104 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



October, 1912 





The larger current is Perfection. Both plants grown 

 under the same conditions 



yield results in that ratio. The common 

 method of spreading manure on the ground 

 and then digging it in is a rather poor one, 

 as the manure dries out and loses a good 

 part of its value. And furthermore, the 

 manure does not always get covered with 

 as much soil as it should. A better method 

 is to always keep an open trench about one 

 foot wide in front of you, putting the man- 

 ure in the bottom of each succeeding trench 

 as you work along; the manure being at the 

 bottom serves as an attraction for the roots 

 to grow downward rather than sideways, 

 which does not leave them so subject to 

 droughts, winter killing, etc. Plowing is, 

 often resorted to in preference to digging 

 but most gardens have either turf, box- 

 wood or flower borders to embellish them, 

 which makes plowing rather tedious and in 

 some cases more expensive than digging 

 because of the after repairs which it neces- 

 sitates. When there is an abundance of 

 room, however, and the ground can be 

 deeply tilled, it gives good results. Per- 

 sonally, however, I prefer digging. 



I always mulch my fruit borders in fall. 

 It helps to check winter killing and prevents 



English gooseDerry Red Jacket — the black spot 

 represents the exact size of a quarter dollar on the 

 same scale. Photographed June 14 



the soil from running down. I wouldn't 

 think of planting anything in the fall unless 

 I fully intended to mulch it. Use about 

 three inches of good manure on the beds and 

 don't put it on until the ground is partially 

 frozen. This tends to keep an even 

 condition of the soil throughout the 

 winter. 



The most popular of the small fruits is 

 the raspberry. It is capable of giving 

 better returns for the labor involved than 

 any other fruit. There is a wide range 

 in flavor and the different types mature at 

 different dates too, which prolongs their 

 season. 



There are three distinct types of rasp- 

 berry — the red, yellow and black. There 

 is also a purple, usually classed as a very 

 highly colored red. 



For open field work plant raspberries 

 about three feet apart, with four feet 

 between the rows, if you are going to cul- 

 tivate with a horse; but for garden work 

 save space by working them on a trellis 

 in which case two and a half feet between the 

 trellis and one and a half in the row will 

 suffice. When planting, always put the 

 canes about four inches deeper than they 

 were at the nursery. This encourages 

 deep rooting and also encourages sucker- 

 ing, a condition generally avoided but to be 

 encouraged with all the cane fruits. After 

 planting cut off the canes a few inches 

 above the ground to ensure strong canes 

 springing up from the roots, which are cap- 

 able of bearing first quality fruits. 



I know of no better red raspberry than 

 the Cuthbert, a variety by no means new, 

 but a good strong robust grower, not greatly 

 troubled by drought or disease. The ber- 

 ries are of good size and color and ripen 

 evenly, and the flavor is of the best. Sun- 

 scald, which is very troublesome to rasp- 

 berries in general, is less noticeable in 

 Cuthbert than in any other variety because 

 of the thick leathery foliage. However, 

 in rich, well prepared soil which encourages 

 deep rooting, sunscald is never trouble- 

 some. 



King is also a good red raspberry, not as 

 large as Cuthbert but a little earlier. These 

 two make a good combination in the reds. 

 With me Gregg is the best black cap; I 

 know that it will be hard to convince people 

 that Cumberland is not still the leader. 

 This variety has stood the test of time and 

 is still among the leaders; it is a little more 

 hardy than Gregg, but in my opinion the 

 latter excels in quality. A common mistake 

 is to pick the black cap too soon; the berries 

 leave the plant very readily when perfectly 

 ripe — in fact, they almost fall off — and 

 that is the proper time to gather them. 

 If they are not thoroughly mellow some 

 hard, unripened kernels will spoil the 

 quality. 



Golden Queen is the best yellow rasp- 

 berry. It has a very mild flavor being even 

 less acid than the red or black types. They 

 are said by some people to be the best 

 flavored of any of the raspberries and are 

 excellent for mixing with a few black or red 

 raspberries. 



The blackberry is anything but a popular 

 berry and this is because when it is not well 

 grown it is a seedy, insipid pulp. It should 

 be planted in a rich soil and treated the 

 same as raspberries. The best early vari- 

 eties are Wilson Early and Snyder, both 

 free bearers of fair sized fruit. The latter 

 is extremely hardy and is considered the 

 highest flavored of any of the blackberries. 

 For main crop, which I might say is nearer 

 gauged by hours than by weeks, the old 

 variety Rathkin still leads. Taylor is 

 a high flavored variety and Kittatiny 

 can be recommended for its extreme 

 hardiness. The best white blackberry is 

 Iceberg. With me, however, the canes 

 winterkill considerably and the fruit is far 

 below the standard in flavor. Perhaps my 

 soil is too light and sandy. 



In England currants and gooseberries 

 are highly esteemed as table fruits; here 

 they are rarely looked upon in that light, 

 simply because we do not grow them. 

 Select the lowest end of your garden as a 

 planting place for these two fruits, for they 

 demand a heavy soil and an abundance of 

 moisture. Currants should have plenty of 

 room — four feet apart each way is none 

 too much. After planting cut them back 

 hard but not to the ground as recommended 

 for the cane fruits. Leave enough wood 

 to ensure several good strong breaks. 



Prune the gooseberries after planting in 

 much the same way, only three feet apart 

 each way is sufficient for the plants. If I 

 were limited to one variety of currant I 

 should unhesitatingly select Perfection, 

 great large berries that ripen evenly right 

 to the tip. Fay's Prolific is a good berry 

 but the berries are not much more than 

 half the size of Perfection. Both these 

 varieties are red fruited. In the white 

 fruited varieties White Grape is the best. 

 White varieties are excellent for table use, 

 because of their extreme mildness. The 

 black currants are excellent for preserving. 

 Black Naples is the most prolific bearer 

 which point must be first considered when 

 growing fruits for this purpose. Champion 

 is a better fruited variety. 



If you want to grow "quality" goose- 

 berries try some of the English varieties. 

 They are perhaps a little more susceptible 

 to mildew but with proper spraying this 

 can be easily held in check. One of the 

 most delicious jams I have ever tasted was 

 made of gooseberries and raspberries. 

 Industry is the best gooseberry I know of 

 for quality, the fruit is extremely large, 

 red in color and covered with long soft 

 spines which is characteristic of the English 

 varieties and is also a trade mark of quality. 

 Crown Bob is also a good red variety, 

 Whitesmith is the best of the green or white- 

 fruited sorts. For table use the red fruited 

 sorts are by far the best. 



In the American varieties Downing is 

 the best — in fact, it so far outranks our 

 other varieties that there is no room for 

 comparison. This variety is a tremendous 

 bearer, the fruit is of good flavor, fair size, 

 and greenish white in color, but only about 

 half the size of the English varieties. 



