PREPARING FOR WINTER QUARTERS. 223 



four feet from each other in the row. The canes 

 should be cut off about six inches above the 

 ground, and the second season you may hope 

 for a good crop. They do not by any means 

 require as rich ground as the raspberry, and too 

 high feeding would only injure them by stimu- 

 lating too large a growth of immature wood. 

 In our latitude the blackberry is so apt to 

 winter-kill, that their cultivation is rather dis- 

 couraging. If some perfectly hardy variety 

 could be originated, it would be a great desider- 

 atum. The three varieties that I have tried, the 

 Wilson, Lawton, and Kittatinny, all kill badly. 

 The last two varieties are usually too strong and 

 stocky to lay down and cover with earth as \ve 

 do raspberries, but the more slender, trailing 

 Wilson variety might be so treated without 

 great difficulty. It has been my experience 

 that blackberries require a light, thoroughly 

 drained soil, so that the wood may ripen 



