332 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



want, probably, about a ton, or nearly so. The third year you 

 will have to renew it still more, say two tons. This mulch 

 will rot entirely and go into the soil in about three years. 



Mr. Elliot: What time of year do you first put the mulch on? 



Mr. Plants: At any time during November. I commence 

 in November and put it on any time from then up to Christmas. 

 I prefer putting it on before the ground freezes, as I can then 

 throw a little dirt on the mulch, which will prevent the wind 

 blowing it off. 



Dr. Frisselle: What would you recommend to people in the 

 place of marsh hay, where they cannot obtain the hay? 



Mr. Plants : Well, the next best thing would be straw or 

 coarse manure; that is very good. If I was going to manure 

 blackberries, I think I would put it on top of the ground. I 

 have never manured my blackberries, though. I think I would 

 make a mixture of straw and coarse manure, if I didn't have the 

 marsh hay. 



President Underwood : Would you put the coarse manure 

 on the ground at any time in the winter, if the ground was bare. 



Mr. Plants : Yes, though I would prefer to put it on early. 



President Underwood : Supposing the berries were already 

 covered, what then? 



Mr. Plants : Well, put it on just the same. I never tried 

 that on blackberries, but I have on raspberries. The way I 

 handle raspberries — that is, the way in which I think I have 

 had the best success — ^is this : I set out my plants and give 

 them a good cultivation, laying the tops over and putting on 

 dirt enough to hold them there. Then, at any time up to Christ- 

 mas, I take coarse manure enough to protect them through the 

 winter and put it on them. Then, in the spring when the 

 ground warms up, I take the manure off and throw it near 

 the plant and cultivate it in. I know I manured a piece of 

 ground before I set the plants, and I got on too much in places 

 and it burned them, so they did not do well. You can see the 

 difference to-day in passing by the rows on the plantation. I 

 noticed the difference last year. You can see the difference to 

 a row where the ground was manured before they were planted 

 and where they were grown in the summer and manured in the 

 fall. There was two- thirds more yield on the plants that we 

 manured in the fall, than on those that were manured before they 

 were set. It makes a good deal of difference. I never manure 

 b ackberries except by marsh hay; but if I did manure them I 



