THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



January. 191.5 



A^Four Acre Raspberry Patch, that Produced over 9,000 Boxes of Berries 



The bushe« in this raspberry patch, owned by Qrovcr C. Murdoch, of Simooe. Ont., were two 



years old last season, and produced almost SI .000 worth ol fruit. The rows are seven 



feet apart, and the bushes two feet apart in the row. 



the subject and of tho.se that influence 

 or bear on that subject. We now have 

 not only books on every phase of fruit- 

 growing, but also on varying viewpoints 

 of each phase. Thus we have several 

 books on "The Soil," a combination of 

 which sifted through our own experience 

 gives us a wider knowledge of the prin- 

 ciples of soil management. Formerly 

 changes in the soil were supposed to be 

 due to chemical action ; now we know 

 that they are largely influenced by those 

 living organisms in the soil termed bac- 

 teria. Bacteria do not all work for our 

 good ; hence it is to our interest to study 

 these so that we may- encourage those 

 that are beneficial by such action as lies 

 in our power to this end, and to neu- 

 tralize or destroy such that are detrimen- 

 tal to our interests, and a very good 

 b'ook on this subect may be found in 

 Lipman's most excellent work entitled 

 "Bacteria in relation to Country Life." 

 Then we have books on fertilizers which 

 tell us of their history, source and ac- 

 tion, and how they may be used to ad- 

 vantage. A study of plant physiology 

 teaches us the behavior and response of 

 plants under our conditions, and our pro- 

 gress rests largely with an intimate 

 knowledge of the relation of the growth 

 of the plant to the condition under which 

 it is grown. 



The fruit grower must ever bear in 

 mind that it is only through a complete 

 comprehensiveness of all of the natural 

 forces tending to his weal or woe that he 

 can hope to attain that larger success 

 for which we all strive. Emerson says 

 in his "Essays" that "there is no limit 

 to the chapter of our resources. We 

 have keys to all doors" — primarily our 

 success rests with each individually. We 

 must gather in the knowledge that others 

 have attained, sift it through our own 

 experience, and by test select that which 

 is to benefit us and apply it to our own 



individual affairs as circumstances per- 

 mit. 



In conclusion, let me say that we 

 should do no action blindly. If it is 

 ]jruning we should study the why and 

 A'herefore and remove no limb without a 

 definite aim in view — the same rule 

 should bind us in all our work. Then, 

 though success is primarily attained 

 through the individual effort, we must 

 not forget the collective effort — coopera- 

 tion. In cooperation we organize our 

 buying and selling to our own good and 

 the general welfare of the community. 



took nine thousand ' baskets from them 

 last season, and in August took the old 

 wood out and cut the plants back as 

 usual. 



I believe in taking the wood out as .soon 

 as possible after the crop is off. It gives 

 the new bushes a chance to form thick 

 canes that will bear the weight of heavy 

 snow and it also removes insects and 

 borers that are working on the old 

 canes before these have a chance to at- 

 tack the new wood. Next spring, and 

 yearly thereafter, these bushes will re- 

 ceive a liberal dressing of barnyard 

 manure. As they were set on rich 

 ground they have not needed it yet. We 

 did not cultivate them again last fall, 

 as we wanted all the new shoots that 

 came up between the rows for new 

 plants next spring, as we intend to set 

 out ten acres of them next season. 



A Profitable Raspberry Patch 



G. C. Mnrdocb, Simcoe, Ont. 



From four acres of red rasptjerries 

 last season I sold almost one thousand 

 dollars' worth of fruit. The bushes were 

 set out in the spring of igio in rows 

 seven feet and nine feet apart alternately 

 and twenty inches apart in the row. In 

 a large patch this is an advantage when 

 getting out the old wood, as a team 

 and wagon can be driven down the nine 

 foot rows and have the brush thrown on 

 from the seven foot rows. 



The bushes were hoed and cultivated 

 the first summer and made a fine growth 

 before fall. In August the bushes were 

 cut back to two feet and in October the 

 bushes were strong and the canes large 

 and they wintered well. 



In the spring of 1911 the ground was 

 hoed and cultivated and kept clean all 

 summer. In spite of the severe drought 

 of that season we picked four thousand 

 eight hundred baskets from the patch. 

 The old wood was removed as soon as 

 the crop was off and the new canes cut 

 back to about two and a half feet and 

 not over four canes left in a hill, three 

 was the average. 



Last spring they were hoed and culti- 

 vated, and during the dry spell of June 

 they were cultivated twice a week. We 



Tile Draining in Winter 



Joseph Tweddle, Stoney Creek, Ont. 



Tile draining is the one thing inost 

 needed on the average Canadian farm, 

 but the great shortage of labor leaves no 

 possible chance to attend to this work ex- 

 cept in winter. It does not appear to 

 have occurred to the average farmer that 

 it is possible to do this work in winter, 

 but as a result of careful study, I have 

 Ijeen able to continue the work till mid- 

 winter and find it possible under ordinary 

 circumstances, to operate throughout 

 the entire winter. 



It has been our practice to lay out the 

 drains and plough out a deep double fur- 

 row before winter sets in. Having the 

 surface well drained I proceed to protect 

 the drain from freezing by covering it 

 with a little coarse manure, of which a 

 good load will protect a long stretch of 

 ditch. This class of work, owing to the 

 vigorous exercise, is not uncomfortable 

 in moderately cold weather. It is very 

 healthy and provides work for the win- 

 ter months thus enabling the farmer to 

 keep a better class of labor. 



A good strong sub-soij plough is used 

 after the ditch has been opened. It 

 stirs up the subsoil to a depth of ten or 

 twelve inches. This is done by going 

 two or three rounds with a good steady 

 team, using a six or eight foot double 

 tree, which makes it safe for the horses, 

 and prevents damage to the ditch. This 

 provides for the use of unskilled labor 

 under the farmer's superintendence in 

 shovelling out the loose earth. Rejjeal 

 the sub-soiling and shoveling until the 

 desired depth is secured. This makes a 

 very cheap method of carrying out the 

 work. 



I have succeeded in cutting four and 

 a half feet deep by lengthening the chain 

 from the horses to the plough making a 

 ditch not over eighteen inches wide at 

 the surface and four to six inches at the 

 bottom. This has been done in the very 



