16 



RASPBERKIE3 AND BLACKBERRIES. 



the latter part of the summer. They seldom produce suckers. The 

 fruit is generally black, but there are a few varieties with yellow- 

 ish fruit. 



All the cultivated raspberries are commonly referred to as : 



SucKERiNG Kinds; those that increase by suckers, which com- 

 prise chiefly varieties belonging to the three species first named. 



Tip-rooting Kinds; those that increase by tip layers, which 

 chiefly comprise varieties belonging to B. OccidetUalu, but a few 

 that belong to R. neglectus. 



Propagation.— The raspberry may be propagated by the fol- 

 lowing methods : 



By Seed.— All the cultivated kinds may be grown from seed, 

 but plants from seed are not "true," i. e., are not like the plants 

 from which they came, and it is only an occasional seedling that is 

 nearly as good as any of the varieties commonly cultivated. To 

 raise seedlings the "dead" ripe fruit should be crushed in a small 

 amount of dry sand, and the whole sown at once in a light moist 

 soil, somewhat shaded. The seed will seldom germinate until the 

 following spring, when after the plants are large enough to handle 

 they may, if too thick in the seed beds, be set out in another bed to 

 grow the first season, or if not crowded be left to grow where they 

 are. The plants should be taken up in the fall, "heeled in," and 

 planted again the following spring, when they will bear fruit the 

 following (third) year. Another way is to sow the seed as soon as 

 obtained in small boxes, and cover them lightly with leaves or 

 litter. In February bring the boxes into a greenhouse, transplant 

 to other boxes as soon as the seedlings have their third leaves 

 formed, and plant permanently outdoors as soon as large enough 

 and the weather permits ; by this system some fruit is generally 

 obtained the second year. 



By Root Cuttings.— Most of the varieties of raspberries com- 

 ing under the first three spe- 

 cies mentioned produce 

 sprouts from the roots (Fig. 6) , 

 and these are generally used 

 to start new plantations, but 

 when there is a shortage for 

 this purpose it is customary to 

 grow plants of the suckering 

 kinds from root cuttings, 

 which may be made as fol- 

 lows: In the autumn after 

 the plants have stopped grow- 

 ing the roots are taken up, cut 

 into pieces two or three inches 

 long and put in boxes, with 

 alternate layers of sand or 

 loam. The boxes are then 

 buried in some well drained spot until the land is fit to work in the 



Fig. 6. Raspben^y sets of the sucker, 

 ing class. A, before buds have start- 

 ed. By after buds have started. The 

 stem should be cut off at the cross tirte. 



