270 GARDEJS'ING FOR PLEASURE. 



RASPBERRY. 



To have the Raspberry in perfection, the same prepara- 

 tion of soil is necessary as for the Strawberry, only that, 

 while, for the best results, the Strawberry bed must be 

 perfectly clear of shade, the Raspberries will do very well 

 in a little shade ; that is, in such a situation as will allow 

 them one half or so of the sunlight. The canes or shoots 

 of the Raspberry are biennial; that is, the cane or shoot 

 that is formed one season bears fruit the next season, and 

 dies off after fruiting, giving place to the young cane that 

 is to fruit the following season, and so on. The distances 

 apart to plant the Raspberry for garden culture may be, 

 if in rows, four feet apart, with the plants two feet apart 

 in the row; or, if in separate stools or hills, they may be 

 set three feet each way; or, planted at distances of four 

 feet aj^art, three plants may be put in each ^' hill," which 

 will sooner secure a crop. They may be set either in 

 fall or in spring. If in the fall, a covering of four or five, 

 inches of dry leaves or litter should be spread over the roots 

 to prevent them from getting too much frozen. Even 

 when the plants are established and growing, it is neces- 

 sary, in many cold sections, to bend down the canes and 

 cover them with pine branches or some covering that will 

 shield them from severe freezing. On a large scale the 

 canes are bent down and covered with a few inches of 

 earth, an operation that may be rapidly performed by two 

 persons. One bends down the canes (using a pitchfork 

 or other implement), as shown in the accompanying dia- 

 gram (figure 90), while the other throws sufificient earth 

 near the tips to hold the canes in place. After a rov/ is 

 thus bent over, the two go back and cover with earth 

 more completely. 



All the pruning that is necessary for the Raspberry is 

 to thin out the shoots in each hill to four or six. This 

 is best done in the summer after the fruit is gathered, 



