RASPBERRY. 271 



Mulching. — The first year no mulching is needed; but the 

 becond season, as early as the middle of June, the rows should 

 be mulched for two feet on each side with hay, straw or litter, 

 or with what is better still, green clover cut when in blossom 

 and put on two inches deep. The latter is especially desirable 

 because it lies close, and as it rots in one season and is very 

 rich in plant food it makes a good manure. Tliis material 

 keeps the land moist, the berries clean, and kills out weeds. 

 After putting on the mulch as recommended there will still be 

 a space two and a half feet wide between the rows where the 

 cultivator should be run to keep the soil loose. Too much 

 stress can hardly be laid upon the importance of mulching this 

 fruit. It frequently makes a difference between a good profit 

 and a big loss. 



Support. — It is desirable in severe climates to have the 

 canes supported in some manner. In milder sections, where 

 winter protection is not necessary, the bushes may be so fre- 

 quently pinched as to make them form little trees that support 

 themselves; but this kind of treatment is not desirable where 

 the plants have to be covered In winter, as it makes them so 

 very stocky they cannot be easily laid down. A very good sup- 

 port for raspberries and blackberries is made by running a No. 

 12 galvanized iron wire on each side of the bushes, attached 

 to a good solid post at each end of the row and tied together at 

 frequent intervals. This wire should rest on nails driven in 

 stakes set twenty-five feet apart. Such a support permits the 

 plants to mo\e gently in the wind but not sufficiently to break 

 them by its violence. It keeps the fruit off the ground and is 

 cheap and convenient. 



Winter protection. — Winter protection of some sort may 

 be necessary for raspberries that are growing in severe loca- 

 tions. A good windbreak may be sufficient to make the differ- 

 ence between success and failure in growing this crop on our 

 western prairies, but in many places in the extreme Northern 

 states and in many parts of Colorado it is necessary to bury 

 the canes to protect them from winter injury. This is espe- 

 cially true when tender kinds are grown. To do this, the 

 bushes should be covered late in autumn before the ground 



