LOGANBERRY 



LOGANBERRY 



1901 



requisite as regards soil and place is that the drainage 

 must be very good, as the plant is an exceptionally 

 heavy feeder. 



The loganberry is propagated very easily by rooting 

 the tips in the fall. In choosing plants to set out, one 

 should choose either very vigorous-rooted tips, or 

 else vigorous one-year-old plants. It is not advisable 

 to plant the cutting or weak tips. 



The fruit has not been grown commercially long 

 enough as yet to demonstrate conclusively the best 

 methods, especially as related to the distances 

 of planting. Some growers put the rows as 

 close together as 6 feet, some prefer 7 feet, 

 but the larger number plant them 8 feet 

 apart each way. The plants are set in the 

 rows from 4 to 16 feet apart. When the 

 plants are set as close together as 4 feet, the 

 pruning is very different from that when 

 planted at the greater distances. When 

 planted close together the plants are kept 

 headed back. 



It is customary to train the' plant as a 

 trailer. It will be some time before it will be 

 demonstrated thoroughly which method of 

 pruning and training is superior, and natu- 

 rally the distances at which the plants should 

 be set will depend greatly on the soil in 

 which they are grown. 



The plants should be given very good care 

 the first year. They do not tend to make a 

 strong growth until the fall months, when 

 the growth is very rapid. In the fall, good 

 strong trellises should be provided. The most 

 common method is to get good strong 7-foot 

 cedar posts. These are set 30 feet apart. Two wires are 

 generally strung on these posts, the first wire being 2 

 feet from the ground, the second one at or near the top 

 of the post. Number 12 galvanized iron wire makes a 

 very good wire for stringing. It is customary to run the 

 rows north and south in order to obtain a good dis- 

 tribution of sunlight. There are many methods used 

 in training the vines on the wires. Some growers prac- 

 tise the twining together of two or three fruiting canes, 

 fastening them in a bundle to the wires. Others start 

 out the canes in a fan shape. One of the best sys- 

 tems, and one that is meeting with considerable favor, 

 is the weaving of the vines in and out among the 

 wires. This weaving is performed whenever a shoot 

 tends to come out in the row. This method seems to 

 give a very good distribution of the fruiting canes 

 along the wire. It is thought by many growers that it 

 is well not to try to train the plants too high, since 

 the finest berries are grown hi the shade and one 

 must take into consideration the convenience of the 

 pickers. 



So far, the pruning consists chiefly of cutting out the 

 old canes and the general practice is to remove these 

 canes as soon as the fruit is picked in July, thus mini- 

 mizing any danger from disease. 



The training of the new shoots for the succeeding 

 year's growth may be done during the season or left 

 until fall. A few of the growers wait until spring, 

 thinking that if they have an unusually cold winter 

 their plants are thus protected. In the growing 

 season if the new plants interfere with the tillage or 

 handling of the crop, they are generally kicked in under 

 the fruiting canes. Sometimes small stakes are driven 

 down to hold them in place. 



The tillage given to the loganberry is very similar to 

 that given other cane-fruits. If they suffer for lack of 

 moisture or food, the berries become very small. Some 

 growers practise plowing the ground up toward the 

 plants in the fall and away in the spring. The most 

 common practice is to leave the ground heaped up 

 somewhat around the plants, as this usually means 

 that the plants become deeper rooted and the moisture- 



supply is better held than when the ground is kept 

 level. 



The yield will vary tremendously, extremes probably 

 being one to seven tons to the acre, with about four 

 tons an acre as a very good average. A number of the 

 growers the past year reported at least six tons, and 

 one patch of 424 vines produced 425 crates. At the 

 present prices and with the heavy yields the profits 

 are very satisfactory. The wholesale price is 4 cents a 

 pound, either for canning or evaporating. These figures 



2194. The loganberry as grown in Oregon. 



mean a profit of $100 to $300 an acre. Some of the 

 growers have contracted their crop up to 1920. 



Thus far there are no troublesome insects and only- 

 one disease, namely, the cane anthracnose, which is 

 very similar to the anthracnose that attacks other 

 cane-fruits. 



At the present tune, the demand is many tunes 

 greater than the supply for both canning and dried 

 berries. The reason for this is that the loganberry has 

 proved to be one of the best pie berries on the market. 

 It makes a very excellent jelly, and its juice is a very 

 refreshing beverage and is thought by many to be 

 superior to grape-juice. Undoubtedly in the near 

 future the juice manufacture will become a very exten- 

 sive industry. At the present time such cities as Chi- 

 cago, St. Paul, Omaha, and St. Louis, are unable to 

 buy the quantities of dried and canned loganberries 

 that they desire. 



The berries are consumed fresh, but to be relished 

 must be thoroughly ripe. Unless in a ripe condition 

 the acid is so strong as to be unpleasant. Canned ber- 

 ries are generally put up in enameled tin cans, [since 

 the common tin cans are eaten by the acid. 



In evaporating the berry, the common prune-drier is 

 used. The berries are spread on trays of galvanized 

 iron mesh wire. The trays are about 36 by 20 inches 

 and the fruit is piled Y^ to 1 inch deep on these trays. 

 It takes from sixteen to twenty-four hours to evapo- 

 rate the loganberry and probably twenty-four hours 

 turns out a better product than when only sixteen 

 hours is given. The tunnel drier is about as good a 

 drier as can be used. The fruit is first placed in a 

 temperature of 135 to 150 and this temperature is 

 gradually increased until 165 is reached. The berries 

 should be nicely dried in 16 hours; some seasons in less 

 time. The product will be better than when the tem- 

 perature is started low. The berries should be care- 

 fully selected and only ripe berries used, as the green 

 berries do not dry well. It is almost impossible to dry 

 them and even though they do dry they are too tart. 

 If the fruit is uniformly ripe it dries very uniformly; 

 but if it is over-ripe it tends to drip badly, cara- 



