828 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



Planting at the South. In planting raspberries at the extreme South, light sandy 

 loams should be avoided, unless there is a clayey sub-soil within two or three feet of the sur 

 face, to aid in retaining moisture. If the soil be light and sandy, and the sub-soil of a 

 leachey nature, the plants would be liable to dry up for lack of moisture. Almost all of the 

 black caps, and many of the red and yellow varieties of the same family thrive well at the 

 South; a few, however, such as the Highland Hardy, Pride of the Hudson, etc., require a 

 colder climate. 



Cultivation. The soil should be kept loose, friable, and free from weeds by the use of 

 a cultivator or occasional shallow plowing, during the spring and summer, except perhaps a 

 short time before and during the fruiting season. This is especially necessary in the culti 

 vation of young growing plants. When grown in hills, allow but from three to five of the 

 best canes to remain in each hill, hoeing or cutting out all others. If grown in rows, keep 

 the rows narrow by hoeing out part of the young suckers. 



Mulching. A mulching in the spring, or before or during the fruiting season is very 

 beneficial in some portions of the country, especially at the South, or at the North, wherever 

 the planting is on a dry soil, or in a dry season, as this prevents the plants from drying up, 

 and thus secures a larger crop of better berries. Any coarse material will answer the pur 

 pose, such as straw, coarse hay, sorghum, corn-stalks, coarse manure, pine needles, leaf mold, 

 etc. The mulching should be applied from two to four inches thick, and two feet wide on 

 each side of the plants. Plants that are well mulched will have a good amount of root 

 moisture, and will also require but little cultivation, as the mulching smothers the weeds, and 

 keeps the soil friable. &quot;When practiced at the South, the mulching should be applied in 

 April or May, and kept on during the summer, leaving three or four inches of space around 

 the plants in spring for the growth of the new canes. Mulching is very essential during the 

 first season of planting at the South; otherwise plants are very liable to dry up and die for 

 lack of moisture, being more tender when first starting in the soil. 



Staking. The following methods of staking and pruning raspberries are recommended 

 by Mr. R. H. Haines of New Jersey, who is an excellent authority on all matters pertaining 

 to the culture of fruits: Though stakes are not required if the &quot; pinching-in &quot; pro 

 cess is followed, yet, in garden culture, they are sometimes used by those who wish their 

 plants to grow close together. One way, that is usually followed, is to drive a stake down in 

 each hill, and tie the canes to it. Another method is to drive down two stakes, one on each 

 side of a hill, and nail a barrel hoop to them, thus enclosing the canes. Another method is 

 to drive down a stake every ten or twenty feet, and stretch one or two wires on them at a 

 distance of from three to four feet from the ground. A fourth plan is to nail a wooden strip 

 to the tops of stakes, at a height of three or four feet from the ground, with another strip 

 lower down when desired. Any of these plans can be followed with very little trouble and 

 at slight cost; but when summer pruning is practiced, or when plants are grown in continu 

 ous rows, and cut off at from three to three and a half feet from the ground, the stakes are 

 entirely unnecessary, and especially if the plants are well mulched, as the mulching will keep 

 the fruit from coming into contact with the ground, and from becoming soiled. 



Summer Pruning. The first season only two or three raspberry shoots or canes 

 should be allowed to grow up from each hill ; any others should be hoed down the same as 

 weeds, where fruit is the object. In June, July, and August, or as soon as the canes reach a 

 height of from two to three feet, the tops should be pinched off or broken off with the thumb 

 and finger. The more vigorous shoots may be allowed to grow to even three feet in height, 

 if desired. If this summer pruning should be neglected the first year until the canes have 

 grown quite tall, then it is probably best not to cut them back quite so far. A knife or 

 shears will sometimes be required where there is much of a growth to be taken off. 



