30 



tion to go through after the harvesting and take out the old 

 cane. I have always felt that the old cane had considerable 

 value as a winter support, and as a matter of fact, it is 

 pretty hard to get sufficient help to do it at this, the fall, 

 time of the year. On the other hand, in some of these very 

 dry years, when there is so inuch competition for the moist- 

 ure, perhaps we would do well to eliminate that old cane, 

 and I suspect that the man with the smaller plantation had 

 better test it out and tell us of his results. In the early 

 spring the pruning can be promptly and well done. Our 

 man goes through with a Clyde type of cutter and takes out 

 the old cane very rapidly. Two men following one on each 

 side thinning the new wood and shortening the remaining 

 canes. 



MR. HITTINGER : Do you think it is a good plan to 

 thin out some of the new growths that come up during the 

 growing season? 



MR. SMITH : Well, I should think it would be. Of 

 course, you are doing that with cultivation, and with hoeing, 

 to some extent, and then again the old cane and the stron- 

 ger of the new cane tends to keep that growth somewhat 

 suppressed. I think I would in a home garden at least. 



MR. HITTINGER: How about covering up the roots in 

 the winter if you don't have a cover crop? 



MR. SMITH: I should think mulching might be very 

 valuable. You might be able to mulch with some cheap 

 mulching material. Of course straw manure might prove 

 valuable. 



MR. HITTINGER: I have noticed around walls and 

 places where there have been raspberries growing, that they 

 seem to look nice all the time. Whether it is the wall or 

 the stone I don't know but they always look nice, and that 

 is the reason I asked about the mulching. 



MR. JENKS : How about those special crates which you 

 use? 



MR. SMITH: They are simply an adaptation of the one 

 tier crates employed by growers south of Boston, I antici- 



