CHAPTER III 

 BLACK RASPBERRIES 



THE black-cap raspberry is strictly an American fruit. 

 Its culture is comparatively recent, and all the varieties 

 grown belong to the same species, Rubus occidentalis, the 

 common wild berry of the fields and woodlands. While 

 not such a general favorite as the red raspberry, its hardi- 

 ness, productiveness, ease of culture and its adaptability 

 to the evaporating industry have given it a prominent 

 place among our commercial bush-fruits. 



SOIL FOR BLACK-CAPS 



Black-caps succeed on a wide range of soils, but thrive 

 best on one which is rich, deep, moist and well drained. 

 Sandy or clay loams are preferable. A location where 

 water stands for any length of time is never permissible. 

 Let the grower who has ever gathered wild black rasp- 

 berries recall how luxuriantly they grow in newly-cleared 

 land, abounding in leaf-mold, and take a lesson there- 

 from. Virgin soil filled with leaf-mold is no longer avail- 

 able, but it is possible to greatly add to the humus in the 

 soil which is to be used, thereby approximating the condi- 

 tions found in the forest clearing. It should be remem- 

 bered that humus greatly increases the drought-resisting 

 quality of soils, a point of the utmost importance in berry- 



60 



