The Canadian Horticulturist. 



BLACKBERRIES. 



OIL. — A deep, mellow, clay loam which contains consider- 

 able humus and crumbles rather than bakes in the 

 furrow, is the best for the blackberry. Open, gravelly 

 lands are too dry, and since the plants need much water 

 it is important to plow all hard lands deep so that the 

 roots can reach permanent moisture. On flat lands with 

 a high subsoil, unless tile-drained, the bushes will suffer 

 in winter and the fruit will be injured by summer 

 droughts. Strong yearling plants from suckers or root-cuttings are best to begin 

 with and should be planted in the spring. 



Planting. — The plants are set in the furrow six or seven inches deep, two 

 to three, feet apart in the rows, which are eight feet apart. This gives space 

 enough for two horses and a spring-tooth cultivator, which is the best means of 

 keeping the plantation in good condition. Potatoes may be grown between the 

 rows the first year, and it is possible by high cultivation to obtain two crops of 

 strawberries before the blackberries smother them. Three or four canes should 

 be allowed to grow the first year, and they will bear some fruit the following 

 season. They should be headed back when they reach the height of two or 

 three feet. 



Training. — The canes springing from the root one year bear fruit the next, 

 and then their usefulness is ended. These canes can be cut in August or Sep- 

 tember, or the operation can be delayed to a less busy season, but they should 

 always be cut off before the following spring close to the ground, so that other 

 canes will sprout from the root to take their places. A strong root may send 

 up from ten to twenty shoots, but only a few of them should be allowed to 

 remain, the number being determined by the vigor of the plant, the closeness 

 of planting, etc. Five or six canes will usually suffice, and if the v cry best fruit 

 is desired this number may be reduced. The strongest canes shouiJ oe left, the 

 others pulled out when they are four or five inches high, and the superfluous 

 shoots should be removed several times during the season. When the growing 

 canes are twro and a half or three feet high a couple of inches of their tips are 

 cut off, and the plantation should be gone over three or four times as the 

 different canes reach the desired height. The vigorous laterals should be 

 allowed to push out and grow their full length and should not be shortened 

 in until the next spring. How much they should be cut depends on various 

 circumstances. Some, like Wilson's Early, bear fruit close to the cane ; others 

 should be left longer. Some growers delay the pruning until the blossoms 

 appear, and the laterals are left from twelve to twenty inches in length. As 

 these bear most of the fruit it is important that they make strong, well-matured 

 growth and that the grower shall familiarize himself with their habits. It is 

 important, generally, that the main cane should be headed in early so that 



