PLANTING THE BLACKCAP RASPBERRY. 125 



The President : I-would say it would coat about forty dollars an 

 acre. 



Mr. Hartwell (Illinois): The conditions are so different here from 

 what they are where I am. For one thing- it depends upon what 

 your land is worth. I paid $125 an acre for the land I planted. It is 

 pretty difficult to give a close estimate, but I think I could plant an 

 acre of raspberries with my own plants for five dollars. Cultivation 

 is another thing I would put in the value. I would not count the 

 first year's crop, although it might pay rental, on the ground. I 

 cultivate with the Breed weeder. I suppose you all know what that 

 means. It is simply one of those big hay rakes, and I can kill an 

 acre of weeds in an hour. There are many other things that enter 

 into the estimate that I cannot discuss in detail. I had potatoes, 

 sweet corn, etc., on the ground. 

 Prof. Robertson : Did you ever put field corn in? 

 Mr. Hartwell : Well, I have done it. I set my berry plants three 

 feet apart in the row and the rows eight feet apart, about 1400 to the 

 acre. I question whether there is a profit in growing a crop between. 

 Prof. Robertson : I tried it this year, and I do not know that it is 

 profitable. 



Mr. Philips (Wisconsin): The most extensive growers of rasp- 

 berries in Wisconsin are Coe & Converse, of Ft. Atkinson. They 

 plant them so they can cultivate both ways through the season, 

 and after picking they run the plow through both ways, and they 

 cultivate quickly and successfully. 



Mr. Hartwell : On sandy soil the Breed weeder will do very nice 

 work. 



Mr. C. L. Smith: About a crop to grow between: I have tried 

 almost everything, and I have found the easiest of cultivation and 

 the most satisfactory I have used is beans. I put two rows of beans 

 between each row of raspberries and a hill of beans between each 

 two hills of raspberries. The beans paid for the cultivation the first 

 year, so only the value of the ground, the planting and plants are 

 figured in, although the cost for planting is rather more than Mr. 

 Hartwell represents. I practice laying down and covering, and I 

 have made estimates in this society. I thought it might be done for 

 $6.00 an acre, but I think this year and last it cost about $10.00. I 

 think it would cost at least $16.00 to get them through to the second 

 year. You do well to get berries the second year and pay for the 

 cultivation and lay them down for $30.00. 



Mr. T.T. Smith: How far apart do you plant your black rasp- 

 berries ? 

 Mr. C. L. Smith : I make the hills three feetand the rows eight feet. 

 Mr. R. H. L. Jewett : I would like to endorse what Mr. Smith says 

 in reference to a crop between raspberries. Beans are the crop I 

 would recommend above all others, as the ground can always be 

 kept clean. We use the "Success" weeder, which I think is superior 

 to anything else we have ; we have no trouble at all in keeping the 

 weeds down. We have a variety of beans that as soon as the pods 

 get full the leaves drop off, so there is no shade on the ground. I 

 think it is the best way to cultivate raspberries. 



