THE BLACKBERRIES 



the less hand labor is required and the easier 

 the work is done. It requires a great deal of 

 determination and some active work with the 

 cultivator or hoe to keep the rows from grow- 

 ing wider every year, but the effort is worth 

 while. 



The rows should be planted at least eight 

 feet apart if horses are to be employed in 

 cultivation. When the rows are established 

 this will leave six or seven feet between rows 

 at the bottom, but the canes bend outward 

 above and the space is little enough in which 

 the horse can walk without coming into con- 

 tact with the thorny canes. 



The plants are usually set about three feet 

 apart in the rows, although the distance varies 

 from two to four feet or more with the prefer- 

 ences of the grower. In general, the closer 

 planting distances enable the plants to fill in 

 the rows more quickly and if growth condi- 

 tions are not favorable, as with plants set late 

 in spring, close planting is to be preferred. 

 Ordinarily, however, three feet is about right. 



A few commercial growers prefer the hill 

 system, which permits cultivation in both 

 directions and reduces hand labor to a mini- 

 mum. The yields probably average somewhat 

 below the hedge row system, but the berries 



77 



