STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 89 



berry vines was for two men to take a heavy rail and place against 

 the row of vines and press them over towards the east, letting the 

 rail lie upon the canes to hold them down ; and so proceed till the 

 end of the row. The ridge made by the rounded over vines and 

 rail holds the snow which drifts over them and makes ample pro- 

 tection for winter. In >pril when the sun lifts the snow robe, 

 remove the rail and the vines rise as upright as ever. The crop 

 never fails. 



The Black Caps are tied to stake five feet high — in the fall the 

 old canes are cut out and the new ones laid together near the stake 

 and covered with soil to hold them in place. 



Grape vines are trained to stakes ten feet high. After harvest 

 cut the laterals all back to two buds ; place the trimmed vines in a 

 coil about the stakes and cover with soil. 



Our strawberries run out in three or four years ; the blackber- 

 ries and raspberries in eight or ten ; but the currant and gooseberry, 

 trained on the renewal system, will last as long as the apple trees. 



The garden must be liberally dressed with seedless manure every 

 winter, and twelve or more bushels of ashes all over it each summer. 



PICKING. 



Excepting the pear, let all your fruits get tree ripe before pick- 

 ing. Much of the strawberry crop in this region is picked too 

 soon, is therefore sour, insipid and unwholesome. The blackberry 

 also, is delicious only when fully ripe. 



Watch all the larger fruits to catch them at the points of ripe- 

 ness, then revel in the best of food God has given to man. 



DISCUSSION. 



Ques. What variety of blackberry do you raise? 



Ans. The Early Wilson. It is a slender kind that will turn 

 down without breaking, is the most prolific of any, bears every 

 year atd will hold up great masses of fruit if you give it protection. 



Ques. Is the Shaffer raspberry hardy here ? 



Ans. It is, if you put it down ; but perhaps the Shaffer would 

 not be profitable with you. Most of the black raspberries are 

 failures because but few will ripen, and the rest will dry up and 

 not come to perfection. 



Prof. MuNsoN — I think the matter of laying down plants is a 

 very important one, and one which need not be a cause for so 



