178 



growing expense. The picking expense and marketing is 

 about four cents a pint. That leaves about four cents a pint 

 profit. I think with us an average crop has been about 60 

 uushels to the acre. Probably some say: "I raise 100." 1 

 clon 't doubt you have. I think 1 have picked single rows in 

 my piece at the rate of 30 bushels at one picking ; but at the 

 same time I think that over a series of years a yield of 60 

 bushels to the acre is about as much as one ought to expect. 

 That doesii 't seem very much, yet these berries have all been 

 raised as fillers, in an apple orchard, and have been kept 

 there ten years, so that the orcha^-d is just coming into bear- 

 ing with raspberries as a filler crop. While cultivating the 

 raspberries excellent care of the trees has necessarily been 

 taken and they did not cost a cent. To a young man with a 

 mortgage on his farm, as I had when I started, it has been a 

 pretty fairly good investment. I have been satisfied to stay 

 in the business for 30 years, and I think any young man that 

 is starting an apple orchard, that hasn't any more cash than 

 he needs, should not be afraid to set it with raspberries. 



The matter of securing plants is quite an important 

 proposition, for there are lots of differences in the plants. 

 We were most always able to take our plants out of our own 

 plots, and when we did, we had good success. When we 

 bought, we had varying success. The cheapest plants that 

 we ever bought were the first lot ; we thought we got stung, 

 and probably did. A tree agent sold us 2000. We paid him 

 .^^90 for the 2000, but they were the cheapest plants we ever 

 got. I thank you. (Applause.) 



DR. FELT: I would like to ask Mr. Whitcomb if, ir.- 

 stead of covering them with dirt, straw would have a good 

 effect, - 



MR. WHITCOMB : I couldn 't say as to that, because I 

 never use anything but dirt. I shouldn't be afraid to try it. 

 Of course, the straw wouldn't prevent thawing and freezing 

 to the extent that the dirt does, although it would help. 

 There might be some danger of using straw from the mice 

 getting in. Earth is the cheapest way to do it, and the cheap- 



