450 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



types have perennial canes and do not therefore lend themselves to this 

 type of renewal. 



Propagation. — The plantation of the standard blackberries can be 

 increased in either or both of two ways, as follows: The plants, in addition 

 to throwing up strong shoots or canes from the crown, throw up suckers or 

 root sprouts, which may be allowed to develop and later be lifted as inde- 

 pendent plants, or lateral roots of strong plants may be dug during the 

 autumn or early spring and placed in sand much the same as are ordinary 

 cuttings, except that blackberry root cuttings are cut to pieces 2 to 3 

 inches in length and should be entirely covered with sand or light soil to 

 the depth of 2 to 3 inches. Nurserymen propagate their supply of plants 

 largely by the root-cutting method. In one season root cuttings of this 

 sort should produce strong plants for transplanting. The dewberry and 

 certain blackberry hybrids take root at the tips, the same as do black 

 raspberries, and new plants are secured by covering the tips of each plant 

 with earth towards the end of the annual growth period. 



Planting, Tillage and Fertilizers. — Blackberries are for the most part 

 rank-growing plants and require liberal distances in and between the rows. 

 A common planting plan is 4 feet in the row and 8 to 10 feet between the 

 rows. In general, the best time for establishing a blackberry plantation is 

 in the spring and, as growth normally starts early, the work of planting 

 should be done as early as soil conditions will permit. 



As the blackberry plants will not fully occupy the land the first season, 

 it is customary to use some inter-crop, such as potatoes or beans, to con- 

 tribute towards the cost of maintenance. 



The tillage of the blackberry plantation should be such as to hold 

 weeds and suckers in check and maintain maximum moisture and growth 

 conditions, but cultivation should cease early enough to induce the plants 

 to ripen their wood thoroughly before winter. 



If the soil on which the blackberry plantation has been established 

 appears to require fertilizer, experience dictates that the best results will 

 in general be secured by the use of liberal applications of stable manure. 



Pruning and Training. — The blackberry plant normally produces long, 

 slender, non-branching shoots. These, where the soil is strong, grow long 

 and produce less fruit than those which have been pruned. A common 

 practice is to pinch the terminal bud of each shoot as soon as it reaches a 

 height of 2| feet with moderate growing varieties, or 3 feet with robust 

 growing sorts. This induces the formation of lateral branches which 

 increases the number of buds from which fruit-bearing twigs will develop 

 the following spring. The pruning causes the main stem of the shoot to 

 thicken and stiffen and consequently make it better able to carry a large 

 crop of fruit without a trellis. The lateral branches which are induced to 

 develop on the pinched-back shoots should be shortened to 10 or 12 inches 

 before growth starts in the spring. 



Harvesting. — The fruit should be harvested as soon as well colored, 



