THE RASPBERRY. 



313 



spring the old cane that has borne. Some people do this 

 as 'soon as the fruit is gathered, on the ground that the 

 young cane is strengthened by so doing ; but this is ques- 

 tionable. It may be, on the whole, safer to leave it to 

 finish its natural course, and cut it away at the spring or 

 winter pruning. 



The young cane is shortened to three feet, or three and 

 a half or four, if it be quite stout and vigorous. When 

 the plants have been a year or two 

 in their place, several canes will be 

 produced from one stool in the same 

 season; but three or four only are 

 reserved, and these the strongest. 

 Each one is pruned or shortened as 

 above in order to concentrate the 

 sap on the bearing buds on the 

 center and lower parts. This not 

 only increases the size, but im- 

 proves the quality of the fruit. 

 When the suckers become very nu- 

 merous, they enfeeble the plant, 

 and it soon becomes worthless. All 

 the weaker superfluous ones should 

 be carefully removed with a trowel 

 early in the season, say when they 

 have attained five or six inches of 

 growth. In selecting such as are to be reserved, prefer- 

 ence should be given to those being nearest in the regu- 

 lar row of plants. Some of the French authors recom- 

 mend leaving a hole ten or twelve inches deep around 

 each plant at the time of planting, to be filled up gradu- 

 ally, three or four inches a year, with fresh earth, to pro- 

 mote the formation of vigorous radical buds, at the collar 

 of the root, as recommended for the fig. 



Summer Pruning. The foregoing is designed for the 

 annual or winter pruning, but if summer pruning is prac- 

 14 



Fig. 152. 



The Raspberry. A, the 

 old cane that has borne 

 and will be cut away ; .B, 

 the young cane for next 

 season, to be shortened at 

 cross line b ; (7, radical 

 bud, to produce a cane 

 next season. 



