FRUIT ON THE FARM. 277 



time in which they will remain in bearing. It was the practice 

 formerly to trellis or stake and tie up the canes, which involved 

 the grower in a heavy expense; but our best growers have 

 learned to manage them so that this is not necessary. Mr. 

 Ohmer, on whose fruit farm I have seen eight or ten acres of 

 raspberries in a field, says : " I can and do grow raspberries al- 

 most as cheaply as I do corn, not counting the cost of gathering. 

 At one time I advocated and practiced tying up the canes, espe- 

 cially of the black varieties. I have entirely abandoned this, 

 and raise as many bushels per acre and as nice fruit at a much 

 less expense. The additional expense of providing stakes, or 

 posts and wire, is not all I save, as the tying up of the canes 

 took much time, and, of course, cost money." 



The way to manage raspberries to avoid trellising, is to 

 pinch back the tops of the canes when two feet high. They 

 then throw out laterals in all directions, which balance and 

 support the main stem. Early the following spring these lat- 

 erals must be cut back to about one foot in length, and when 

 managed in this way, they will stand up and support the fruit 

 as well as if staked. 



Most cultivators of the raspberry make a mistake in planting 

 too close. The rows should not be less than eight feet apart 

 and the plants set three feet in the rows, as this width is neces- 

 sary for proper cultivation. In planting the Black Caps, or any 

 of the varieties that propagate from the tips, it is usual to ad- 

 vise shallow planting, but when these are not to be staked, they 

 should be set at least three inches deep and then the earth worked 

 to them. Cultivation should be thorough till August, and all 

 surplus plants should be killed out as remorselessly as weeds. 

 The varieties that propagate by suckers will overrun the ground 

 and become a tangled wilderness, and cease bearing unless the 

 suckers a?re kept down. Three or four canes to a hill will give 

 more and better fruit than a larger number. 



Probably the cheapest and most satisfactory way to manage 

 a plantation for home use is to mulch it heavily. Give the land 

 a thorough working in the spring, and then cover it so thickly 

 with straw that no weeds can grow, and you will have large, fine 



