General Remarks. 3G7 



soil. Some cultivators use leaves, and others coarse manure, 

 but we believe nothing answers better than the common soil in 

 which they grow. 



Summer treatment. — As soon as danger of cold weather is 

 over, which is generally the first of April, the plants should 

 be uncovered, and a stake placed to each, to which the stems 

 should be securely tied: the first summer very little must be 

 expected from the plantation, and only a kw suckers will be 

 thrown up from each plant; but by the second year they will 

 be more numerous, and produce considerable fruit. As soon 

 as the plants are tied up, proceed to level the ground, and 

 give it a neat finish with the rake: the only after culture is to 

 keep down the weeds, and the surface loose, by occasional 

 hoeings. 



Autumnal dressings. — Enriching the bed at the time of 

 planting is not sufficient to keep the plants in good condition. 

 The beds should have a dressing of two or three inches of 

 compost every autumn. This should be laid on in October 

 and lightly forked in, bearing in mind that a mixture of bog 

 earth, or leaf soil and manure, is belter for the plants than all 

 manure. This will encourage the growth of the roots, and in 

 the spring, the suckers which are thrown up to form the bear- 

 ing plants of the next season, will be much stronger. 



Pruning. — The raspberry can hardly be said to need prun- 

 ing in the common acceptation of that term. All that is re- 

 quired is to shorten the most vigorous bearing stems, and to 

 cut away the old wood after it has produced its fruit. The 

 second summer after planting, the plants will throw up a quan- 

 tity of suckers: if numerous and small, four or five of the 

 best should be left their entire length; if large and strong, they 

 should be shortened to four or five feet, and the superfluous 

 ones rooted up, unless wanted to form new plantations. 



General Remarks. — As the raspberry is a rapid grower, af- 

 ter it once takes hold of the soil, quantities of suckers will 

 spring up, which, in the course of four or five years, will 

 weaken the plants. On this account new plantations should be 

 made every fifth or sixth year, and the soil trenched and re- 

 newed by the application of the compost already mentioned. 



The raspberry is rarely attacked by insects. We are not 

 aware that we have ever been troubled with any during our 

 cultivation of this fruit, for upwards of fifteen years. On this 

 account, it requires very little care at the hands of the culti- 



