216 THE BRAMBLES 



.Winter Protection. — The brambles require some winter 

 protection in the northern and central western States which 

 are subject to cold drying winds. Although some of the 

 brambles, particularly the blackberries, can withstand very 

 cold weather, some protection is usually advisable. The 

 plants are first taken from their trellis or support and laid 

 on the ground. It is then a relatively easy matter to cover 

 up the canes with soil. If the soil is not sufficient to thor- 

 oughly protect the plants, hay, straw or coarse manure can 

 be added later in the winter. As soon as the cold weather 

 is over the materials are removed and the plants fastened 

 to the ' supports. The strawy material which has been 

 removed will form a mulch for the ground during the growing 

 season and in this way will serve two purposes. A mulch 

 is of great value in retarding the evaporation of water from 

 the soil. It also has the advantage of keeping the weed 

 down and, to a limited extent, of preventing a rank growth 

 of suckers. Where the plants are mulched the material 

 should not be removed from the canes until all danger of 

 severe weather is past. 



Harvesting. — The fruit of the brambles is usually hand- 

 picked. This method of harvesting is necessary because 

 of the soft nature of the fruit. The keeping qualities of 

 the fruit of any variety depends largely upon the care 

 exercised in the picking and the handling. If the berries are 

 bruised or injured in any way the fruit is quickly destroyed 

 by moulds. 



The time for picking the fruit depends upon the season of 

 maturity and the variety. Some varieties may be picked 

 soon after the berries turn black, while others color up 

 before they are ripe. The berries should not be picked 

 until they- become sweet, but should still be firm enough to 

 market well. 



The fruit of the brambles is marketed in either pint or quart 

 boxes, like that of the strawberry. Perhaps the shallow 

 pint boxes are preferable to the quarts because the weight 

 of the berries is sometimes sufficient to mash the lower 

 ones. The boxes are packed in crates which vary in size 

 from 16 to 24 boxes to the crate. 



