398 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 21 s 1372. 



8. La Constante (De Jonghe). — Named by four, with seven 

 votes. Mid-season, small fruit, good bearer. 

 ' 9. Elton Pine. — Named by four, with five votes. Late sea- 

 son, medium bearer, sharp acid flavour. 



10. Frogmore Late Pine. — Named by four, with four votes. 

 Late season, good bearer, medium flavour. Requires strong 

 Boil. 



11. Filbert Pine. — Named by three, with four votes. Mid- 

 season, fine flavour, good bearer. Requires good soil. 



12. Early Prolific (Roden). — Named by three, with five votes. 

 Early season, fine quality, good cropper. 



13. Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury. — Named by three, with 

 five votes. Medium early, good bearer, medium quality. 



11. Prince of Wales (Ingram). — Named by three, with four 

 votes. Spoken of very highly by Mr. Marsden for light soils. 



15. Black Prince. — Named by three, with four votes. Early, 

 small, poor quality. 



16. Sir G. Napier. — Named by three, with four votes. Mid- 

 season, medium quality, good bearer. 



17. Mr. Eadclyffe. — Named by three, with three votes. Mid- 

 season, good quality, fail- cropper. Requires strong soil. 



18. Keens' Seedling. — Named by three, with three votes. 

 Early, medium-sized, poor quality. 



The following have been named by two persons : — Empress 

 Eugenie, alias Black Bess, Eclipse, Wonderful, Crimson Queen, 

 Rivers's Eliza, Eicton White Pine ; the following once : — 

 Scarlet Pine, Sir Harry, Gufnevre, James Veitch, Her Majesty, 

 ■Souvenir de Kieff , Belle de Paris, Aromatic, Rifleman, Jucunda, 

 Marguerite, Premier, Garibaldi, Duke of Edinburgh, Admiral 

 Dundas, Amateur, Bonne Bouche, and Waite's Seedling. Of 

 these Amateur, James Veitch, and Aromatic are as yet little 

 known, and likely to prove very serviceable; and Scarlet Pine, 

 Crimson Queen, and Bonne Bouche are fine-flavoured sorts 

 worth growing, especially in large gardens. We may conse- 

 quently select the following : — 



Early. — Early Prolific (Roden), and Vicomtesse Hericart de 

 Thury. 



Medium. — Sir J. Paxton, President, British Queen, Dr. Hogg, 

 La Constante, Cockscomb, Lucas, and Filbert Pine. 



Late. — Elton, Frogmore Late Pine, and Eleanor. 



Among the letters sent to me I select three which enter very 

 fully on the merits of some of the sorts, and which will be of 

 great interest to many of your readers. — C. P. Peach. 



BASPBEEBY CULTUEE. 



The Raspberry is one of the most useful of the small fruits, 

 and is, withal, of easy culture. The demand for the fruit is 

 always great both in private establishments and public markets ; 

 and not only does an increasing population require an in- 

 crease of fruit of all kinds, but owing to the prosperity of 

 trade and high wages, the fruit is more freely used in nearly 

 every household than formerly. As a marketable article, 

 therefore, there is no fear of growing too many Raspberries, 

 and general current prices will be easily maintained, and the 

 proper cultivation of the Raspberry in suitable situations cannot 

 fail to be profitable. 



The Raspberry is a surface-rooting plant, spreading a dense 

 network of fibres almost on the top of the ground, and as a con- 

 sequence it is susceptible of injury by drought in early summer, 

 predisposing to small shrivelled produce instead of perfecting 

 fine, fleshy fruit. It will, however, also root deeply if encou- 

 raged to do so, and it is strongly advised that this encourage- 

 ment be given to insure at least a portion of the roots being 

 beyond the reach of the direct effect of the sun's rays. Trench- 

 ing 2 feet deep and introducing vegetable refuse — leaves, weeds, 

 &c, then digging into the surface a dressing of well-rotted 

 manure, will be a good beginning to make in the way of 

 culture. Any good ordinary soil of a loamy nature will grow 

 Raspberries. The best is that somewhat retentive of moisture ; 

 and the worst hot, shallow, sandy soil, in which it is almost 

 impossible to make them flourish ordinarily well. 



The best time to make fresh plantations is the present, just 

 as, or immediately before, the leaves fall, and the best canes to 

 plant are those from a healthy stock of medium size, and which 

 can be easily pulled up. If they require digging-up they 

 generally have not that sufficiency of bristling surface roots 

 necessary to their speedy re-estabhshment : therefore, those 

 which can be easily pulled up are invariably the best. After 

 planting, a good surface-dressing of manure should be given 

 to exclude frost and afford a gentle stimulant by its virtues 

 being carried down by rains. It is very essential that the 



fibres round the collar of the plant be kept fresh. If dried 

 and shrivelled by needless exposure, or a want of care in 

 packing, at the outset a check is given which should be spe- 

 cially guarded against. This drying of the roots is a primary 

 cause of failure in many things, and especially Raspberries 

 and Asparagus. 



The mode of planting depends on the form of training, and 

 this hi a great measure must be regulated according to circum- 

 stances. Where stakes are abundant they will probably be 

 utilised, and assuming this, the canes should be planted in 

 clumps of three, 4 feet apart, and 5 to 6 feet from row to row. 



1 have always found it best in the long run to sacrifice the 

 little fruit that might be produced the first year by cutting 

 down the canes to within a foot of the ground. This insures 

 a plentiful supply of young growth, which will bear in the 

 following year, and the plantation is well established. If a 

 little fruit is required the first year, one of the canes may be 

 left at 3 or 4 feet long, and the others shortened. Better, 

 however, than stakes is the hedge-system of training, and when 

 100 yards of galvanised wire can be bought for half-a-erown 

 the cost is not ruinous. Three rows of wire, or even two rows 

 stretched horizontally and supported by stakes, will be all that 

 is really necessary ; but a proper trellis with iron standards 

 is certainly preferable on account of its durability, and a well- 

 established and properly managed plantation of Raspberries 

 will almost last as long as the trellis. The rows should not 

 be less than 6 feet apart. Plant the canes a foot from each 

 other, and if, when established, every alternate cane be left its 

 full (ripened) length of 4 to 5 feet, and the rest shortened to 



2 to 3 feet, a fine hedge of fruit will be the result. 

 Shortening at different lengths is always advisable as equal- 

 ising the fruit. I have often found in hot seasons the best 

 fruit on the shortest canes by the foliage above intercepting 

 the burning rays of the sun ; and this year I found the 

 highest blossom most injured by the spring frosts. If -in the 

 spring any newly-planted canes refuse to grow they may be 

 replaced by growing suckers ; these, if taken up when 6 inches 

 high, will be found bristling with young rootlets, and if planted 

 on a rainy day will grow admirably — almost as well as if they 

 had not been removed. 



I have seen so much evil result from deeply digging-in ma- 

 nure and digging-up the roots, that I do not hesitate to brand 

 the practice as pernicious and unnatural. The roots will come 

 up to the surface fast enough without being helped up with the 

 spade or fork. I have seen dried roots raked off the surface 

 in spring by barrowloads, but never without a feeling of grief 

 at the thoughtless and merciless mutilation. A very striking 

 instance of the fallacy of deep digging amongst Raspberries 

 came under my notice a few years ago. Quantities of manure 

 were every year dug into the plantation in the vain hope of 

 making it profitable. In the spring the dead upturned fibre 

 raked up was a direct consequence, and the crop invariably a 

 miserable one. At length a new bed was decided on, the old 

 one being adjudged wom-out, and it might just take its chance 

 until the new one came into bearing. "When left to " take 

 their chance," the old canes commenced bearing fruit, and 

 although under condemnation, continued to bear' profitably 

 for many years. Infinitely better than digging-in a quantity 

 of manure in the winter is stirring-up the soddened ground 

 with a steel fork, and then covering the surface with 2 or 



3 inches of good manure. If the appearance is objected to, a 

 barrowload of soil will go a long way in putting the manure 

 out of sight. This practice will protect the surface roots from 

 frost in winter and drought in summer, and will, I have no 

 doubt, keep a plantation in bearing for half a century, and 

 perhaps double that time, due care in other respects being also 

 given. My poor old grandmother gathered fruit from a bed of 

 Raspberries for seventy years : she found them there and left 

 them there — tolerable proof of their longevity. 



We may learn one useful lesson from this fruit in its native 

 state. Its home is in woods where it takes care of itself, and 

 bears freely. This tells us that many vaeant places beneath 

 the shade of trees may be turned to account. Nothing will 

 grow under trees so well as Raspberries. One of the most 

 profitable plots of ground that I am acquainted with is an 

 orchard of Apples and Pears, with an undergrowth of Rasp- 

 berries. The hoe is the only cultivator used. In the winter 

 the dead canes are broken to the ground, and in spring the 

 surplus young shoots are chopped out, leaving the fruiters 

 from 2 to 3 feet apart all over the ground irregularly. No 

 stakes or other supports are used, and the only manure is 

 falling leaves from above and decayed vegetation. They have 



