1086 



PBAGTIGAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS baspbeery 



The stems or ' canes ' of the Baspberry 

 live only two years, attaming a height of 

 5-7 ft. when full grown. The first year 

 they shoot up from the creeping root- 

 stock, but bear neither flowers nor fruit. 

 As a rule each compound leaf on the first 

 year's canes is divided into 5 leaflets, but 

 the second year, when they bear flowers 

 and fruits, each leaf consists of only 3 

 leaflets — as if the food required for the 

 extra two leaflets the first year were 

 utilised for the production of fruit the 

 second year instead. 



Soil. — Baspberries will grow in 

 ordinary good garden soil, but prefer one 

 somewhat similar to but rather lighter 

 than that recommended for Strawberries 

 (p. 1089). An open sunny situation, 

 sheltered from bleak cold winds, suits 

 them best, but they also grow well in 

 partial shade during parts of the day, 

 between rows of fruit trees, if not too 

 close together. 



Planting. — The best time to plant 

 Baspberries is at the end of October and 

 during November, but not later if the best 

 results are required. A distance of 4-5 

 ft. each way should separate the plants 

 or ' stools,' but they are often placed much 

 nearer in rows, and without any apparent 

 ill effects if the canes are properly thinned 

 out every year. After planting it is 

 always advisable to place a mulch of short 

 litter or dead leaves around the plants, not 

 only as a protection against the winter, 

 but also as a fertilising agent for the 

 soil. 



Pruning. — This is a very simple 

 matter with Baspberries. It simply 

 consists in cutting dovra to the ground 

 in early summer the canes which have 

 borne fruit; thinning out the young or 

 current year's canes so as to leave about 

 4 or 6 to each clump ; and in late autumn 

 or early spring cutting the tops of these, 

 leaving the fruiting canes 3 to 4 ft. long. 

 This is the treatment given to established 

 plants. In the case of newly planted 

 canes, it is better as a rule to defer pruning 

 until early spring. The canes may then 

 be cut down to within three or four inches of 

 the ground. This will induce the develop- 

 ment of strong but non-fruiting canes 

 during the season. Those not required 

 for producing fruit the following season 

 may be cut out, as advised above, and in 

 autumn those left are cut back aS' with 

 established plants. 



Propagation. — The most usual method 



FIG. 159. — RASP- 

 BERRY. 



of increasing Baspberries is by means of 



the suckers which shoot 



up in abundance from the 



creeping roots beneath 



the surface of the soil — 



sometimes close to the 



main clump, sometimes 



at a distance from it, 



according zo the natrnre 



of the variety grown. The 



suckers are detached by 



means of a sharp spade, 



or a ' suckering ' iron, and 



are planted out as advised 



above. Baspberries may 



also be raised from seeds, 



much in the same way 



as Strawberries, but as 



the great majority of the 



seedlings usually bear 



inferior fruit to their 

 parents, and do not come 

 into bearing until the 

 third season, it is scarcely 

 worth the amateur's while 

 increasing his stock in 

 this way. 



Cuttings of the current 

 year's wood may also be 

 inserted in the open ground 

 about the end of October, in the same way 

 as recommended for Gooseberries, Cva- 

 rants, Roses &c. Each cutting should be 

 9-12 in. long, and be well ripened. It 

 should be inserted in the soil about half 

 its length, and have the soil firmly pressed 

 round it. A fair percentage will root, and 

 a fair percentage will not, so that Basp- 

 berries from cuttings cannot be regarded 

 as any advantage in comparison with those 

 from suckers, except when anyparticularly 

 fine variety is increased by both methods. 

 Training. — Raspberry canes are sup- 

 ported in various ways to prevent them 

 from being blown about too much by the 

 wind, and also to expose them freely to the 

 light and air. At the autumn pruning the 

 tops of the canes of each clump may be 

 tied together with a piece of string or 

 bast. They may also be tied to wire trel- 

 lises, each stem standing erect and free 

 from its neighbour ; or some of the stems 

 of one clump may be arched over each 

 way and tied to the stems of another 

 clump. 



General Cultivation. — Owing to the 

 creeping nature of Baspberry roots, and 

 their close proximity to the surface of 

 the soil, digging or deeply forking the 



