92 Bush-Fruits 



Plants in large numbers can be cheaply produced from 

 an old plantation which is to be discarded, by cutting away 

 the bushes, plowing and cultivating the ground in spring, 

 then letting everything grow. If the land is poor, manuring 

 will increase the vigor of the plants. Roots have also been 

 found to throw up more suckers when in contact with 

 coarse manure. 



Propagation by suckers is the most common method, 

 and answers equally well for practical purposes, yet root- 

 cuttings are often used, and give excellent results. This 

 is especially true where a speedy increase of choice varie- 

 ties is desired. The blackberry is particularly well adapted 

 to this method of propagation, and all the work can be 

 done out of doors. The cuttings may be made either in 

 fall or spring. All roots three-sixteenths of an inch or 

 more in diameter may be used, being cut into pieces two 

 or three inches long. If taken in the fall, they should be 

 stored in boxes of moist sand, which should be kept in a 

 cellar during the winter, or be buried outside on dry 

 ground, where no water will collect about them. It is 

 well to have holes or cracks in the bottom of the boxes, 

 to allow the escape of surplus moisture. The cuttings 

 should be stratified in the boxes in the same way that seeds 

 and nuts are, with a layer of sand or soil, then a layer of 

 cuttings, another of sand, and so on. With favorable 

 winter conditions, callusing will have. begun before spring, 

 so that the pieces will be in good condition for planting. 

 For this reason cuttings taken in the fall and properly 

 treated during the winter, usually give better success and a 

 more vigorous growth than those taken in spring. In 

 spring the cuttings are planted out in loose, mellow soil, 



