THE CURRANT. 155 



The proper treatment is management rather 

 than cultivation and stimulation. It requires a 

 sunny exposure and a light, warm soil, yet not so 

 dry as to prevent the fruit from maturing into 

 juicy berries. If possible, set the blackberries 

 off by themselves, for it is hard to prevent the 

 strong roots from travelling all over the garden. 

 The blackberry likes a rich, moist, mellow soil, 

 and, rinding it, some varieties will give you canes 

 sixteen feet high. You do not want rank, thorny 

 brambles, however, but berries. Therefore the 

 blackberry should be put where it can do no harm, 

 and, by a little judicious repression, a great deal 

 of good. A gravelly or sandy knoll, with a chance 

 to mow all round the patch, is the best place. 

 The blackberry needs a deep, loose soil rather 

 than a rich one. Then the roots will luxuriate to 

 unknown depths, the wood ripen thoroughly, and 

 the fruit be correspondingly abundant. 



Let the rows be six feet apart ; set out the plants 

 in the fall, if possible, or early spring; put two 

 plants in the hills, which may be four feet apart. 

 If the ground is very poor, give the young plants 

 a shovelful of old compost, decayed leaves, etc. 

 Any fertilizer will answer, so that it is spread just 

 over the roots to give the plants a good send-off. 



As a rule, complete success in blackberry culture 

 consists in a little judicious work performed in 



