200 THE BRAMBLES 



According to some work done at the New Jersey Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station, the barnyard manure is not as 

 profitable as the complete commercial fertilizer for the 

 red raspberries. There might be considerable variation in 

 different sections in regard to the value of commercial 

 fertilizers. In all probability a combination of both the 

 barnyard manure and a complete commercial fertilizer will 

 give more uniform results over a greater range of territory. 

 For the home garden the barnyard manure should be used, 

 especially by the amateur. Occasionally there is some 

 danger attending the use of the commercial fertilizer and 

 unless the grower is thoroughly familiar with the handling 

 of the product some damage might result to the plants. 



Planting. — The brambles are usually planted in the spring. 

 A larger number of the plants will grow if they are set as 

 early as the land can be properly prepared. When early 

 spring planting is impossible the plants can be set in the 

 fall especially in those regions where there is no danger from 

 drying winds during the winter. 



The plants should be set a little deeper than they for- 

 merly stood in the nursery row. If the crowns project 

 above the ground the canes are easily broken off. The top 

 should be cut back to 6 or 8 inches in length as soon as the 

 planting is finished. 



The distance to plant the brambles depends upon the 

 purpose of the crop. If the soil is fertile and the crop is for 

 commercial purposes they must be set farther apart than if 

 the plants are grown in the garden for home consumption. 



The brambles are usually set 3 feet apart in the rows, and 

 the rows 6 to 8 feet apart for commercial planting in the 

 Eastern States. In other regions where the plants grow 

 very large, as they frequently do on the Pacific coast, they 

 should be set 4 or 5 feet apart in the rows and the rows not 

 any closer than 8 feet. In the home garden where only a 

 few plants of each bramble are grown, and where hand labor 

 and greater attention is given to them, the plants can be 

 set closer together. Under such conditions the rows should 

 never be less than 4 feet apart nor the plants less than 

 2 feet apart in the rows. The character of the soil and the 



