SMALL FRUITS 447 



of growth are desirable in order to insure as large a growth of wood as the 

 plants can carry to advantage. 



The winter pruning is a process of elimination. All canes which have 

 served their purpose as fruit producers are removed, as are all dead or 

 diseased canes, thus reducing the demands upon the roots of the plant and 

 directing the energy to the wood intended for fruit production. 



Harvesting the Fruit. — Because of the soft character of this fruit, 

 it can be successfully harvested only by hand picking. Small receptacles 

 holding not more than a pint, and preferably those made of wood, are best 

 suited for handling this crop. Under favorable conditions, the yield of 

 the better sorts of red raspberries, particularly of the native red and purple 

 cane types, is very large, and where they can be placed upon the market 

 quickly after being picked they are a very profitable crop. 



Black Raspberries, or Blackcaps. — The black raspberry, or blackcap, 

 because it lends itself to several methods of harvesting and marketing, is 

 capable of a wider range of commercial cultivation than any of the types 

 of the red raspberry, although it is not capable of withstanding so severe 

 climatic conditions. 



Propagation. — The black raspberry does not throw up root sprcuts, 

 and is propagated only from stolons or layers. In order to secure new 

 plants the tips of the branches are bent over and slightly covered with 

 earth during the month of August, after which they take root readily. 

 The rooted tips are usually left attached to the parent stalk until the 

 following spring, when the branch is cut 6 or 8 inches above the surface of 

 the ground, the roots being lifted, tied in bunches and stored for use or 

 carried to the place where they are to be replanted. 



Character of the Soil. — Black raspberries grow best on a soil which is 

 fertile and naturally well drained, rather than one which is moist. Strong 

 loams of a clayey or gravelly nature are preferred to the lighter sandy soils. 



Preparation of the Soil. — The same general preparation of the soil 

 as outlined for the red raspberry is necessary for best results with the 

 black raspberry. Preparatory treatment with cultivated crops in order 

 to rid the land as thoroughly as possible of weeds is desirable. 



Planting. — The distance at which black raspberries are usually set 

 in commercial plantations is 3 feet apart in rows which are 8 feet apart. 

 The same method of planting as described for red raspberries — that is, 

 opening a furrow with the plow, placing the roots at the proper distances 

 in the row and covering with a turning plow — is very convenient and 

 satisfactory. 



Cultivation. — Clean cultivation is equally as desirable for the black 

 raspberry as for the red raspberry, because weeds between the rows inter- 

 fere with the later operations in the berry field. While cultivation should 

 not be carried on so late in the season as to interfere with the harvesting 

 of the fruit, it should be sufficiently thorough and continued late enough 

 to keep the ground free from weeds. 



