More an d 



Planting the Cane and Bush 

 Fruits 



I THINK one is more easily reconciled to do 

 without fresh strawberries if he can, when 

 they are gone, begin eating raspberries, currants 

 and gooseberries that have been well grown and 

 left on the canes or bushes until fully ripe. Rasp- 

 berries, I think are regarded by most people as 

 the best of the small fruits that immediately follow 

 the strawberry. 



It should be understood that one class of rasp- 

 berries is propagated by layering the tips of the canes, 

 and to this class belong the black and purple 

 berries. The other class is propagated by sucker 

 plants that grow from the roots. Those which 

 we call "black caps," or the tip varieties, are 

 usually a little earlier than the red or yellow, or 

 sucker varieties, and among the best of these for 

 the table are Gregg and Kansas. The Columbian 

 is the best of the purple. Though not of high 

 quality, it is liked by some people and is desirable 

 for canning. The best of the hardy red rasp- 

 berries are the June (from the New York Experi- 

 ment Station) and Cuthbert. Plant some yellow 

 Golden Queen which is superior in quality to most 

 of the hardy raspberries, and is excellent for serving 

 mixed with Cuthberts. 



The best blackberries are the Eldorado and 

 Rathbun. Among the best currants for the family 

 garden are Perfection and Wilder (red); and the 

 White Imperial. The best gooseberries are Down- 

 ing, Pearl and Keepsake. These varieties are 

 for Southeastern New York. 



Save time and insure good results by starting a 

 propagating bed in which to grow plants for plant- 

 ing elsewhere. Of course, if one has no berries at 

 all it may be well to set a few plants where they 

 will quickly furnish fruit. The soil in the propagat- 

 ing bed should be rich and mellow; set the rasp- 

 berry and blackberry plants in it two by six feet 

 apart. Currants and gooseberries generally live 

 and grow under adverse conditions; you can do 

 as you please about propagating these (which is 

 done by planting cuttings). They will grow in any 

 soil rich enough to produce a large crop of corn. 

 If I wanted ideal conditions, I would fit the land 

 for growing a good crop of clover, sow barley on it 

 in the spring as a nurse crop to seed clover with, 

 and so grow a clover sod in which to plant 

 my fruits. 



When my plants and soil were ready, I would 

 prepare the plant bed right now by thorough plow- 

 ing and harrowing, then furrow it four feet apart 

 for currants, six feet for blackcaps, seven for the 

 red, yellow, and purple varieties, and nine feet for 

 blackberries. In order to mellow the soil, and 

 make a furrow just right for planting I attach a 



Showing the supports for growing raspberry and 

 blackberry plants. If substantial they last for years 



Plums and cherries planted between rows of cane 

 fruits is economical of room for the small place 



furrower to the rear of my twelve-tooth horse gar- 

 den cultivator, and gauge it so that it runs about 

 six inches deep. A small plow also does very well 

 to make the furrow. When all is ready I dig only 

 last year's canes, pruning them so that each one 

 is about a foot long and has a good sized piece of 

 root attached to it. It is well not to shake off all 

 the soil, and if the sun shines keep the plants 

 covered when they are being handled. Black- 

 berry roots, if so cut that there is a good eye on each 

 piece of root, will usually grow if just dropped into 

 the soil, covered two or three inches deep, and the 

 soil well firmed; but I prefer to plant a piece of 

 root that has sprouted. 



Raspberries should be planted a little deeper 

 than they originally grew, and two or three feet 

 apart in the furrow. Blackberries will fill in well 

 if planted four to six feet apart in the rows, while 

 two feet apart in the row is sufficient for currants 

 and gooseberries. When a row is planted walk 

 over it and firm the soil close around the plant with 

 the feet. With a space of six feet or more between 

 the rows of plants, a cultivated crop, as potatoes, 

 can be grown in the rows between the plants the 

 first year. With cultivator and hoe, the plot should 

 be kept free of weeds the first year. The growth 

 of canes will be so small no pruning will be needed 

 until the second year. 



The second year, in the early summer, thin the 

 sucker varieties of raspberries to an average dis- 

 tance of one foot apart in the rows. If you wish 

 to propagate plants keep one row, or part of a row 

 without being thinned. If the variety has proved 

 hardy, grow each cane in the tree form by pinching 

 off the tip when four feet high, and shortening the 

 laterals or arms later in the season. If this plan 

 is practiced a support will be needed. A good one 

 is made by nailing arms on posts, and attaching 

 wire to their ends so that they support a row of 

 canes on either side. A little fruit can be gathered 

 the second year, a good crop the third year, and 



176 



every year thereafter as long as the canes are well 

 cared for. 



If there is any doubt about the canes being hardy, 

 or the supports are not used, it is better not to thin 

 the plants so much nor shorten the canes. They 

 can then be bent over in the fall and covered. If 

 not supported they will stand up better if grown 

 in narrow hedge rows. 



The currants and gooseberries can be trained to 

 tree form and much are more ornamental. Whether 

 they grow in the tree or bush form makes little 

 difference as to quality and size of fruit, if they are 

 kept well pruned. Currants and gooseberries 

 need no supports. 



Do not make the soil too rich in nitrogen if you 

 wish strong hardy canes; the canes will be more 

 hardy on an elevation than on low rich lands. 

 Blackberries will be benefited by more thinning and 

 pruning than raspberries, and black cap rasp- 

 berries need less than the red and purple kinds. 

 The variety and growth, however, must determine 

 the pruning. 



It is very important to remove the old canes 

 at once when a crop is harvested, for then the new 

 canes will grow much faster, harden up more and 

 be in better shape for winter. When the old canes 

 are taken out the new ones should be pruned, but 

 the thinning should be done earlier or at the time 

 of the first cultivation, the last of May or the first 

 of June. 



The most successful growers of cane fruits culti- 

 vate with horse and cultivator frequently all sum- 

 mer, and keep all weeds cut out with the hoe until 

 July, or just before the berries begin to ripen. 

 They then place a mulch of strawy manure between 

 the rows to retain moisture, and to furnish the 

 fertility needed the following year. An occasional 

 light dressing of stable manure, supplemented with 

 ground South Carolina phosphate rock and potash 

 will keep the soil in good condition for cane 

 fruits. 



The only disease that is liable to injure cane 

 fruits is orange rust, and the remedy fs to pull out 

 and burn all infected plants. The worms that 

 infest bush fruits are quickly destroyed with Paris 

 green, using one teaspoonful to about twelve 

 quarts of water. Apply with a sprinkling pot as 

 soon as the worms make their appearance, which 

 is usually just after the leaves appear. Do it 

 again just before the fruit ripens. The rain and 

 dews will wash off what little of the mixture may 

 be adhering to the fruit, so that there will be ne 

 danger in using it. 



New York. W. H. Jenkins. 



Leave cane and bush fruit on the plants to fully 

 ripen. Pick fresh for each meal 



