GROWING RASPBERRIES 423 



beautiful. The Columbus, another large variety, is of good quality 

 and resists mildew well. 



A remarkable gooseberry is the Trebla, originated by Mr. Albert 

 F. Etter, of Ettersburg, Humboldt County, as a natural hybrid be- 

 tween the wild species ( divaricatum; and the Champion growing 

 nearby. The fruit, which is about the size of a red currant and dark 

 purple when ripe, has a flavor between the gooseberry and currant, 

 but much stronger, and for culinary purposes may replace the red 

 currant in places where the latter does not thrive. 



THE MULBERRY 



Nearly all varieties of the mulberry have been introduced in 

 California and grown rapidly and thriftily. Most attention has 

 been paid to those varieties most suitable for feeding silkworms, 

 but the fruiting varieties are also grown here, though the fruit has 

 assumed no commercial importance. The mulberry is grown readily 

 from cuttings. The fruiting varieties thus far chiefly distributed 

 are Lick's American, Chinese, the Persian, the New American, the 

 Russian, and the Black Mulberry of Spain. All these bear large 

 and desirable fruit. The mulberry has a long season; the Persian 

 ripening from the last of May and continuously thereafter until 

 October. 



THE RASPBERRY 



The raspberry is another of the great small fruits of California. 

 It thrives over a great area of the State; in fact, there are few 

 situations in which it can not be grown with at least a measure of 

 success if proper attention is given to retention of moisture in the 

 surface soil, and to giving the plants partial shade in the heated 

 valleys, and choosing the cooler exposures in the foothills. The rasp- 

 berry, skillfully pruned and generously fed and cared for, is almost 

 a constant bearer, as has already been intimated. It is a continual 

 delight in the home garden, and always brings a high average rate 

 in local and metropolitan markets. But it must be remembered that 

 the raspberry is insistent upon adequate moisture in the soil and re- 

 quires good cultivation and irrigation even in localities where the 

 rainfall is considerable and the soil retentive. Neglected raspberry 

 plants are likely to die outright in summer or early autumn even 

 where blackberries may pull through. 



The culture of the raspberry is in the main like that of the black- 

 berry, as already described. The red varieties, which are the kinds 

 almost exclusively grown in this State, are propagated by suckers 

 and root cuttings like the blackberry, but the "black caps" are 

 propagated by layering the cane tips during the growing season, and 

 this method is also necessary in the loganberry and other blackberry- 

 raspberry hybrids. Bending down a cane with its branches and cov- 

 ering lightly with soil and with a light mulch to retain moisture, 

 will result in free rooting of the buried parts, and one can sometimes 

 secure a dozen plants by the layering of a single cane with its 



