THE RASPBERRIES i8i 



vigorous growers, requiring more room than the Ameri- 

 can red sorts. Shaffer and Columbia are two of the 

 best Purple Raspberries. 



Culture 



The Red Raspberries thrive best in a rich, cool, moist, 

 well-drained, loamy soil. On light thin soils they are 

 likely to suffer from drouth before or during the fruiting 

 season, and on soils too moist or too rich in nitrogen they 

 are likely to grow to vine rather than to fruit. New 

 plants are commonly obtained from suckers, though 

 sometimes from root-cuttings. Better plants are 

 obtained from the latter. The plants are set three feet 

 apart in rows about four feet apart. They should be 

 set in fall or very early in spring. Good tillage should 

 be given to prevent the growth of weeds and to conserve 

 moisture. As soon as the old canes have fruited they 

 should be cut out and burned to destroy insects and 

 fungi and to force the growth into the new canes. With 

 free-suckering varieties about half the suckers should be 

 destroyed when hoeing. In the northern states winter 

 protection is often necessary. Summer mulching is desir- 

 able in home gardens, especially during the fruiting season. 



In addition to removing the old canes after fruiting 

 the only pruning necessary is to keep down superfluous 

 suckers and cut off the canes each spring at a height of 

 about three feet. This causes them to send out side 

 branches and to stand up better than if left unpruned. 



Those varieties of Purple-cane Raspberries that form 

 new plants at the tips of the canes are to be treated like 

 the black caps. Those that form new plants from root 

 suckers are to be treated like the reds. 



