Propagation. \ 63 



ever seen. It was uninjured by the test of another winter, and all who 

 saw and tasted the fruit were enthusiastic in its praise. The Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society awarded it their first premium, and Mr. 

 Charles Downing said it was the finest red raspberry he had ever seen. 

 The veteran horticulturist, Mr. Wm. Parry, who has had between forty 

 and fifty years of experience in small fruits, visited my place that 

 summer. The bushes he saw had never received any protection, and had 

 already been three weeks in bearing, but they were still full of fruit. 

 After picking several berries that measured plump three inches in cir- 

 cumference, he said, quietly, "Put me down for 500 plants." In no other 

 I way could he have stated his favorable opinion more emphatically. It 

 was as delicious as it was large and beautiful, and surely I was reasonable 

 in expecting for it a brilliant future. In my faith, I planted it largely 

 myself, expecting to make it my main dependence as a market berry. 

 But in August, of that year, many of the canes lost their foliage. Those 

 that thus suffered were not entirely hardy the following winter. It was 

 | eventually made clear that it belonged to the tender Rubus Idceus class, 

 and, therefore, was not adapted to general cultivation, especially on 

 light soils, and under sunny skies. As I have shown, its start was so 

 full of vigor and promise that it won the favor and confidence of the 

 | horticultural veterans ; but it suddenly manifested lack of stamina and 

 I sturdy persistence in well-doing. And this is just the trouble which every 

 j experienced propagator dreads. Only after years of test and trial in many 

 I localities can he be assured that his seedling may become a standard variety. 

 If this chance seedling, the Pride of the Hudson, is given a moist 

 I soil in some half-shady location, it will yield fruit that will delight 

 the amateur's heart, but, like Brinkle's Orange, which it resembles in 

 flavor, only amateurs will give it the petting it requires. 



As suggested when treating the strawberry, so in seeking to originate 

 new varieties of raspberries, our aim should be to develop our hardy 

 native species, the R. Strigosus, and, if we employ the R. Idceus class for 

 parentage on one side, seek its most vigorous representatives, such as 

 the Belle de Fontenaye and Franconia. 



CHOICE OF LAND ITS PREPARATION PLANTING. 



All that has been said about the thorough preparation of the soil 

 for strawberries, by drainage, deep plowing, trenching, etc., applies 

 to raspberries, but differences should be noted in respect to fertilizers. 

 Land can scarcely be made too rich for any variety of strawberries, 



