognized it as a new 

 variety. 



TYPICAL FINELY KEPT BERRY YARD OF THE NORTHWEST 



Elimination of the war tax on express 

 shipments, effective today, will save 

 $1,500,000 a month for shippers. 



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I Best in Years I 



I Namfa, Idaho, Dec. 17, 1921. | 



I Editor Better Fruit, | 



I Arcady Building, | 



I Portland, Oregon. | 



I Dear sir: The December number | 



I of Better Fruit was the best issue | 



I / can remember reading in years. | 



I / a77i remitting for seven subscrif- | 



I tions as Christmas gifts for my | 



I friends, begtnning with the Decern- | 



I ber number. My own subscriftion | 



I is faid until December, 1925. | 



I Very res fectf idly, | 



I E. F. Stephens | 



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