70 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



growth has been very rapid and exuberant. Pruning is a simple 

 matter, inerel}' pinching the crowns of the new canes. I use hedge 

 shears for the purpose, but pinching with the tliumb and finger just 

 enough to stop tlie upward growth is better for the canes, but cannot 

 be done so rapidl3^ If after this they throw out side branches, these 

 should not be allowed to grow more than a foot in length or even less. 



Some varieties, notably the orange, are not hard}' and to ensure 

 wintering they should be bent down and covered lightl}- with earth or 

 litter. If this be done one person should hold them down while an- 

 other plies the spade until the earth will hold them. 



Picking, &c., should be managed the same as with blackberries, 

 and with a near market, the right kinds, honest measure, and an in- 

 viting appearance of your wares, you have nothing to fear from an 

 abundance of native berries. I have sold large quantities for ten 

 cents a basket when natives were a drug at six cents. In fact, I 

 have never yet been obliged to sell for less than ten cents, although 

 strong competition in cultivated berries would run down the price. 



Evaporated raspberries are becoming a standard article of com- 

 merce. The suppl}' is entirely inadequate for the demand. In New 

 York State tons of them are prepared and sold ever\- year (one man 

 has ninety acres), yet they seldom if ever find their way into Maine, 

 even as a novelty. 



It is probable that the demand will grow faster than the supply 

 increases for many years. Our State is well adapted to this busi- 

 ness. In the first place the raspberry is natural to the latitude and 

 especially so to the soil. It is a business in which our young people 

 can engage. But a comparatively' small area is needed. Ten acres 

 or even five is sufficient land on which to carr}' on quite a large busi- 

 ness. The plants to set one-eighth of an acre can be bought for a 

 small sum of money, and Irom them in two years sufficient stock can 

 be obtained to set five acres at least. This two years of waiting 

 need not be lost, because that time is necessary to properly prepare 

 the field for the plants. If judicious management be practiced, the 

 crops for the two years will pa}- for all the labor of preparation, and 

 for nearly all if not the whole of the manure. A good evaporator 

 will cost but little more than a first-class mowing machine. There is 

 no doubt but that a good article put on sale in an attractive package 

 will make a market for itself. Not many years ago celery had a very 

 limited sale, but as people have gradually become accustomed to its 

 use, the consumption has rapidly increased, and it is now looked 



