320 ANNUAL REPOET 



working together. It is always desirable to lean all the bushes in a 

 row in one direction, and this is done by thoroughly loosening the 

 dirt, and moving two or three spades full from the side we want 

 them to go; then place a fork on the opposite side, and as you press 

 them over place your foot on the canes next the ground so as to press 

 them all together, and avoid breaking by binding them in the roots and 

 below the surface of the ground; fasten the tops down with a shovel- 

 full of dirt, then press down the laterals and cover thoroughly from 

 root to top with two or three inches of dirt. 



Some varieties, like the Wilsons and Dewberries, of low, slender 

 habit, cover much easier than those of larger and more woody growth. 

 Some leave the latter after fastening the tops, which may do in favor- 

 able seasons, but large fields of Lawtons left in this way last winter 

 in Michigan were killed when they stuck out of the ground by a hard 

 freeze when there was no snow over them. 



In the spring, gently lift the top of the bush from the ground with 

 a fork, and after shaking ofi' the -dirt, leave it in its leaning position 

 for a week or ten days, during which time it will gradually assume a 

 more erect attitude; then go through the field with shovel and shears, 

 placing the bushes erect in line with a little fresh dirt at their bases, 

 and pruning away all injured or superfluous wood, and you will have 

 a field that will gratify the eye of an artist and the taste of an epicure, 

 as well as the avarice of the owner. 



Keep your field clean and cultivate fine until the first blossoms ap- 

 pear, and they will be better to be let alone until after picking is over, 

 unless it is necessary to stir the surface lightly to counteract the ef- 

 fects of drouth, in case of which constant cultivation will often save 

 the crop. The best mulch known is to have four inches of finely pul- 

 verized soil all over the top of the ground. 



Blackberries should be picked two or three times a week after they 

 begin to ripen. This is best done by a picker on each side of a row^ 

 armed with a carrier and six quart boxes each, and will usually cost 

 about one and a half cents a quart, or one half the cost of strawber- 

 ries and raspberries. 



Pack in sixteen or twenty-four quart cases and they are ready for 

 market and will ship five hundred miles or more in perfect condition. 



Twenty-five years ago there was but one prominent variety, the 

 Lawton, in cultivation; this long remained, like the Wilson straw- 

 berry, far in advance of all competitors, but with the present stimu- 

 lated interest in pomology several newer varieties promise to supplant 

 it in popular favor. Among these — the most hardy and best adapted 



