As soon as the vine is planted, cover it with soil, leaving only 

 the top bud exposed. When the vines have a good strong 

 growth, clear the soil away from them and cut off any roots 

 which may have started from the scion. This is one of the 

 important points in bringing a resistant vineyard into bear- 

 ing, for if these roots are not cut off the resistant roots 

 dwindle away and the vine reverts back to its own root. 

 Suckers starting from the resistant cutting should also be 

 removed. 



It is necessary to follow up this root pruning for at least 

 three years after the vineyard is planted, for the scion will 

 invariably start out new roots if the soil from plowing gets 

 banked up against it. In later years, after the wood of the 

 vine becomes well hardened up, there is very little danger 

 of the scion making roots. The same recommendations for 

 training and pruning vines on their own roots may be 

 followed with grafted vines. 



THE SMALL, FRUITS 



This term usually applies to the berry family Black- 

 berries, Raspberries, Currants, Gooseberries, Strawberries, 

 etc. The whole Pacific Slope, wherever fruit soils and 

 sufficient moisture prevail, is adapted to their successful cul- 

 ture. In California there is almost a continuous growth, and 

 intermittent cropping can be carried on almost during the 

 entire year. Every family orchard should have a plot 

 devoted to small fruits, and where the conditions are favor- 

 able and near to markets they can be made immensely profit- 

 able when grown along commercial lines. 



The preparation of the soil should be thorough. The roots 

 being close to the top of the ground and of a small, rather 

 fibrous nature, the importance of having the soil in the very 

 best possible condition to insure a good stand of plants and 

 a satisfactory growth must be apparent to anyone engaging 

 in the culture of berry plants. Thorough dressing with well- 

 rotted stable manure will do much to promote a vigorous 

 growth the first season, and having secured this, profitable 

 crops may be expected the second year after planting. 



Berry culture cannot be successfully carried on in Cali- 

 fornia without irrigation, so that before planting the land 

 should be graded, having the grade as uniform as possible 

 so as to prevent flooding. A berry grower should be abso- 

 lutely certain of water when it is required, and if there is 

 any question about the supply from ditches, a pumping plant 

 should be installed to have water available whenever it is 

 needed. A delay of even a few days may mean the loss of 

 the entire crop. 



The Logan and Mammoth Blackberries are practically in 

 a class by themselves, and the cultural directions for one 

 apply to the other, we will consider them under the same 

 head. They should be planted in rows six feet apart and 

 eight feet between the rows. The best results are obtained 

 by trellising the runners to wires on heavy posts which will 

 hold the wire taut. As soon as the fruiting season is past the 

 fruiting canes should be cut away and the new canes be 

 bunched together and wound around the wire. At least two 

 wires should be strung on the posts, so that as soon as one 

 wire is covered the remaining, canes may be wound around 

 the other. By following this method from year to year a 

 heavy crop of large, fine berries may be looked for annually. 



A novel method of handling them is to plant in squares 

 8x8 feet. Drive three stakes one and one-half feet into the 

 ground, using 2x2, 6-foot posts. Nail an old barrel hoop on 

 the top of the posts, and another two feet from the top. 

 The shoots are trained over these hoops. It is simply aston- 

 ishing the amount of fruit which will be obtained by this 

 method of handling. Another satisfactory plan is to set 4x6, 

 7-foot posts twenty feet apart and nail 2x2, 18-inch cross 

 ties to each post. Set the posts three feet in the ground and 

 string No. 12 galvanized wire on the cross ties, holding it in 

 place with staples. The new shoots should be trained across, 

 winding them around the wires from one wire to the other. 



THE BLACKBERRY AND RASPBERRY 



The most satisfactory way of handling blackberries is to- 

 plant in rows four feet apart, with eight feet between the 

 rows. The first season all the shoots which have attained 

 a height of two feet should be shortened in to twenty inches. 

 This will cause them to send out many lateral shoots, sf* 

 that instead of having the fruiting shoots confined to a few 

 canes, there will be a number of lateral shoots from each of 

 the main canes for producing fruit clusters. These laterals 

 should have one-half of their growth cut off in the winter 

 months^ In the second year, as soon W the season's crop has 

 been harvested, cut away the fruiting wood, so that all the 

 energy of the plant will be forced into the new 

 growth. The young shoots should again be cut 

 back at the proper height to develop laterals, 

 and these, as has already been directed, should 

 be cut back in the winter months. This method 

 of pruning has other advantages by making the 

 canes sturdy and self-supporting, and causes the 

 fruit to be distributed over the entire plant in- 

 stead of being confined to the terminal growth. 



39 



