ECONOMIC PLANTS 259 



loam and highly cultivated. Successful growers seldom 

 use the same ground more than three seasons. Being 

 low growers, strawberries suffer much from weeds and 

 droughts. Careful, clean cultivation is essential to 

 success. Straw, leaves, or hay is used as a winter 

 covering in cold regions. 



Raspberries and Blackberries. There are four well- 

 known varieties of the raspberry, the American red, 

 the European red, the purple cane (a hybrid between 

 the first and last), and the blackcap. A closely 

 allied fruit is the blackberry. The American and 

 the European red raspberry, and the blackberry 

 are propagated by root sprouts one year old, the 

 last two by layering in early fall. (See page 158.) 

 When the roots are well formed, the connection with 

 the parent plant is severed, and the new plant is 

 transplanted to a new bed, where the plants are 

 commonly set 3! or 4 feet apart, in rows 6 or 7 

 feet apart. These berries like a sandy or clay loam, 

 but less richness of soil than the strawberry. A clean 

 soil is just as essential to successful culture. Second- 

 year pruning is necessary in order to thin out the 

 bushes, and each year-old and dead canes should be 

 removed. 



Gooseberries and Currants. Gooseberries and cur- 

 rants belong to a different family from the small fruits 

 just described, as may be easily seen by noticing the 

 difference in the way the seeds are borne. Propagation 

 is by mound layering or cuttings, but the soil required 

 is richer and moister than raspberries need. Free 

 cultivation and mulching will make them respond liber- 

 ally with fruit. There are three common varieties of 

 the currant : red, white, and black. 



