23- 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July, 



American Red is perhaps the best for fruit, 

 ))Ut all the varieties classed as ornamental 

 shrubs are free fniiters. 



THE BLACKBERRY. 



This delicious wholesome and productive 

 fruit.which not many years ago was known 

 only as a wild fruit, is beginning to receive 

 the attention it deserves from cultivators. 



Sail and Vulture. The Blackberry suc- 

 ceeds in any deep well-drained soil. High 

 manuring is not called for, in fact the plant 

 thrives in a wild state in some of the poorest 

 sandy soils. It delights in constant cultiva- 

 tion. The plants may be set in rows six or 

 eight feet apart and three feet apart in the 

 row. Some prefer setting at two feet apart 

 to form a matted row, which is then kept to 

 a foot wide. In the garden they may by at- 

 tention to keeping down suckers be grown 

 in individual hills at about four by five feet 

 apart. In hill culture three or four young 

 shoots should constitute a hill, treating all 

 besides these as weeds. The culture should 

 be shallow between the plants, and remov- 

 ing all suckers. In this plant the growth of 

 one year bears the fruit of the next. Can 

 be planted either in spring or fall. 



Priming. Blackberry plants are natur- 

 ally of strong growth, forming long-reach- 

 ing canes armed with formidable thorns. 

 But with attention to pruning, the plants 

 may be rendered compact and not trouble- 

 some. The pruning should be done on the 

 young growth of summer by pinching the 

 upright shoots back when a height of three 

 or four feet is reached, and later the side 

 or lateral branches be stopped at a foot 

 or fifteen inches. Besides this the old canes 

 must be cut out after fruiting. With close 

 attention to inducing a compact form of 

 plant, no stakes or supports are needed for 

 the bushes, but with less pruning such are 

 needed. A good support is found in a row 

 of posts or stakes at sixteen feet apart along 

 the row with a strand of number 12 wire 

 secured to these on each side at three or 

 four feet from the ground, the canes being 

 between the vines; or, more wires on each 

 side may also be employed. 



Winter Protection. The canes being liable 

 in many places to winter kill, they should be 

 protected by laying them down at the ap- 

 proach of winter and covering with earth or 

 with sod to the depth of two or three inches. 

 In field culture the work can be rapidly per- 

 formed by the aid of a plow. 



I'ariefics. Among the older best tested 

 varieties the Snyder is the hardiest, stand- 

 ing almost uninjured where the Kittatinny, 

 Lawson, etc., have suffered severely, but 

 the fruit of the latter is finer. 



Tlic Dewberry. This is a trailing variety 

 of the Blackberry, and is best grown in rows 

 six feet apart and the plants three feet in 

 row. The ground should be mulched as in 

 the case of the Strawberry, to prevent the 

 fruit from becoming soiled and gritty. 



THE CHERRY. 



This is a favorite early home fruit. The 

 trees of the black and heart-shaped va- 

 rieties are of lu.xuriant growth, and are 

 much prized for their beauty apart from the 

 useful fruit they bear. Those of the acid 

 and re<l section are of smaller growth. 



.So;; and Vulture. Adeep loam and .sandy 

 soil should be the first choice for this fruit, 

 but other soils can be fitted by drainage, 

 deep tillage and manuring to answer its 

 needs. On soil that is naturally very dry the 

 surface should be kept heavily mulched. 

 The safest time to plant the C'herry is early 

 in the .<ipring, late spring planting and fall 

 planting usually being accompanied by the 

 loss of many trees. The Cherry succeeds 

 better about the house or elsewhere in grass 

 than the average of trees. In the orchard it 

 repays for careful cultivation, 



(To be Conlinvetl.) 



