326 SOME SPECIFIC ADVICE 



tightly along stout stakes, the end stakes being of neces- 

 sity very stout and very firmly braced. But this does 

 not suffice to keep the wire stiffly in place. Where wires 

 are stretched along each side of a row already, they 

 can be made much more efficient by tying them together 

 with cross wires every ten feet or so. This pulls them 

 together and keeps the bushes 

 upright and in place. Where 

 there is no support at pres- 

 ent, and support is to be given 

 the bushes, the plan shown 

 in the diagram (Fig. 229) 



can be followed to advantage. 

 229. A handy wire . 



ort Light wooden strips of inch- 



square stuff are held up by 



stakes of the same material and rigidly attached to each 

 other by cross wires. These cross wires are the most 

 important part of the whole, for they are constantly 

 pulling the bushes up into close quarters, the one thing 

 for which supports are desired." 



Black raspberries, or black-caps, are usually headed-in 

 when from one and one-half to two feet high. It is im- 

 portant that this heading -back be done as soon as the canes 

 reach the desired height, for the laterals then start low, and 

 the bush becomes stout and self-supporting. The following 

 spring the laterals are cut back to twelve to eighteen inches, 

 as blackberries are. Black raspberries are sometimes sup- 

 ported by wires (Fig. 226), but best results are usually ob- 

 tained when the plants are made to stand alone. 



Red raspberries are seldom headed-in during the growing 

 season, but otherwise they are treated like black-caps. Fig. 

 2:50 shows a cane (of Cuthbert) well pruned, but the canes 

 in Fig. 231 are pruned too high and are top-heavy. Well- 

 pruned black-caps and blackberries have essentially the 

 form of Fig. 230. 



The canes of dewberries are tied to stakes, disposed on 



