DRAWBACKS TO BLACKBERRY CULTURE. 463 
his blackberries. My experience is that there is more injury done 
to the roots by plowing, and they suffer the next year, and I find 
it does not pay to cover raspberries and blackberries with the plow 
in our soil. Wehad to discard the plow entirely and cover with the 
shovel. It pays to do it and then give them thorough cultivation 
—and in that work we can save a great deal of labor and expense. 
In uncovering simply take the dirt off the vines and take them 
up, then leave them alone, having put on all the coarse manure they 
will stand, until the weeds commence to start, about corn plowing 
time, then go in and pull down the ridge around the plants and 
cover up the coarse manure. In that way you save a lot of expense 
of cultivatine—but in dry weather keep the ground stirred thor- 
oughly to prevent the evaporation of moisture. 
Mr. Wright: In shovelling how deep do you dig? 
Mr. Underwood: It does not take much to cover them; it does 
not disturb the roots. 
The President: Do you take it out of the middle? 
Mr. Underwood: Yes, we take it out of the middle. The plow 
goes too deep. We followed that plan for several years, but our 
vines did not do well. 
Mr, Wright: If you put on a team that walks slowly you can 
handle the plow so it will not go deeper than three or four inches, 
and if you keep a foot and a half away from the hill it will not 
disturb the roots any more than if you dig the dirt out of the middle. 
I have noticed the work of those who cover with the shovel, and 
they dug up more roots than I ever did with the plow. 
‘Mr. Underwood: After we have laid them down and put the 
dirt on them ,it is cheaper to cover them entirely with the shovel 
than it is with the team. 
Mr. Widger: I do not use the plow or shovel either. We use 
a six-tined short handled fork to handle the dirt with. It is light 
and easier worked, and we also use the spading fork. I hate to 
go in with a shovel. 
‘Mr. Smith (Wis.): In reference to blackberries growing wild, 
I want to say something in line with what Mr. Philips said, that on 
pine lands and where it is somewhat mixed with hardwood, in our 
vicinity, at Green Bay, there were immense plants of wild black- 
berries growing. The best fruit was most always found on the sides 
of ravines, which were plentiful there. Along the side of the ravine 
about half way down, acting as an underdrain, it is more moist 
than either on top or further down. There we got the best black- 
berries, the bushes frequently growing from six to eight feet high 
and bearing very large and fine fruit. Down at the bottom, where 
