SMALL FRUITS. 245 



spring, but will giv.e better results by fall planting, because 

 they die back to the ground if planted in the spring. 



DISCUSSION ON RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES. 



C. H. Gordon: Mr. Thayer, in your extensive culture of 

 raspberries and blackberries will you please tell us how you lay 

 them down? 



M. A. Thayer: The laying down of your blackberries and 

 raspberries is a very important feature in the growing of small 

 fruit, and it seems to me that in this climate it is an absolute 

 necessity for small fruit growers to follow this method, and if 

 you cannot do it successfully then do not raise fruit. 



In my plantation the rows run north and south. When the 

 time comes to lay them down I remove the dirt from the north 

 side of the hill, close to the hill, about three or four inches 

 deep. I gather the tops of the bushes in a close form with a 

 wide fork, and then with the foot placed at the base of the hill 

 press down firmly, and that will bend the root at the same 

 time you bend the top; that is, while you are bending over the 

 top press hard with the foot on the base of the hill, which will 

 bend the root and assist in bending over the whole bush. Bend 

 it in the root or ground and lay the bush towards the north. 

 Then the next hill I lay down in the same way so that the tops 

 reach the base of the preceding hill, which makes a continuous 

 row. In laying down the bushes it is of great importance, and 

 facilitates the work very much, if the roots are bent in. Two 

 men can lay down a half acre of bushes a day. I laid down 

 twenty -five acres this year and covered them with dirt, just 

 enough dirt to partly cover them. Red and black raspberries 

 that are hardy I merely cover the tops. The Ohio, which I 

 consider as hardy as any black raspberry, I covered a portion 

 of, last year. Those not covered yielded a bountiful crop, but 

 those covered paid enough extra to pay for the work. I cut 

 out the old wood as soon as done bearing. 



R. P. Lupton: How many canes do you leave in a hill? 



M. A. Thayer : For raspberries I usually leave six or eight. 



Dr. Frisselle: How near are they together? 



M. A. Thayer: Three feet in the row and seven feet apart. I 

 pinch the canes off at about eighteen inches. I think it is an ab- 

 solute necessity to success. I pinch the new growth when it is 

 about eighteen inches long. The laterals 1 cut back to ten or 



