STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 71 



of fertilization?" Barn dressing too late, late cultivation in 

 the fall, and the canes were very vigorous and did not get 

 ripened. Now, it seems to me, and my experience bears 

 out this line, the only successful way to produce red raspberries 

 is to fertilize with chemicals, using for your source of nitrogen, 

 nitrate of soda almost wholly, and that applied early in the 

 spring will become available before the middle of the summer, 

 allowing the fall to harden and ripen your canes. For six 

 years I have never lost any raspberry canes. I would not con- 

 sider it, under my conditions, a safe proposition at all to use 

 barn dressing or hen dressing or anything like that, where there 

 is an excessive amount of nitrogen or ammonia to continue this 

 growth. The canes must stop growing early in the fall and 

 harden and ripen in good firm shape if you expect to get by in 

 our cold winters. That is my idea after six or seven years' 

 experience in growing raspberries. 



Mr. Wyman : That is why I asked that question about cut- 

 ting back. I think there is not any trouble about raspberries 

 winter-killing (I have raised them for twenty years) if they are 

 laid down in the fall. It is inconvenient to lay them down if 

 they are not cut back so as to shorten the growth. Now, in 

 regard to the fertilizer, I never would use barn manure on a 

 bearing plantation. I want barn manure to grow the plants, 

 and then after they come into bearing, use commercial fertilizer, 

 and the best commercial fertilizer I have found was 400 pounds 

 nitrate of soda, 400 pounds ground bone, 400 pounds muriate of 

 potash, 800 pounds acid phosphate. That has given the best 

 results. 



Mr. Conant: I think this matter of fertilizing the canes, 

 doing it early in the spring and maturing the canes, is the only 

 safeguard against winter injury in 95 cases out of 100. Last 

 season was a very hard season for small fruits. 



Question : Do I understand you do not recommend hen 

 manure for raspberries? 



Answer : I would not do it — not for bearing canes. 



Question : I have a friend with seven or eight acres, in 

 New Bedford. Massachusetts, who has used that method alto- 

 gether. He has had wonderful success. 



Mr. Conant: That is under entirely different conditions. 

 My idea of growing raspberries is to produce them at the lowest 



