The Home Fruit-garden 367 



The best support for the vines to run on is made of No. 

 14 or 16 galvanized iron wire, as the tendrils of the vines 

 will cling to this, it is less expensive, and the vines require 

 less tying to keep them in place than if trained to a wooden 

 trellis. If trained against the building, the vine should be 

 kept 6 to 10 inches from the wall, that the air may better 

 circulate among the leaves and fruit, thus preventing disease 

 of the vine and the decay of the woodwork. 



In very wet seasons mildew will attack the leaves, and 

 rot and anthracnose the berries, and spraying becomes a 

 necessity to insure a crop under these unfavorable condi- 

 tions. The Bordeaux mixture should be used up to the 

 time the fruit is one-half grown, making two applications 

 according to the weather. 



Among the best varieties for sections north of New York 

 City may be mentioned. Concord, Campbell's Early, Wor- 

 den, Winchell {Green Mountain), and the Delaware. South 

 of this latitude many other choice kinds may be grown. 



THE BLACKBERRY 



Of all garden-fruits none is so easily grown and yet so 

 often a failure as the blackberry. The conditions of suc- 

 cess are a good new soil, if not a deep sandy loam, then a 

 deep well-underdrained clay loam. Plant in the fall or 

 very early in the spring in rows from 6 to 8 feet apart or 

 in hills 4 by 6 feet, allowing a space of from 10 inches to 

 I scjuare foot for each cane, and all suckers not desired 

 for the next season's fruiting must be treated as weeds. It 

 is best to allow the suckers not wanted to grow 6 inches to 

 I foot, and then pull them up rather than to hoe or cut 

 them off. The critical time of growth is when the fruit 

 is ripening, a large amount of moisture being needed to 

 produce the best fruit, and to secure this the surface-soil 

 should be stirred once or twice each week or a mulch of 



