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April 20, 
338 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
close to the ground together with the old canes. 1 he 
proper length of the pruned laterals will range from 
several inches to over a foot, averaging 8 or 10 inches; 
the proper length of each depending on the vigor of 
the cane and the position of the lateral. 1 he first ob¬ 
ject is to prune the plant so it will be self-supporting, 
and the second to secure the maximum amount of fruit. 
It] may seem as if this order should be reversed, but 
that is a mistake, for the first can be secured without 
serious detriment to the second. 1 hus laterals that 
run straight acros- the middles, blocking the way and 
endangering the strength of the cane when loaded with 
fruit, must be cut quite short; but this may usually 
be made up by leaving inner or more upright laterals 
longer in proportion. Occasionally from some accident 
during the growing season, all or nearly all of the new 
canes of a plant will lean right across the middle. In 
such a case there is nothing to do but to cut them off 
at such a point that they will not interfere with culti¬ 
vation. If six or eight inches of the stem can be saved 
they will bear a considerable amount of fruit. Properly 
pruned you will have a row of stout, bushy canes about 
2 Y 2 feet high and two feet wide. The work is not as 
difficult as might be supposed. Equipped with good 
shears and a pair of heavy leather gloves, I find it very 
interesting. 
PRUNING RED RASPBERRIES.—This is a much 
simpler matter. With these Summer pruning is not 
advisable. It is sometimes recommended; but finding 
that they are comparatively thornless and grow upright, 
thus not interfering much with picking and cultivation, 
and that when clipped they throw out only one or two 
laterals and resume their former shape, we see we 
would waste our work and weaken the plant without 
adequate returns. Numerous young shoots will come 
up from the roots between the rows. These should be 
kept down with cultivator and hoe, and the rows kept 
as narrow as possible. 1 he Winter pruning consists 
in removing the old canes and thinning the new canes 
to stand about five of the best to each distance of two 
feet, then topping these at a self-supporting height, 
according to the strength of the cane; usually from 
2 l / 2 to three feet. The great trouble with red raspber¬ 
ries as they are usually grown, is that they are left en¬ 
tirely too thick. The canes that are retained for the 
crop should be selected to stand as nearly in line as 
possible, so that the row may be kept very narrow by 
horse implement or hoe. As to the proper time for 
Winter pruning, I have pruned under nearly all con¬ 
ditions of weather, and at all seasons from the time 
the leaves are 0 °" in the Fall until active growth began 
in the Spring, and I have never detected any differ¬ 
ence that could be ascribed to time of pruning, so I 
think it advisable within that long period to prune 
whenever you have time. 
STARTING A PLANTATION.—The success of a 
new raspberry plantation depends so much on the han¬ 
dling and the quality of the plants that where many 
are to be planted if one does not have plants of lus 
own, and they must be shipped from a distance, it is 
a safe plan to purchase a comparatively small quantity 
of the varieties desired, and postpone the main plant¬ 
ing a year or two until the proper number of plants 
can be grown. The chief advantage is to be sure of 
your plants; but there is also an advantage in cost, as 
the growing of plants interferes but little with the 
fruiting value of the original planting, none at all in 
the blacks and not seriously in the reds. In the reds 
keep a sharp lookout against stock affected with root- 
gall. The blacks are propagated from tips and the reds 
usually from sucker plants, which are allowed to grow 
between the rows for the purpose. These may also be 
propagated from root-cuttings. Raspberries are early 
starters, and should be planted as early in the Spring 
as possible. Unless the soil is too heavy, the plants 
may be dug and stored, ready for planting, as soon as 
the frost is cut of the ground. Tn light soils the blacks, 
if taken just as the frost is out. can be pulled much 
faster than they can be dug. 1 he reds can sometimes 
be pulled in the same way, though there is some loss by- 
tearing from the root. To store, dig a deep, narrow 
trench, not wider than necessary to admit spade or 
shovel used in digging. In this the plants may be 
stored, either bunched or loose, without any danger of 
heating. In fact, when covered with old sacks or 
straw, and these covered with a layer of earth to 
exclude the air, and over all a layer of straw or fodder 
to keep out the heat of the sun, the plants will remain 
dormant longer than when left in the field. They can 
be conveniently and safely removed from the trench 
with a manure fork. The stems of the reds should be 
reduced to a length of 8 or 10 inches. This may be 
rapidly done, taking them by handfuls and cutting them 
off with a hatchet when the plants are dug. Great 
care should be exercised at all times to keep the fibrous 
roots from becoming dry. 
SOIL REQUIREMENTS—A deep, rich loam is to 
be preferred; but any well-drained soil, suitable for 
farm crops, by proper fertilizing may be made to pro¬ 
duce good crops of berries. The most serious weed 
pests in the raspberry patch are the sod-forming 
grasses. When they get a hold among the canes it is 
impossible to eradicate them, and .some kinds grow and 
spread very rapidly in spite of the dense shade.'Hence 
it is well to select ground that was cultivated in some 
hoed crop at least once a year. For the same reason 
it is well to steer clear of barnyard manure, unless it 
/t GOOD SEEDLING APPLE 
A DESIRABLE SEEDLING APPLE. Fig. 151. 
has been well composted. On my soil, after the first 
year, I find it profitable to apply 1,000 pounds per acre 
annually of the same high-grade fertilizer 1 use on my 
truck crops, analyzing about four per cent nitrogen, 
eight per cent available phosphoric acid and 10 per cent 
potash. This is put on broadcast early in the Spring 
before the first cultivation. The first year about one- 
half this amount was used, well worked into the soil 
in and along the row before planting. 
A FERTILIZER CAUTION —Perhaps a word of 
caution will be in order here. A few years ago I plant- 
DINNER TIME FOR YOUNGSTERS. Fig. 152. 
ed an acre of dewberries and blackberries, using the 
usual amount of the usual grade of fertilizer, only that 
it had been mixed to my order with a larger proportion 
of nitrate of soda than usual. The whole planting was 
a failure, and I could assign no satisfactory cause. Now, 
nitrate of soda is the market gardener's pet means for 
booming the growth of nearly all his crops, and that 
very Summer I undertook by this means to boom my 
wife’s roses. Just after the application I read from re¬ 
liable authority that nitrate of soda was injurious to 
roses. I was interested. Those roses didn’t “boom" 
A BACKYARD IIEN FARM. Fig. 153. 
one bit. In fact, altough they were well established 
they nearly died, but finally recovered. Raspberries 
and blackberries are near relatives of roses. My wife 
has forgiven me for the sake of the valuable hint we 
believe the incident has given us. I am now of the 
opinion that ground bone and muriate or sulphate of 
potash would be safer. n. l hartman. 
Some lime ago 1 noticed an article in The R. N.-Y. 
stating that there was seldom found an apple that com¬ 
bined the three requisite qualities, viz: good color, good 
keeper and good flavor in the natural fruit. Last Fall 
I found an apple along a fence (a natural fruit) that 
struck me as coming near to filling the bill. 1 he ap¬ 
ples I send you to-day were frosted badly before I 
found them, and have gone off in flavor and texture 
some since last December, when they were in their 
prime. Judging by their flavor one would think them 
a cross between a Wagener and an Astrachan apple. I 
intend setting a few grafts from this variety this Spring 
and see what comes of them. d. c. hine. 
Tompkins Co.. N. Y. 
R. N.-Y—The apple is shown in Fig. 151. As tested 
the last week in March, the flesh was crisp and juicy, 
flavor pleasant sub-acid, rather perfumed in flavor; 
somewhat like Wagener, but with a suggestion of Mc¬ 
Intosh in color and texture of flesh. 
WhA T AILS THE SHEEP ? 
Wliat ails my sheep? They seem slow in going to and 
from pasture, breathe with some difficulty, something like 
a "heavey" horse; have some discharge at the nose, with 
sort of a cough. Some one has recommended a teaspoonful 
of gasoline in a pint of milk, which I have tried, but it 
seemed to do little good. Also. Is it a good idea to allow 
sheep on pasture when ground and grass is frozen? Sheep 
seem to do well on it during the Winter, hut I have heard 
It was not good for them. tv. o. s. 
Indiana. 
It is somewhat difficult to tell just what is the trouble 
with your sheep from the symptoms given, as several 
things might produce them. 1 he gasoline treatment is 
for intestinal worms, and you will need two or three dif¬ 
ferent doses at least to completely rid the sheep of them 
The lung worms will often cause the sheep to cough. 
Part the wool, and if the skin looks blue (not pink), that 
is another indication of worms. In that case repeat the 
gasoline treatment, always giving it on an empty stom¬ 
ach. Keep salt before the sheep at all times, and sprin¬ 
kle it liberally with turpentine. It may be only a cold 
brought on by exposure of some sort. Keep the sheep 
out of the wet, in a dry, well-ventilated stable. Give 
them plenty of nourishing food, such as oats, bran and 
clover hay, and a gill of oil meal daily. Some roots 
will be excellent. Even a few potatoes, if you have no 
other succulence. Then smear their noses with tar; this 
is always good for a cold, and in no case can it do any 
harm. If the gasoline is given, use a tablespoonful in¬ 
stead of a teaspoonful. Be very careful not to raise the 
sheep’s head too high in giving the dose, as it may 
strangle them. I have never had any difficulty in this 
respect, but many have. A friend of mine recommends 
a tablespoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia be given 
if sheep show symptoms of being seriously affected by 
the gasoline. I have never tried it, but he has had a 
large experience both at home and on the ranges in the 
West. The frozen grass is certainly not good for sheep 
It contains but little nutriment, irritates the bowels and 
is very indigestible. There is a taste about it which 
they rather like, and so fill themselves with it, leaving 
no room for real food. Filling an animal and feeding 
it are often quite different. E - van alstvne. 
SWEET CLOVER, MELIL0TUS ALBA. 
This plant has interested me for several years In 
this vicinity are large patches of it, and I have been 
studying it in its growth, its nitrogen content and its 
bacteria. In places along railroad fills of slag cinder, 
banks of gravel, dumping grounds around limestone 
quarries and in excavations where it would be thought 
there could be no fertility, and in almost any place 
where seed had lodgedUexcept on sour clay. I have 
seen it growing as thriftily as any other plant on the 
most favorable soil; and in many of these places the 
ground was so poor that not another green thing ap¬ 
peared. In most of these places the growth was very 
heavy, much of it six feet tall. I would guess that in 
such places it would yield three or four tons per acre 
of the dried plant. In nitrogen content I find that it 
stands with Alfalfa and the vetches. I discover that 
it not only furnishes a rich field for bees, but that 
horses are fond of its leaves and branches. I have 
wondered why we could not make a green manure 
crop of it. Doubtless we would be compelled to plow 
it in long before it. reached its full' growth. It seems 
to me that there are great possibilities in it 
In the Summer of 1905 I made this test: Taking the 
hint from Prof. Hopkins, after sowing my fourth field 
of Alfalfa, I sowed a strip a rod wide across the center 
of the field with soil taken from a Sweet clover patch, 
at the rate of 400 or 500 pounds per acre. This strip 
was a fair sample of the rest of the field, which was 
not inoculated. 'Last Summer I cut more than twice 
the hay from this strip that came from a similar area 
on either side of it, and far more nodules were found 
on the roots. It looks very much as though its bac¬ 
teria were identical with those of Alfalfa, as Prof 
Hopkins claims. If that be a fact, then a good prepa¬ 
ration for an Alfalfa crop would be the production of 
a Sweet clover crop, plowing it in during the Fall and 
sowing Alfalfa the next Spring If any have experi¬ 
mented with this plant there are a whole lot of us who 
would like to hear from them. And if you have not, 
why don’t you? L A. thayer. 
Pennsylvania. 
