THE BLACKBERRY. 125 



during the season, is more easily performed if the 

 rows are kept narrow and compact. 



It is essential to harden the young wood by ceasing 

 culture early in the summer. The cultivator should 

 run very frequently, at least once a week, during 

 s; ring and early summer, until picking time. During 

 that period, which covers three weeks or more, the 

 ground becomes somewhat hard, and must be broken 

 up by the cultivator, to put it in good condition. In 

 my latitude this last cultivation will occur about 

 August 20 to 25, after which no more encouragement 

 chould be given the canes in the direction of growth. 

 The entire autumn is thus given for maturing the wood 

 made by the young canes, and I seldom suffer from 

 'winter killing. 



Hardy varieties are preferable to those which are 

 tender, but where the necessity for winter protection 

 exists it is easy to remove the earth from one side of a 

 bush or bunch of canes, force the canes over into a 

 reclining position, and bury their tips or the whole 

 canes with soil. Where this is done the canes must be 

 liberated in early spring, as soon as danger of cold 

 w r inds and severe freezing is over. 



To partly anticipate the effects of drought a portion 

 of the blackberry blossoms may be removed. Hale 

 recommends this plan with certain species which 

 bloom too freely. It is not always necessary in deep 

 well-prepared soils. 



Spring trimming is but sparingly necessary if the 

 old shoots have all been carefully removed after the 

 end of the picking season, and if the young shoots 

 have been regularly headed bark during the period of 



