BUDS 



75 



been allowed to shift for themselves show that spurs 

 older than these ages lose the power to produce fruit and 

 what fruit they 

 do develop is of 

 inferior .size. 

 Not only so, 

 but the young- 

 er shoots borne 

 on old canes are 

 shorter and 

 bear fewer and 

 inferior fruits. 



These phe- 

 n o m e n a are 

 partly due to 

 the shoot itself 

 - its age, its 

 injuries by in- 

 sects and dis- 

 eases, etc., and 

 partly to the 

 crowding of 

 young growths 

 sent up from 

 the base of the 

 plant. For 

 these reasons, 

 therefore, fruit 

 growers rarely 

 allow canes to 

 grow more than 

 five years old; 

 in fact, many 

 prefer to cut them out after they have fruited two or three 

 times, or the three best new canes produced from the 

 stool each season are allowed to develop so as to keep 

 up a constant succession of young bearing wood. 



FIG. 55 RED RASPBERRY FRUITING BRANCH 

 The erect stem grew last year and this year developed 

 its branches from over-wintering buds. After fruiting 

 the whole stem will die, therefore it may as well be cut 

 out as soon as the fruit has been harvested. 



