FRUIT CULTURE. 



835 



The plantation should be gone over several times during the summer, and the tops of the 

 young canes, as they appear above the bearing bushes, should be shortened in so as to keep 

 them at a uniform height of about three to five feet, according to their strength. This will 

 induce the side branches to grow vigorously and develop fruit buds near the ground, and by 

 interlocking with each other the bushes will support themselves, and thus avoid the necessity 

 of stakes and wires to prevent high winds from injuring the tender canes. 



Tiio side branches should be shortened in during the following winter or spring to a 

 pyramidal form somewhat resembling a dwarf pear tree when properly trimmed. Plants 

 thus treated will yield more fruit and of a better quality than if left to grow tall and slender, 

 as by nature they are inclined to do. &quot;We have sometimes left a few rows without pruning, 

 and others pruned but little, which 

 fully illustrated the great im 

 portance of shortening in the 

 branches. The unpruned bushes will 

 bear more fruit than could be 

 ripened on them; it would remain 

 red a long time, and finally dry up, 

 being of no value. The best and 

 earliest fruit would be on the bushes 

 well pruned, so as to throw the whole 

 strength of the roots into fewer ber 

 ries. To insure good crops requires 

 close attention; the canes should be 

 kept thin and well headed back. On 

 poor land an occasional dressing of 

 manure, muck, or fertilizers of some 

 kind adds to the quantity and qual 

 ity of the fruit. The best results 

 are obtained from young healthy 

 plants grown from root cuttings 

 especially for the purpose, while 

 suckers from old and decayed 

 patches yield but little profit. 



Winter Protection. Some 



varieties of blackberries are suffi 

 ciently hardy to withstand the cold 

 climate of Canada, and the extreme 

 northern portion of New England 

 without protection; others will be 

 liable to winter-kill unless some pro 

 tection is given. Severe pruning 

 in summer renders the plants more hardy; it is best to omit (after the second year), all 

 cultivation in summer after the time of blossommg. The surface of the ground should be 

 stirred often to keep the weeds down, but not too deeply, for if the roots are broken, there 

 will be a great number of new suckers sent up, which soon crowd the others. When covering 

 of the canes is desired for winter protection, they can be more easily bent over to be covered 

 with soil, if the earth is dug away a little from one side of the plant. 



Yield and Profit. The yield and profit of blackberries will of course vary with the 

 season, market price, etc., like that of other fruit crops, but with good management the 

 growing of this fruit may be made very profitable. An extensive cultivator of this fruit 



KITTATIXXY BLACKBERRY. 



