60 ANNUAL REPORT. 



found wild throughout the continent, and that the ancient gardeners 

 in most instances obtained their supply of plants in the adjacent fields 

 or forests. 



The late Mr. A. J. Downing is of the opinion that the large fruited 

 foreign varieties are descendants of the Mount Ida Bramble, and from 

 that locality were introduced into gardens of southern Europe. All 

 that has been said about the thorough preparation of the soil for the 

 strawberry applies to raspberries with a few exceptions. Certain 

 strong-growing raspberries, like the Cuthbert and Turner, should not 

 be over-fertilized. Some kinds demand good clean culture rather than 

 a rich soil that would cause too great a growth of cane and foliage. 

 But with most varieties, I consider from my own experience, there is 

 but little danger of over enriching the ground. By planting in rows 

 six feet apartj and three feet apart in the row, give them a thorough 

 system of cultivation, and a vigorous application of the pruning knife. 

 When the plant has attained the height of about two feet cut off the 

 top, it will cause it to branch out and form a well shaped tree capable 

 of standing up of itself. I think it a good plan to plow a furrow up 

 to the rows in the fall as it acts as a protector. As for the varieties,^ 

 I think a man is safer in giving a list of the raspberries for general 

 cultivation than he would for strawberries. 



I will name over the varieties which have proved the most hardy 

 with me, and will name them in rotation as to the time of the fruit 

 ripening. The Hansell has proved the most hardy of any of the reds; 

 Waterloo and Cuthbert next. Black raspberries, the Soughean, Obio» 

 Tyler, earliest; and along comes the Mammoth and Gregg; all are vig- 

 orous growers and productive. I find there is a great deal which 

 might be said on the subject of the different varieties of the strawber- 

 ry and raspberry and the different modes of cultivation. Bat there is 

 one other small fruit that I would not like to be guilty of not men- 

 tioning. That is the blackberry, a fruit which is strewn over many 

 acres of our state of Wisconsin, as well as of many other state-; grow- 

 ing wild, and from which the greater part of our supply has been 

 gathered b}' the natives and others and shipped to most every town 

 and village which could be reached. The onward march of civiliza- 

 tion and immigration has caused the supply to diminish as well as to 

 recede further from the prairie towns. 



As to varieties, this species has also an endless variety as well as 

 those who advertise. Many of them are varieties of great merit in 

 certain localities and wholly worthless in others. I will not occupy 



