Proceedings of the Farmer^ Club. 461 



of propagation. The Belle de Fontenay must be an especial favor- 

 ite of her, for it has proved wonderfully proliric in suckering, if 

 not in fruiting; in fact, so much so that we have had to give up 

 cultivating it for want of room. Most of the raspberries produce 

 spontaneously long underground shoots. These, upon reaching 

 the surface, change their character, and from roots become plants, 

 capable of producing fruit the following season. The increased 

 popularity of this fruit, and the demand for plants being so great, 

 has led our scientific propagators to try other methods, not new 

 ones, it is true, but new so far as the raspberry is concerned. These 

 are by cuttings of the root, layers, cuttings of the ripe wood and 

 by cuttings of the green wood of the summer's growth. The first 

 consists of cutting the ends of the roots, which may be easily done 

 by cutting a circle around the base of the old stool, taking care to 

 keep away about fifteen inches from the hill,, so as not to disturb 

 it. The portions that have been cut ofi* may be easily forked up. 

 The young roots are then cut up in pieces, about two inches in 

 length, and planted quite thickly in a deep frame, where they will 

 not be likely to freeze. If no frame is handy, the best plan is to 

 plant them in boxes, well drained; first a layer of soil, two inches 

 deep, then a tliick layer of roots, another layer of soil, more roots, 

 and finish up with more soil. The box may then be buried in 

 some warm corner, below the action of the frost. As soon as the 

 ground permits of being worked, take up the roots and plant them 

 out in drills, about eighteen inches apart, and four inches apart in 

 the drill. By layering, the cane is laid down in a shallow trench. 

 A slit is cut on the under side, next to an eye or bud, in an upward 

 direction. It is then covered with soil, and thus remains until 

 rooted. The Blackcaj) evidently believes in the old saw that "The 

 Lord helps those who help themselves," and, disdaining any help 

 from the gardener, bends over and takes root of itself. Cuttings 

 of the ripe wood are made similar to single eye cuttings of the 

 grape vine. Cuttings of the young shoots, when about four inches 

 in length, may be taken off with what the gardeners term a heel; 

 that is, it is separated from the main stem by a piece of hard wood. 

 This should be cleanly cut, and the cutting immediately planted in 

 sand, where it may have the benefit of bottom heat for a few days. 

 Of course it will be useless for any one to try the last two methods 

 of propagation, without having a propagating house fitted up 

 expressly for the purpose. New varieties are raised from seed. 

 Different kinds of raspberries, when planted in close proximity, 



