Paqc Ten 



BETTER FRUIT 



Matj, 1922 



Merits of the Black Raspberry 



By W. S. Brown 



Chief in Horticulture, Oregon Agriiii/tuni/ Co/ lege, Corf<i//is 



AS YF.T the growing of the black rasp- 

 berry is confined to comparatively few 

 sections, but is undoubtedly worthy of 

 more attention. It makes a splendid pro- 

 duct for the table in any one of several 

 different ways: the fresh berries are fine 

 either for sauce or pies, the black raspberry 

 when properly canned, is one of the richest 

 and finest flavored sauces that can be 

 obtained from fruits. It lends itself espe- 

 cially to the making of excellent jams, and 

 dries to the best advantage of any of the 

 small fruits, drying out from 20 to 25 per 

 cent of its fresh weight. 



The blackcap is easily cared for and 

 requires less hand labor than many of the 

 other small fruits. On the whole, this 

 industry should be encouraged by being 

 more widely advertised. When the merits 

 of the black raspberry begin to be known 

 to the average housewife in Oregon, prices 

 of this delicate and delicious fruit will 

 increase. The statement is often seen in 

 literature bearing upon bramble fruits, that 

 the black raspberry does not produce as well 

 on the Pacific coast as does the red rasp- 

 berry. 



This is true, as a general rule, but when 

 careful selection is made of soil and slope, 

 coupled with good cultivation, careful 

 pruning and protection against pests and 

 enemies, and when in addition, the fertility 

 of the soil is carefully maintained the 

 blackcap will regularly outyield the red 

 raspberry. In the east the black raspberry 

 is regularly counted upon to outyield the 

 red raspberry. 



In a state which has been growing small 

 fruits successfully for so many years we 

 are safe in recommending four or five lead- 

 ing varieties that have proved themselves 

 especially good. From time to time, many 

 varieties are brought forward, some of 

 which have considerable merit, others of 

 which will not do well under our condi- 

 tions. The best thing for the grower to 

 do is to try a few of these many varieties 

 as a local experiment on his own place, 

 and couple with the information he obtains 

 any further advice he may get from the 

 state experiment station or from other 

 growers who may have grown and tried out 

 the variety in question. 



Varieties recommended are as follows: 



Early to Mid-season 

 Plum Farmer — Vigorous, healthy and 

 productive. 



Munger — Moderately vigorous, produc- 

 tive. 



Cumberland — Strong grower, healthy 

 and productive. 



Late Varieties 



Gregg — Vigorous and productive, but 

 somewhat tender to cold, and somewhat 

 crumbly for a canning variety. 



Of the four varieties mentioned the 

 Plum Farmer and Munger are the leaders 

 in some sections of the state, while the 

 older varieties, Gregg and Cumberland, 

 lead in other sections. 



Purple canes are crosses between the red 

 and black raspberry. The best of the 

 purple canes are undoubtedly the Columbia 

 and Schaffer. The growing of purple 

 canes should be encouraged in some sections, 

 especially those near large fresh fruit 

 markets. 



The black raspberry requires a deep, rich, 

 cool, moist soil, very well drained. When 

 sufficient water can be added by irrigation, 

 the black raspberry will do its best on sandy 

 loam soils. Under Willamette valley con- 

 ditions, however, the plant does best on a 

 light friable clay loam that is fairly reten- 

 tive of moisture. Under no conditions 

 should the black raspberries be planted on 

 poorly drained tight clay loams. They 

 will soon die out and will be unprofitable 

 from the start. 



The slope should be to the north, pre- 

 ferably, because the black raspberry should 

 be kept from being shriveled up from the 

 heat of summer and becoming too seedy. 

 The north slope is cooler and can be kept 

 more moist. In some sections north slopes 

 have deeper soils than do south slopes. 

 Good air drainage is necessary also to pro- 

 tect the plants against winter killing, and 

 to avoid damage from late spring frosts. 



THE MORE humus the soil contains 

 the greater will be its water-holding 

 capacity. There is nothing that fills the 

 bill better in this respect than stable manure 

 containing more or less straw. The cover 

 crops make a very good substitute for stable 

 manure, especially if a leguminous crop is 

 grown. Oats and vetch sown together in 

 proportions of 30 pounds of vetch to 20 

 pounds of oats, and then plowed under as 

 soon as plowing season arrives in the spring 

 makes a very satisfactory cover crop. 



In western Oregon careful and frequent 

 cultivation must be resorted to if the mois- 

 ture content of the soil is to be conserved. 

 This means a frequent shallow cultivation 

 rather than deep cultivation, because the 

 roots of the plants are relatively shallow, 

 and if the cultivating tools are set deeply 

 more harm may result by cutting off roots 

 than good may be accomplished by the cul- 

 tivation. Most commercial plantings are 

 set 4x8 feet so as to permit thorough work 

 either with horses or tractors. 



It is coming to be generally understood 

 by the growers of all kinds of small fruits 

 that if the soil is not rich enough for the 

 fruit they must supplement the fertility of 

 the soils in pne form or another if they are 

 to get maximum results. 



The best treatment for the berry patch 

 is to give it a liberal dressing of stable 

 manure the year before planting. If 10 to 

 1 2 tons of manure to the acre can be 

 worked into the soil throughout the fall 

 preceding planting in the spring, the 

 growth of the vines is usually such that by 

 the second year there is quite a crop upon 

 them, whereas, if the vines are not fertil- 

 ized, it is usually the third season before 

 they produce berries sufficient to pay for 

 harvesting. 



In case stable manure is not obtainable, 

 commercial fertilizers combined with green 

 manures are often profit.ible. It is a fact 

 that the nitrogen content wears out fastest 

 in the soil. Hence, the job of the fruit 

 grower is to build up the nitrogen content 

 so that he will get a well balanced ration 

 of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. 

 He will know when this is accomplished 

 bv the vigorous appearance of the leaves 

 and shoots. As a rule, we have enough 

 phosphoric acid and potash to provide for 

 ordinary yields, but if maximum yields are 

 produced, they can only be brought about 

 by increasing the nitrogen, phosphoric acid 

 and potash in a sort of balanced ration in 

 the soil. 



In other words, it will do you little good 

 to increase the nitrogen application beyond 

 a certain point, unless the plant also has 

 enough phosphoric acid and potash to build 

 into its tissues, to balance the nitrogen. 

 The berry fertilizers put out by fertilizer 

 companies are usually good when maximum 

 production is wanted. If one chooses to 

 make up fertilizer, he can do so by using 

 a formula of 4 per cent nitrogen, 8 per 

 cent phosphoric acid and 2 per cent potash. 



Tent Caterpillars 



TENT caterpillars may be present in 

 unusual numbers the coming season, ac- 

 cording to the entomologists at the Ore- 

 gon Experiment station, who have been 

 making field observations. Gathering the 

 egg masses and burning the nests with a 

 torch are still the most satisfactory methods 

 of control for this serious insect pest. 



Egg spravs have not been practical as a 

 rule and while lead aresenate at the rate 

 of 3 pounds to 100 gallons is effective 

 against the newly hatched worms, these 

 are not usually noticed until they are par- 

 tially grown when spray even twice that 

 strength kills but slowly. 



Tent caterpillar eggs occur as small 

 compact rings on twigs and can be cisily 

 cut out without damage to the tree. These 

 egg masses may be destroyed, but a better 

 plan is to place them in a barrel or other 

 container over which a screen is tacked. 

 High parasitism exists in the eggs and these 

 parasites are an important factor in control. 

 They escape through a screen when the 

 eggs hatch and attack caterpillars left in 

 the trees. Burning the nests with torches 

 should be done after dusk. 



