IRISH GARDENING. 



The Raspberry. 



As a garden fruit the raspberry is one of the 

 easiest to cultivate, and, given good cultivation, 

 is a most remxmerative crop. As a dessert fruit 

 it does not take a high place ; but it is of great 

 value for preser\ing and cooking purposes, and 

 is excellent when bottled. 



A suitable time for planting is in the autunni 

 after the leaves can be shaken easily from the 

 canes, a good time being the present month.* 

 The next best time is when the buds begin to 

 swell in spring. They will grow well hi good 

 garden soil, but prefer a rich and rather moist 

 soil, the richer and deeper the soil the better the 

 results obtained. Planted between the rows of 

 fruit trees in a young orchard, where they are 

 partially shaded, they will do well ; but the best 

 cro]is are obtained in an open sunny situation 

 where they are sheltered from cold winds. In 

 poor soil, not naturally suited for raspberries, it 

 will be necessary to prepare the site by digging or 

 trenching as deeply as jiossible, and adding a 

 heavj^ dressing of manure and decayed vegetable 

 refuge ; this should be dug in deeply, so that it 

 will not come in contact with the roots of the 

 neAvly planted canes. Care should be taken 

 when trenching that the subsoil is not brought 

 to the surface. 



The usual way of j)ropagating the raspberry 

 is by suckers, which spring up in abim dance 

 from the creeping roots. These may be taken 

 any time after the leaves fall ofl' the canes. When 

 selecting canes for planting, medium-sized and 

 well-ripened ones should be chosen ; these can 

 be pulled up with a sharp jerk, securing with 

 each some bushy fibrous roots. Old plantations 

 generally throw up suckers at some distance 

 from the parent stock, and from these ])l5n.ty of 

 suitable canes can be obtained. 



There are different methods of planting. The 

 one usually adopted for large plantations and 

 market gardens is, to plant in groups of three 

 canes, three feet apart in the rows, and five feet 

 between the rows. They may also be planted 

 for arched training in rows iouv feet apart and 

 the same distance between the plants. Stakes 

 are driven midway between the rows, the 

 fruiting canes are bent over, three to the right 

 and three to the left, and tied to the stakes, thus 

 forming an arch. Probably the most jiroductive 

 method of planting, and one to be recommended 

 for small gardens, is that of planting in hues, 

 one foot between the plants and five feet 

 between the lines. When planted in this way 

 thev should be trained to a trelhs. Strong stakes 



* Written in October. 



must be inserted in lines about twelve feet apart 

 and wires stretched on these, the first at two 

 feet from the ground, the second at four feet. 

 There must be a strong straiaing post at each 

 end of the line to kee]J the wires tight. To thes e 

 wires the fruiting canes are tied, each cane to be 

 free from its neighbour and leaving room for the 

 succession cane to be trained betwe?n-. The top 

 of the bearing cane should be cut off about a foot 

 above the top wire. 



When planting, plant firmly, and afterwards 

 cut the canes down to within six inches of the 

 ground ; or, if preferred, they may be left until 

 spring and then cut down as soon as they show 

 signs of giowlh Put a mulch of short litter 

 round the plants ; this acts as a protection for 

 the roots in winter and also as a fertilising agent. 

 The object in cutting down the canes is to 

 induce llie develo]iment of strong ones from ths 

 base during the season for subsequent fruiting 

 and also to lay a foundation for i:>rofitablc plants 

 for future years. 



Most inexperienced persons would leave the 

 cane the full length ait^r planting in order to get 

 fruit the first year. This is a mistake. The 

 cane may bear a few fruits the first season, and 

 miserable ones at that, but i!" afterwards dies, 

 and probably leaves one or two Aveak and useless 

 young canes, which Seldom develop into pro- 

 ductive plants, and in this ease a year is lost. 



After planting, nothing more Avill require to be 

 done until the following autanin, except hoeing 

 between the rows to keep down weeds. At the 

 end of the first season after planting, three or 

 four of the strongest canes made during the 

 summer should be selected and tied to the 

 wires, and the rest cut out. 



General cultivation consists in an annual 

 heavy mulch of manure in early sprmg. Manure 

 should never be dug in, as the digging or deeji 

 forking will injure the surface -feeding roots. 

 Hoe occasionally during summer to keep 

 doAAai weeds. In autumn, about September, all 

 the old canes which have borne fruit should be 

 cut out ; this will allow light and air to reach the 

 young canes, and they will rij^en better and be 

 more fruitful. Later on thin out the current year's 

 canes, leaving four or six of the strongest to each 

 clump, tie these to the wires, where support is 

 given, and cut off the unripened tip. The 

 annual pruning and training consists of a 

 repetition of this practice. 



Raspberries are usually allowed to grow in the 

 same ])lace for several years, therefore heavy 

 annual dressings <if manure are required. This 

 should not be neglected if the best results are to 

 be obtained. 



A few of the nio;^t suitable varieties are : — 



