BLACKBERRY 
from the ground and another at the top 
of the posts, and to the ends of these 
arms staple heavy wires, thus forming 
firm lateral supports for the canes 
“The four-wire trellis with the addition 
of notched cross pieces to lay on the 
lower wires makes an excellent support 
for the ‘Viny Growers,’ the purpose being 
to suspend the growing canes by means 
of small cloth strings under the upper 
wires for the first year and at pruning 
time lower them to rest on the notched 
pieces on the lower wires for their fruit- 
ing period. This makes an easy system 
to work and keeps the growing and fruit- 
ing canes separate, thereby simplifying 
the picking” 
Pruning 
The pruning of the blackberry is a 
simple matter, if only a few rules are 
observed. 
The first is to keep the tops cut back, 
or pinched back to the proper height, 
during the growing season while they 
are young and tender. This allows the 
plant to grow stocky, and to mature bet- 
ter fruit than if the strength of the plant 
had been allowed to produce more wood 
growth The second is to remove the old 
canes in winter or spring 
some varieties of plants will grow on 
good soils from 10 to 20 feet in height. 
This makes the picking of the fruit im- 
possible. These should be cut back dur- 
ing the growing season. Others tend to 
grow shaggy and bushy. In such a case 
it might be found advisable to train them 
to grow taller. 
In very cold climates the pruning 
should be done in the autumn, the plants 
laid down and given a covering of straw 
or earth to prevent freezing, but where 
this is done, berries are grown mostly 
for home use, as it does not pay to grow 
fruits for the general markets in com- 
petition with those sections where the 
conditions are more favorable and the 
fruit can be produced with less labor. 
Picking and Marketing 
For long shipments the berries should 
be picked as soon as colored. However, 
it must be borne in mind that blackber- 
647 
ries color before thev are ripe enough to 
have a pleasant taste It is regrettable 
that so many varieties of fruits, in order 
to reach the markets in good condition, 
must be picked before they are ripe, but 
in many cases this is true. However, by 
the use of refrigerator cars, pre-cooling 
methods and rapid transit, the fruit may 
be left to ripen, unless intended for long 
distance shipment 
After picking, the berries should not be 
allowed to stand in the sun because, if 
thus exposed, they develop a bitter taste. 
Perhaps the most convenient package 
for blackberries, strawberries or any kind 
of small fruit, is the strawberry box. It 
is a size to which the public is accus- 
tomed and which manufacturers are pre- 
pared for making without readjusting 
their machinery. 
Drying Blackberries 
The drying of blackberries has been 
strongly recommended by a great many 
persons. The experience of some per- 
sons leads to the conclusion that it pays, 
while others are of a contrary opinion. 
Card, in his “Bush Fruits,” gives it as 
his opinion that it does not pay. His 
reasons are, that the blackberry by eva- 
poration loses much of its flavor. Then, 
too, it comes into competition with the 
fresh berries, grown in the South and 
shipped into Northern markets. These 
berries from the South are not considered 
equal in flavor to the berries grown in 
the North, yet they are so far superior to 
the Northern berry dried that they prac- 
tically destroy the demand for the dried 
product. In our experience, the competi- 
tion with the canned product is formid- 
able, and we should not, therefore, at- 
tempt to dry blackberries for the general 
market unless under conditions where 
canning was impracticable. However, 
there are markets for dried fruits. We 
may take as an illustration, Alaska, 
where the costs of shipment are high, and 
where all fruits are scarce. 
The profits in berries are all the way 
from $100 per acre to $500 net, depending 
on the man, the varieties, and the cir: 
cumstances under which grown and mar- 
keted. 
