THE BLACKBERRV ANt) DEWBEkRV. 



357 



cords in late fall, and let the canes lie on the ground for win- 

 ter protection. Tie up again in the spring. 



Covering Blackberries.— The following mode of cover- 

 ing is described in The Country Gen- 

 tleman, by Amos Fish, of Bethlehem, 

 N. Y. , and is adapted to cold regions : 

 " At the approach of winter re- 

 move the stakes and lay the bushes 

 at right angles from the rows, fiat 

 on the ground, and cover them two 

 or three inches deep with earth, as 

 follows: Cut off the limbs within 

 one and a half inches of the canes, 

 at the right and left hand sides of the 

 row, making flat bushes. 'Shorten 

 in' the remaining limbs by cutting 

 off the slender ends; then, with a 

 digging or dung fork, loosen the 

 earth .about the roots, and remove 

 some, laying the roots loose on one 

 side, so that in laying down the roots 

 shall be bent instead of the canes 

 being broken. When laid down use bricks to hold them 

 down while covering, and remove the bricks when in the 

 way. The bushes should be raised up and the stakes re- 

 placed as early in the spring as the frost is out of the 

 ground, which can be easily done with a fork if the rows are 

 laid down singly instead of lapping over one another." 



Fig. 489. — Ancient Briton 

 Blackberry. (Sec Index.) 



Blackberry Varieties. 



Agawam. Medium to large, round-oblong, bright black, juicy, 

 sweet; flavor excellent. Canes, generally stout, sometimes 

 drooping. Productive, hardy, suckers freely. Season early. 



Ancient Briton.* Large, oblong to oval, sweet, verj' good. Mid- 

 season, ripening with Snyder. Bush a sturdy grower, hardy and 

 one of the most productive. A standard variety in many places, 

 particularly in the middle West. Fig. 489. Wisconsin. 



Dorchester. Rather large, oblong (sometimes an inch and a fourth 

 long) , nearly sweet, color shining black. It bears carriage well. 

 Vigorous, productive, ripening at the North the first of August. 

 Fig. 490. Massachusetts. The first cultivated variety. 



