100 Bush-Fruits 



PRUNING 



Opinions differ as to the best method of pruning and 

 training the blackberry. As ordinarily practiced in com- 

 mercial work it is a simple operation, if done at the proper 

 time. If neglected at the time when it should be done the 

 results can never be satisfactory. The only summer 

 pruning required is to pinch the growing cane once, at 

 from eighteen inches to two feet from the ground. There 

 need be no fear of pinching too low, for the cane elongates 

 considerably after being clipped, if still young, and the 

 result is a much better formed bush than if allowed to 

 get three or four feet high before being cut. I wish to 

 reiterate the caution to pinch back the canes when they 

 get to the desired height. It makes a vast difference to 

 the future growth of a bush whether the tip is clipped off 

 when it gets two feet high or whether it is allowed to grow 

 to four feet and then cut back to two feet. 



At the spring pruning the laterals are cut back to from 

 one to two feet in length. This is an operation demanding 

 much judgment, for it is a fruit-thinning process. Too 

 close pruning will diminish the yield, too little will allow 

 more fruit to set than can be properly matured. Not all 

 varieties are alike in fruiting-habit. The Taylor, one of 

 the best all-round varieties in cultivation, does not bear 

 fruit close to the main stem. Four to eight buds at the 

 base of the branches usually produce no flowers. Un- 

 branched canes often fail to develop flowers within two 

 feet of the ground. Close pruning of this variety, there- 

 fore, will take away most of the fruit. Other varieties 

 under observation bore flowers within three or four buds 



