884 
dewberry does not sucker as freely as the 
blackberry, neither does it root as readily 
from root-cuttings. 
Preparation of Land for Planting 
In an irrigated section the first step in 
the preparation of land for any crop is 
proper leveling; low spots where water 
settles or high spots difficult to irrigate 
materially cut down the dewberry yield. 
Best stands are secured when the ground 
has been deeply plowed, well worked down 
and pulverized; no doubt fall preparation 
is advisable for spring setting. 
Planting 
The majority of our dewberry beds are 
from spring settings but many of our ex- 
perienced growers seem to be of the opin- 
ion that fall setting would prove as satis- 
factory and would bring quicker returns. 
I see no reason for not setting in the 
fall, the plants would necessarily be quite 
tender the first winter but could be well 
protected and should suffer no injury. 
Planting in the fall should be done in 
early September and spring planting as 
soon as the ground can be worked. As 
to distances for planting there is still 
some dispute, but, if the plants are to be 
allowed to grow prostrate, setting 5x5 feet 
seems to be the most satisfactory system. 
They can be pruned accordingly and cul- 
tivated either way. If grown on a wire 
trellis, rows six feet apart with plants 
three feet in the row would no doubt be 
a better system. When planted in the 
young orchard, the distance can be made 
such as to best utilize the space. There is 
no particular objection to planting dew- 
berries in the young orchard but the 
grower is to be cautioned about crowding 
the trees and advised that in most cases 
it is not-a crop for the old orchard. 
For planting, the ground is furrowed 
out one way and cross-marked. The 
plants are dropped in the furrow at its 
intersection with the cross-mark, and par- 
tially covered with the foot. The furrow 
is turned back, the plants straightened up, 
the soil firmed about them, and the job of 
setting is completed by running water 
down the row. As with any other plant, 
the top should be cut back at setting time 
to offset the loss of roots in digging. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
Cultivation 
The cultivation of the dewberry patch 
should not be unlike that for any other 
bush fruit. It should be well cultivated 
in the early part of the season to keep 
down the weeds and conserve the mois- 
ture. Cultivation stops at the opening of 
the picking season and is resumed again 
at its close, continuing until the end of 
the growing season. Since deep cultiva- 
tion which disturbs or breaks the roots 
tends to start objectionable plants in the 
middles, the early cultivations and possibly 
the later ones should be rather shallow. 
If the plants are allowed to run for the 
purpose of being trained on a trellis, cul- 
tivation must be in one direction; when 
checked equal distance each way the gen- 
eral plan is to keep the middles open only 
one way. While it may be possible to 
overgrow the plants by continual cultiva- 
tion, it is better to counteract this by 
withholding water rather than by discon- 
tinuing cultivation. Good cultivation is 
no doubt conducive to vigorous, but not 
necessarily to rampant growth. 
Irrigation 
There are really no tricks in irrigating 
dewberries. The ground should be kept 
moist and in good condition during the 
early part of the growing season. The 
young plants will stand a good deal of 
water the first season. During the picking 
season it is the common practice to water 
after each picking, just a light surface 
watering. This supplies the roots with 
the needed moisture to swell the berries 
to good size and by keeping the surface 
of the ground moist the berries ripen 
better, there is less loss from the drying 
of the fruit. It would be a good plan, no 
doubt, to try to induce early maturity of 
the canes by withholding water after the 
close of the picking season. In localities 
where the winter snowfall is not great the 
dewberry patch should be given a late fall 
irrigation. 
Fertilizing 
The grower of dewberries cannot ex- 
pect that the plants will continue bearing 
good annual crops without fertilization. 
If properly cared for, there seems to be 
almost no limit to the duration of the 
