35 



I5oint to be remembered with the blackbeny is that for the best quality 

 it should not be picked too soon. The fruit is not really ripe when it 

 first turns black. In commercial practice it may be necessary to pick it 

 then, but for home use it should be allowed to remain longer upon the 

 plants. 



Packages should be chosen with reference to the taste of the market 

 to be supplied. People usually prefer a package to which they are 

 accustomed, though the grower who is to work up a special, high-class 

 retail trade may prefer a package diflferent from ordinary ones. These 

 fruits are easily crushed and handle best in small baskets. Red rasp- 

 berries, particularly, demand pint baskets, and are sometimes sold iu 

 even smaller ones The grower should avoid long shipments if possible. 

 These fruits settle so badly in transportation that they appear at a great 

 disadvantage at the end of a long journey. 



Enemies. 



The brambles are subject to attacks from many enemies. One which 

 often proves troublesome upon blackbei'ries is the bramble flea-louse, 

 known as the " mistletoe disease '' in some localities. This is a small 

 plant-louse Avhich attacks the tips of the growing shoots in large num- 

 bers, causing both the cane and the leaves to curl up, forming a knotted 

 mass of foliage. The insects themselves are so well protected by this 

 abnormal growth that they cannot be I'eadily reached with any insecti- 

 cide About the only remedy consists in cutting ofl:* and burning these 

 deformed tips. 



Several cane-borers attack these plants, some working at the crown, 

 others in the canes about. They, too, can only be controlled b}^ destroy- 

 ing the canes before the insects have emerged, thus pn-venting their 

 future multijjlication. Where rose chafers are numerous, they often 

 become a troublesome pest, and one which it is very hard to control. 

 Thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixture and arsenate of lead will 

 destroy many of them, but they are likely to appear at a season when it 

 will be impracticable to use this preparation. Perhaps the best that can 

 be done is to avoid their breeding places in the location of bush-fruit 

 plantations. Sandy lands which are known to be infested should be 

 avoided. 



The strawlierry weevil is a pest very common on wild blackberries. 

 Its injury is done by cutting oft" the young fruit-buds before they open. 

 In a count made of a number of clusters of wild blackberries one season, 

 more than half of the buds had been thus destroyed by this insect. 

 Practically nothing can be done to prevent its ravages. It is not likely 

 that it eats enough in doing this work to be seriously checked by poisons. 

 Its purpo.se in this operation is to hold the pollen of the unopened bud in 

 a condition to aftbrd food for its off"spring, since the young larva feeds 

 upon pollen. Thus far we have not experienced serious loss upon culti- 

 vated plants from these insects, perhaps iiecause they have been located 

 some distance from woodlands where wild l>lackberries grow It is said 

 to fluctuate greatly in numbers in difterent years, so that it might not 

 always prove so troublesome even if it were to attack cultivated plants. 

 Avoiding proximity to wild blackberry lands would seem to be a safe 

 precaution to take. 



Among the fungous diseases red rust is one of the best known It 

 causes the plants to look red and scaly soon after growth begins in the 

 spring This red color is caused by the ri|)ening of a large mnnber of 

 spores upon the surface of the leaf A plant once attacked is thoroughly 

 diseased, since the mycelium works its way throughout the whole plant. 

 The only remedy is to up-root ;md burn iiU such plants at once. 



Another troublesome enemy is anthracni)se. which causes many canker- 

 like spots upon the canes and even leaf-stalks of the plants. These spots 

 often become so numerous as to run together, and greatly hinder the 



