RASPBERRIES. 



359 



branches would take up very little room, and then would produce 

 some splendid fruit. With regard to manuring, he had found the 

 most successful plan to be to manure in the autumn, and prune 

 through the winter. After that, manure was again dug-in as 

 soon as the first crop of the green berries was taken off. The 

 trees being thus thinned out and manured were enabled to carry 

 a fine crop of ripe berries, and to go on bearing year by year 

 without losing their vitality. 



In reference to Raspberries, he thought " there was a field for 

 white varieties, and that it was possible, in the course of time, 

 to get a white Raspberry of a different race, and of a very 

 much larger size, than that which they had obtained at the 

 present moment. Autumn Raspberries were well worth growing. 

 The yellow one was at present the best flavoured. 



As to Currants, they should strive for longer bunches and 

 larger berries, and to get longer bunches the present sorts might 

 be crossed with the Reine Victoria ; but in the way of Currants 

 they seemed to have reached almost the utmost limit — it was 

 only a matter of cultivation. In Black Currants a very important 

 thing was to get early leafage to protect the fruit, as on Whit- 

 Sunday last the frost was so severe as to annihilate the crop. 



Speaking of Strawberries, he said they still wanted late 

 Strawberries of the British Queen flavour, and he entirely agreed 

 with Mr. Allan that for early fruit the plants ought to be culti- 

 vated on the one year's system, which might save at least a week 

 or ten days. The Waterloo was a very good fruit, but it lacked 

 flavour, and if it could be got with the Queen flavour it would 

 be much more appreciated. All Strawberries should have strong 

 foliage. Dr. Hogg was the best fruit of all, and President the 

 next best for general purposes, and in them they had very good 

 parents from which to work. Of course these desirable results 

 could not be brought about in a minute, and they could only 

 expect to go on step by step till they got what they required. 



There were, he said, many other fruits which could be dis- 

 cussed, such as the Cranberry, the Mulberry, and the Bilberry, 

 which would make a welcome change, but these could be dealt 

 with on another occasion. 



