Fertilizers 89 



soil is suitable, in order that the plants may not make too 

 great a growth of wood at the expense of fruit-production. 

 On the other hand, growers in the prairie states, where the 

 land is naturally rich, do not recommend their poorer soils. 

 A strong, well-drained clay loam meets with the most 

 general approval, though light, warm land, having a 

 porous clay subsoil, may give excellent results. On these 

 stronger soils, plants have frequently passed the winter 

 unharmed when in parts of the same field on more sterile 

 soil they were badly winter-killed. 



A soil that is retentive of moisture is imperative, this 

 being the prime essential in blackberry growing. For 

 this reason a cool, northern exposure is generally pref- 

 erable, because such a location will help to offset injury 

 from drought, the arch enemy of the blackberry. Deep 

 working of the soil before planting, and natural or arti- 

 ficial drainage, are essential both to conserve the neces- 

 sary moisture and to prevent over-supply. None of our 

 cultivated brambles can make satisfactory terms with a 

 wet, heavy soil, and any attempt to compel them to do 

 so will surely result in failure. Land with a high and 

 hard subsoil, therefore, should be tile-drained before 

 planting. 



FERTILIZERS 



Do blackberries need fertilizers? Some say no; others 

 yes. There must be a reason for this difference of opinion. 

 On strong, moist soil blackberries may produce such a 

 rampant growth that they nearly forget to bear fruit. 

 These overgrown, poorly matured canes are then likely 

 to suffer from the cold of the succeeding winter, and to 



