30fi 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



June, 1910 



Keep the ground stirred around the roots and pull 

 out weeds regularly 



wires or trellises in growing raspberries, but 

 I find such adjuncts unnecessary and they 

 certainly are a considerable expense. As a 

 practical grower I will not use any such 

 contrivances; and the amateur need not 

 either, if he follows the methods of cultiva- 

 tion described below. 



THE RED RASPBERRIES 



Whether for home consumption in the 

 garden or for market in the field, I follow 

 the same method. Though a sandy loam is 

 best, red raspberries may be successfully 

 grown on a variety of soils. The rows are 

 marked four feet apart with a fine and a 

 good furrow turned. The plants are set 

 about eight inches apart in the rows. Plant 

 in the spring, wetting the roots before set- 

 ting out. Fall planting is also possible. 

 If you have a number of roots to put out, 

 make all the furrows ready and taking a 

 bunch of plants on your left arm and stand- 

 ing with one foot on each side of the row, 

 place a plant in the bottom of the furrow, 

 bringing the soil up on each side with the 

 foot, covering it about two or three inches. 

 The rest of the furrow is to be filled up with 

 the cultivator. 



Allow only two plants to grow from each 

 root. When the new plants are a foot high nip 

 off an inch or two of the tip, and side branches 

 will grow by fall. You will then develop a 

 strong stocky bush capable of producing 

 a large' amount of fruit the following year. 



Constant thorough cultivation all the 

 first year, hoeing and pulling out the surplus 

 plants, is the sum total of the subsequent care 

 needed as long as the patch is kept. Usually 

 it is not profitable to run the patch more 

 than three years, so in the meantime a new 

 patch should be prepared to take the place 

 of the old one and keep up the supply of 

 fruit. Some gardeners will keep the old plants 

 year after year, giving a modified yield, but 

 why not get the best by exercising a little fore- 

 thought and planning ahead for a new bed ? 



As to varieties, my selections are Cuthbert 

 and King. King is the earliest red rasp- 

 berry that I have ever fruited and the most 

 prolific. It has the hardiest cane and the 

 berry is good size and of good quality. Its 

 faults are that it makes altogether too many 

 canes which means a large amount of work 



in keeping them down so as to get fruit 

 instead of wood. It also drops quickly from 

 the bush when ripe. Cuthbert is a late 

 berry and the standard for large size and 

 fine quality. It does not have the vigor that 

 it was formerly noted for, and the canes 

 seem to rust, especially in New England ; but 

 there are some places where it seems to grow 

 vigorously now and the fruit is nice. 



THE BLACKCAPS 



Prepare the soil exactly as you would for 

 any other hoed crop — potatoes or corn, 

 and preferably give a dressing of some 

 established brand of fertilizer to ensure 

 richness. Black raspberries want a heavy, 

 clay loam; but in the home garden where a 

 small quantity only is grown any soil may be 

 made to answer, as the surface can be 

 mulched during the fruiting season if the 

 land is dry. 



Plant in the spring as soon as the ground 

 can be worked easily ; never in the fall. If 

 in the garden, set them in holes about five 

 inches deep, covering the sprout about two 



Prune the canes early in the year. Thin out 

 the shoots of red berries. Cut back the ends of 

 blackcaps 



or three inches, leaving the levelling up to be 

 done at subsequent hoeings. If setting in 

 the field, furrow the rows with a horse and 

 plow, going twice in a row and making them 

 six feet apart; in the garden four feet apart 

 will do for the rows. In either case set the 

 plants about two feet apart. The one thing 

 to aim for now is the production of a well 

 branched plant to fruit the following year. 

 When the plants have reached a height of 

 fifteen to eighteen inches, nip off with the 

 thumb and finger an inch or two of the tip. 

 This will cause laterals or side branches to 

 start out and these laterals will be the fruit- 

 ing wood of the next year. 



The plants need no other attention until 

 the canes have reached the ground, the ends 

 are beginning to curl slightly, and take on 

 a purplish look. This will be in August. 

 The canes will root at these tips, and these 

 should be pressed down to encourage root- 

 ing to secure new plants for next year's 

 fruiting. The sooner this is done after they 

 are ready the stronger the plants that you 

 will get. Use a trowel or hoe and make a 



hole two or three inches deep and insert the 

 end of the branch into the hole and press the 

 soil firmly around it. In a short time this 

 tip will send out roots and by the next spring 

 the plant will be well rooted. 



I advise fruiting the black raspberry once 

 only and then digging up, setting a new patch 

 each year. It is the only way to be sure of 

 getting nice berries every year. Therefore, 

 be sure to "tip" as many canes as you wish 

 plants to set out the next spring. 



The next spring after setting (which will 

 be the fruiting year) prune the canes early 

 in the spring, cutting off the ends of the 

 branches, but leaving all the fruiting wood 

 possible. Of the branches that are rooted 

 cut them so that there will be about a foot 

 of the old cane left to handle them by when 

 you dig and set them out in the new bed. 



As to the productiveness of the blackcaps: I 

 have gathered at one picking from ioo canes set 

 the previous year over fifty quarts, but this is 

 unusual. I generally average from eighty to 

 one hundred bushels per acre, which makes 

 them a profitable crop to grow commercially, 

 and for the home garden there is no ques- 

 tion but what everyone who likes them, as 

 they need but little care, should grow them. 



The best known and most popular varieties 

 are the Kansas, Cumberland, and Plum 

 Farmer. I have grown them all, and am 

 now growing the last named exclusively. 



Kansas is an early round berry, quite 

 vigorous and healthy; the quality is good 

 and the berries are large at the first pickings. 

 But it does not hold its own in size at the 

 end of the season. It is a dependable variety 

 and is much grown, both for market and 

 home use. Cumberland is from a week to 

 ten days later. Somewhat elongated in form 

 and larger than Kansas, but it will not yield 

 as much fruit as the Kansas, nor is the cane 

 as hardy. A very attractive berry and the 

 quality all that can be desired. 



The Plum Farmer is of the Kansas type 

 but a much more vigorous grower and the 

 fruit is larger and thicker meated. Most 

 productive. It has no faults that I have 

 discovered as yet. The quality is about the 

 same as Kansas. Anyone will get good results 

 from either of the above varieties. 



Pick rasperries when fully ripe, handling carefully 

 and only while they are dry 



