412 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM 



Training the Mammoth. A good way with the Mammoth, 

 grown in a commercial way, is described by Mr. Tribble as follows : 



The Mammoth is one of the earliest of blackberries, very productive and is 

 one of the most delicious. The plants are propagated from rooted tips which 

 appear on the ends of the vines during the winter months. Mammoths are 

 usually trained on a wire trellis made by driving posts at each hill and nailing 

 on cross-arms to support the wire, which is stapled to each end of the cross- 

 arms. The laterals are trained along the wire about half way between the hills, 

 and then cut off to cause them to throw out fruit spurs. As soon as the crop 

 is taken from the old canes they should be taken out and the new canes trained 

 on the trellis as before. 



Training the Himalaya. Success with the Himalaya blackberry 

 is wholly dependent upon proper pruning, and whether it be grown 

 upon an arbor or a fence or upon a low trellis, the same principles 

 must be applied. This variety bears on the same laterals each season 

 and reaches its maximum production the fourth or fifth year. This 

 variety is the latest to ripen with us, coming in after the Mammoth 

 blackberries have all gone. Methods of high and low trellising are thus 

 described : 



The high trellis is made on posts 7 feet high and 30 feet apart. Two wires 

 are stapled on the posts, one 3 l / 2 feet from the ground and the other at the top. 

 Rows should be planted 10 to 12 feet apart and about the same distance in the 

 rows. The long runners should be trained and woven in these wires to hold 

 up the load of fruit. The second year the runners will throw out laterals 

 thickly along the main canes; these fruit spurs are from 2 to 2y 2 feet in length, 

 projecting outside the main canes where the berries are all exposed to the 

 picker's reach. Not over four canes should be allowed to grow in each hill. 

 After reaching the desired length they should be tipped. 



The low trellis method is as follows : New vines grow from the roots some 

 30 or 35 feet in a single season. These are trained on the ground by stakes 

 under the wires which support the bearing vines, so they do not interfere with 

 cultivation and picking. Not too many are allowed to grow. They will throw 

 out a fruit bud about every eight inches, a large number of which will develop 

 next year into spurs bearing 30 to 60 berries. It will also throw out numerous 

 laterals which are cut off before laying the vine on the wires in winter. If they 

 were left, and wound around the wires, they would tend to choke out the fruit 

 spurs, besides beiner dangerous to pickers. Suckers are kept down, and there 

 is a clear path for the pickers, lined shoulder high with luscious blackberries. 



THE CRANBERRY 



Though attention has been given to experiments with the growth 

 of the cranberry in California for many years, it has not been demon- 

 strated that the culture is successful or profitable. Cranberries have 

 been produced, and the fruit shown at fairs, but beyond this nothing 

 has yet been accomplished. It would seem to be a fair conclusion that 

 even in the most moist regions our summer air is too dry to suit the 

 plant. 



THE CURRANT 



The currant reaches perfection in size and quality in parts of Cali- 

 fornia adapted to its growth, but its area is comparatively small. The 

 plant does not thrive in the dry, heated air of the interior either at the 

 north or south. It does well near the coast, especially in the upper half 



