RASPBERRY AND BLACKBERRY MANAGEMENT. 



465 



crab, a good sized apple of Russian origin, 

 bearing fruit, and Concord and Niagara 

 grapes. Concords were ripe, Niagara 

 green. I also found two native plums of 

 excellent quality, in full bearing. 



1 returned to New Liskeard for dinner, 

 and after dinner drove towards White river 

 and Tomstown, on what is known as the 

 north road, a distance of 10 or 11 miles. I 

 found here a gently undulating country, all 

 clay, with a thick forest growth of medium 

 sized spruce, balsam and cedar. All along 

 this road the country is thickly settled and 

 some quite large clearings made. Oats, 

 barley and all kinds of vegetables do remark- 

 ably well, potatoes especially so. I did not 

 find anyone on this road who had tried rais- 

 ing fruit of any kind, and I saw very little 

 wild fruit. The forest here is shallow- 

 rooted, but as the land becomes cleared and 

 cultivation and drainage aerates the subsoil, 

 fruit trees might possibly make a root sys- 

 tem. On the road west from New Lis- 

 keard I found soil conditions the same, ex- 

 cept the elevation is higher, and drainage 

 can. be easily done, as the ravines afford an 

 easy outlet. 



Weather conditions seem favorable for 

 the growing of all kinds of crops, and there 

 is no evidence of severe frosts up to this 



date, corn being still green in most sections. 

 In the winter months the thermometer fails 

 as low as 40 degrees below zero, with the 

 usual snow fall of about 2^ feet. This 

 country is evidently north of the belt )f 

 heavy snowfalls such as they have along the 

 north shore of lakes Superior and Huron. 



Ihe Township of Dymond held their fall 

 fair at New Liskeard on September 25th, 

 and it was a complete surprise to see the 

 wonderful exhibit in grains and vegetables. 

 There were over 1,100 people on the 

 grounds in the afternoon, and everybody 

 looked contented and happy and pleased 

 with their conditions. 



One great advantage to a settler in this 

 country, who has limited means, is that he 

 has an immediate revenue from the forest 

 that is on his homestead, and he can make 

 his winters profitable by cutting and selling 

 v/ood and timber that it would be necessary 

 to cut anyway in clearing his land. 



The new railway, above mentioned, will 

 reach New Liskeard next summer. This 

 will bring in settlers by hundreds and thou- 

 sands, for this country is 175 miles south of 

 the latitude of Winnipeg, the climate much 

 more temperate, and the winters not so long 

 as in Manitoba. And New Liskeard will 

 be only 15 or 16 hours by rail from Toronto. 



RASPBERRY AND BLACKBERRY MANAGEMENT. 



THE ideal treatment for raspberries and 

 blackberries is to pinch them back at 

 intervals during the summer and thus secure 

 strong, sturdy bushes three and one-half to 

 four feet high, with laterals one to one and 

 one-half feet long, rather than to practice 

 severe heading back after the plants have 

 become long and " leggy." If, however, 

 as is frequently the case, even in the best 

 managed gardens, the plants are at this sea- 

 son making vigorous growth which may not 

 mature, they should at once be cut back to 

 the desired height and the canes will harden 



before cold weather. Many prefer to cut 

 back the canes in the spring. Thinning the 

 canes, which should always be practiced, 

 may be done at any time during the season. 

 In general one-half or more of the young 

 canes which appear should be cut out. 



Blackberries and raspberry bushes may 

 be transplanted in the fall, but better results 

 are usually obtained from spring planting. 

 Currants, on the other hand, have given 

 rather better results from fall setting. — 

 Maine Experiment Station. 



