460 Transactions of the American Institute. 



finest and best fruit is in all cases the produce of strong and well 

 "'pened wood, it follows, as a matter of course, that the young 

 sfowing shoots should have every advantage aflforded them. This 

 vill be effected by removing all the old wood immediately after 

 iie fruiting season. This will give the young canes more sun, air 

 wid room, and thus enable them to make a stronger growth and 

 produce larger crops of fruit. The careful observer cannot fail to 

 notice that the largest and finest fruit is produced on laterals or 

 flide shoots; these are seldom or never produced, if the canes are 

 allowed to remain at their full growth; in this case the tendency 

 of the plant is to produce its fruit on the extreme end of the canes. 

 This fact the skillful gardener takes advantage of, by allowing a 

 few canes to remain at full length, merely cutting off the tops; 

 others are pruned at medium height, while others are cut back 

 quite close, as the lower buds do not break out as soon as the 

 upper ones. It follows, as a matter of course, that the fruit will not 

 come in all at once, bul, will ripen gradually, and thus prolong 

 the season. The so-called ever - beaiing varieties are treated 

 much the same. As a rule, no raspberry w^ill produce two crops of 

 fruit the same season; the second crop of fruit is borne in the fall 

 on the young shoots that have gro^^^^ up during the summer; these 

 bear fruit the following season, and then die, and their place is sup- 

 »ilied by others. The Blackcap variety is pruned precisely the same 

 the blackberry; the laterals are spurred in to four or five inches. 

 Winter protection. — As all the varieties, with a few exceptions, 

 are tender, they will need protection during winter. Various 

 methods are in use for this purpose; such as covering with corn 

 stalks, salt hay or manure; but the most effectual way is to plow 

 a furrow close to the hills, and, bending the canes do^-n into the 

 trench thus made with the plow or a spade, cover them slightly; 

 when well covered, they will stand the most rigorous winter. It is 

 not, generally speaking, the excessive frosts that kill a plant; it 

 is the thawing and freezing they midergo during our sudden 

 changes of climate. When spring advances, and there is no further 

 danger to be apprehended from severe frosts, they may be lifted 

 J up by passing a fork under them and gently raising them to the 

 surface; then prune, and tie them to the stake with bast mat; we 

 prefer this for tying, as it is more easily broken than cord, when 

 the stakes and the old canes are removed. 



Propagation. — Until the past few years, the ordinarj- method of 

 increasing the stock was by suckers. This is dame nature's method 



