STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 103 



The Philadelphia and fhe Turner raspberry don't need any covering 

 to keep them. I don't think there is a place in Minnesota but what 

 they will do well. The Cuthbert raspberry is one of the most valuable 

 we have; it brings the highest price in the market, lias a firm berry 

 and you can ship it a thousand miles But probably every third 

 winter they would kill. They are of so much real value that it is 

 worth a man's attention to cover them. My method of covering is 

 very simple. It takes three men to cover to advantage. My canes 

 are in rows, about twenty inches apart. I first provide myself with a 

 pair of buckskin gloves to take hold of the canes. One man goes 

 ahead with a fork and loosens the ground about the roots. Then I 

 take hold of the cane and pull it down from the roots; I don't bend 

 the stalk, I bend the root. One man puts about two shovels of dirt 

 where the ends of the canes come together. I can cover an acre or 

 more in a day. In my experience I find there is no occasion of cover- 

 ing the plants entirely ; all you want is to keep them flat on the ground. 

 I have tried it repeatedly. With blackberries I use a fork to loosen the 

 earth around the roots. I take hold of the cane and bend it from the 

 root; bend it right over, and when I get it laid flat a man stands by and 

 puts a shovel of dirt on, which holds it. Three men will cover an acre 

 of blackberries in that way in a day. I think the fork is the best 

 thing that can be used. My experience is that if I get the plants to 

 the ground and keep them flat there, they need no more covering. I 

 covered all my Cuthberts this year in that way, and my blackberries. 



A Member. Do you cover in hills or rows ! 



Mr. Pearce. The hills are in rows about three feet apart. 



A Member. How manj' canes in a hill ? 



Mr. Pearce. Two or three. Then in the spring I take a fork, throw 

 the dirt off, and raise them up. 



A Member. I wish to ask if they have fruited well when not 

 covered ! 



Mr. Pearce. I had some last yeai which I did not cover; they came 

 out alive but with no fruitage. 



Col. Stevens. We have a gentleman here who has been engaged in 

 cultivating blackberries for thirty years. The variety that he has 

 raised has been confined exclusively, or nearly so, to the Lawton. I 

 have reference to Mr. John A. Ford, of Newport. I have known him 

 for forty years. He came to Minnesota in 1841. Pie is present to-day. 

 I would like to have him state to the meeting the manner that he 

 cultivates the Lawton berry. I understand that he has never made 



