Gardening for Amateurs 



IOII 



in ordinary garden soil, but (unlike other 

 fruit trees) thrives best where the ground 

 is moist. If during the early life of the 

 Quince pruning is directed to the formation 

 of a shapely tree by encouraging the growth 

 of the requisite branches, thinning only is 

 needed in later years, dead shoots and those 

 that are ill-placed or weakly alone being cut 

 out. 



There are three chief varieties : the Com- 

 mon or Pear-shaped variety ; the Round, or 

 Apple shape (which is of fine flavour) ; and 

 the Portugal. The last named attains to 

 much larger dimensions, and the fruit is also 

 larger, being golden, with a tinge of red ; but 

 the tree does not fruit so freely as the two 

 first mentioned. 



Raspberry. This fruit ought to be grown 

 in every garden, for it is very easy of cul- 

 tivation and valuable for making into jam 

 or for dessert, and for use with other fruit 

 in tarts. From a commercial point of 

 view, where conditions are favourable, it is 

 one of the most remunerative fruits of the 

 garden, for it scarcely ever fails to produce 

 a crop if given ordinarily careful treatment. 



Propagation is effected by seeds, layering, 

 or by suckers. The Raspberry is so prodigal 

 in the production of suckers (growths from the 

 ground) that it is not worth while consider- 

 ing any other method of increase than by 

 these. Suckers, each with roots, should be 

 taken up in autumn and planted in rows 

 on a reserve border for a year before being 

 put in their permanent quarters. The rows 

 should be 18 inches apart, and the plants 

 the same distance apart in the row. 



If heavy crops of best quality fruit are 

 to be obtained throughout a long period, the 

 plants must have deeply cultivated and well- 

 manured land, for Raspberries, if rightly 

 looked after, will remain in profitable bear- 

 ing for a lifetime. The Raspberry will 

 thrive on land exposed to the north, where 

 little or no sunshine ever sheds its rays. It 

 also succeeds in the open field, provided 

 the soil is of fair depth ; but it does not 

 flourish on poor and shallow land. 



Planting should be done as early in the 

 autumn as possible after the leaves have 

 fallen, the plants being placed in rows 2 feet 

 apart and the rows 4 feet asunder. They 

 may be trained to a wire trellis 5 feet high, 



or to stakes : the trellis gives best results. 

 An alternative method is to form a clump of 

 two or three plants, the clumps being 

 arranged 4 or 5 feet apart. The Raspberry 

 is & surface-rooting plant, and the finest 

 fruits are obtained by feeding the surface 

 roots with top dressings of well-rotted 

 manure during summer. Weeds, of course, 



Raspberries grown in clumps : stems cut 

 back to varying heights so that fruit 

 is produced from base to top. 



Raspberries trained to wires: old stems cut 

 out, young ones tied in. 



JUUULL 



Two methods of pruning newly-planted 

 Raspberries, severely and moderately ; 

 the former is usually adopted. 



must be kept under. In winter, after prun- 

 ing is completed, fork over the ground to 

 clear off weeds, then apply a dressing of 

 decayed farmyard manure, 3 inches deep, on 

 the surface of the soil round about each 

 plant or group. 



Pruning consists of cutting away to the 

 ground level the old branches that have 

 borne fruit during the past summer ; it 

 should be done immediately the fruit is 

 gathered, in order to give the new canes of 



