22 



If especially fine fruit is desired a good method of planting is to set the plants 

 about eight feet apart each way and keep them in hills. By this method cultivation 

 may be maintained boih ways, and the plants having a better opportunity to develop 

 will bear finer fruit. 



Good cultivation should be given the first year to get the plants well established 

 and to procure a strong growth early in the season. When the plants are eighteen 

 inches to two feet in height they should be pinched off to make them throw out side 

 shoots and thus keep them the better within bounds. AU canes except three or four of 

 the strongest should be cut out. The second year the new shoots made that season 

 should- be pinched back when between eighteen inches to two feet in height, and as 

 they will not all be the same height at the same time, it is necessary to go over the 

 plantation several times. It is im^portant to do this work in good time, as if done too 

 late the laterals will grow too late and be injured by winter. During the second 

 season five or six of the strongest oanes should be left, and all the rest should he 

 removed either during the summer or in the autumn. 



This practice is then followed every year, the canes which have borne fruit being 

 removed as soon after fruiting as it is convenient to do the work. Each spring the 

 laterals should be headed back considerably, the length of lateral to be left dei>ending 

 on the variety, as some kinds set fruit further out on laterals than others. Until the 

 fruiting habit of the varieties is knovsoi the laterals should not be headed back until 

 the flower buds show. The length of lateral to leave after pruning will vary con- 

 siderably, but there should not be more than two feet left. If it has not been possible 

 to pinch in summer, and no pinching is better than pinching too late, the bushes may 

 be headed back to three or four feet in height in spring, and the laterals headed in 

 as already described. 



The pinching back in summer tends to keep the bushes lower than they otherwise 

 would be, and they are thus more protected in winter, but they may be still more 

 protected by bending them over and covering the tips with soil to hold them in place, 

 although this is very unpleasant work, and it scarcely pays to do it if blackberries are 

 grown for sale. 



The conservation of moisture is very important in growing blackberries, and as 

 the fruit does not ripen until late in the summer, cultivation will be later than for 

 most fruits. It will be usually found best to continue cultivating until the berries 

 are almost ready to pick. 



A blackberry when it is perfectly ripe, is one of the finest fruits, but if picked 

 before it is ripe is quite unfit for use. Unfortunately some varieties become black 

 before they are fully ripe and are picked too soon, and frequently blackberries are 

 picked before they are well coloured, the result being that they reach the market in an 

 unripe condition, and it is not to be wondered at that those who try them in this 

 condition do not wish to use blackberries again. It would be in the best interests of 

 their business if fruit growers would pay more attention to this matter, and only ship 

 fruit which will be in good condition when it reaches the consumer. 



'A blackberry plantation is in full bearing the third season after planting, and 

 will continue profitable for a long time if well cared for, but it is usually best to 

 renew the plantation every eight or ten years. 



