SELF-EVAPORATED RASPBERRIES. 
The Glorious Climate of Idaho. 
Rocky Mountains, and only in favored localities here, 
since the dews and rains would ruin the ripened 
fruit before it could dry sufficiently to harvest. We 
In our study of the changes which are taking place have no rain and little dew in July and August.” 
in American farming we take two extremes of the 
country this week. The Hope Farm man carries ui 
to Connecticut, and here we are on the Pacific slope. 
On page 963 we described a raspberry farm in Idaho. 
The statements were so remarkable that we have 
asked Mr. M. B. Sherman to tell us more about it. 
The picture on this page, Fig. 564, shows how the 
fruiting canes are bent over and fastened down with 
wires. We can see how the new growth for next 
year’s fruiting is growing straight up. As we stated 
in the former article, the berries dry upon the vines 
in the dry, pure air of Idaho. When fully dry the 
vines are cut and the berries knocked off and cleaned 
by running through a form of thrashing machine. 
All this seems incredible to raspberry growers who 
live in humid regions, where the crop must be picked 
by hand and dried in an evaporator. Yet after some 
investigation we believe the facts are as stated, and 
offer them—not because 
these methods can be 
generally adopted, but 
because they show us all 
how farming is devel¬ 
oping. As the result of 
hard study and careful 
experiment men every¬ 
where are learning to 
adapt their methods and 
their crops to local con¬ 
ditions. In every section 
there is some crop lhat 
will pay better than oth¬ 
ers. Successful farming 
means—finding that crop 
and working it hard. Mr. 
Sherman's letter fol¬ 
lows : 
“Your readers who 
have never experienced 
the climate in this very 
arid region will find it 
hard to believe my story, 
yet this method is entire¬ 
ly practical, and is well 
understood by everybody 
here. It is an enterprise 
which affords a magnifi¬ 
cent opportunity for some man of means and energy, 
yet it is now lagging for want of support even by 
those who have absolute faith in it, the same as the 
steamboat, the locomotive, the automobile and many 
other valuable discoveries did many years, and which 
at last became world-famous. 
“In trellising the bushes down we press them as close 
to the ground as possible, and secure them there as 
nearly as can be done by stretching a light wire over 
them and securing it to stakes set 20 feet apart. They 
naturally recoil somewhat, however, so that but few 
of the bushes lie on the ground. I would prefer that 
they would lie prone on the ground for convenience 
in harvesting. The berries do not become soiled, as 
the fruit spurs grow upward, and so hold the fruit 
above the soil, and for the most part above the re¬ 
clining branches and leaves, presenting a very inter¬ 
esting spectacle when the fruiting is heavy. I plant 
the bushes close together, so that the reclining vines 
shade the ground completely, thus choking out the 
weeds. I cultivate on one side of the row as needed 
through the season, which is all that is necessary in 
this climate. I must advise you however, that mv 
method would not be practical anywhere east of the 
M. B. SHERMAN. 
THE HOE AS A PLOW. 
Much has been written about the hoe. Poets, 
orators, scientists and others have had a pen or a 
tongue at it, and “the man with the hoe” has swung 
his tool and represented the change from pasture to 
high-pressure farming. There is a difference in hoes: 
In the highest type of culture it becomes a light, 
sharp implement designed for a quick jerk or scrape, 
and not for striking a hard blow. The man who 
knows how to handle such a hoe at just the right time 
can do great execution with it. The other extreme 
is found in the hoes shown at Fig. 566, This scene 
was pictured in South Africa, and shows the Kaffirs 
at work cultivating or chopping corn. The heavy hoe 
shown weighs over 30 pounds, while the one held up 
weighs 2'/> pounds. These heavy tools are mostly 
SELF-EVAPORATFD RASPBERRIES AS GROWN IN IDAHO. Fig. 564. 
made in England, about $42,000 worth being sent to 
South Africa last year. With such a farm weapon 
in his hand a stout man will damage the face of the 
earth more than a one-mule plow. We have seen 
negroes in the South chopping out cotton with hoes 
weighing 10 pounds or more. The other day, within 
15 miles of the New York City flail we saw an 
Italian breaking up a piece of sod with a tool much 
like, those shown in the picture. He drove it in six 
to eight inches deep, and with a quick jerk turned 
the soil over. We prefer other tools for the heavy 
work, and a light hoe for a quick scrape and jerk. 
MAKING ORCHARDS ON ROUGH LAND. 
The article in a recent issue on “Precision in Lay¬ 
ing Out an Orchard” called to mind what I have 
seen of that sort in Oregon. In the little valley of 
Hood River, 66 miles east of Portland, world famous 
for its apples, the rolling lands (which because of 
perfect drainage are most prized for orchard culture) 
are very difficult to plant accurately by any of the 
older methods. They do it accurately, but have to 
call in the surveyor’s help to get the result. I re¬ 
member one six-acre field that was done in this way. 
There was a good-sized barn in the middle. The start 
was made with one side of the field, for a base line, 
the government marks being regarded, not the fence. 
Several transit lines were laid out, and every tree 
interval chained off, 26 feet each, the steel tape being 
' held level and the plumb bob dropped every time 
under the eye of the man at the instrument. At each 
prick of the soil by the bob a stick two feet by. y 2 inch 
was placed and /‘plumbed” before left. Then the"*filling 
in was done across these lines, without the instrument. 
1 he men worked around the barn in this way from both 
sides. When the connecting 26-foot interval was 
chained I was on the spot and saw.it done. The dif- 
■ ■» « * 
ference between the 26 feet of the chain and the dis¬ 
tance between the sticks was not over a quarter of an 
inch. This six-acre field varied in level between its 
highest and lowest points more than 100 feet. 
The sticks used for marking the tree points are 
simply lath ripped lengthwise and then sawed in two. 
When the trees are planted with the old roots mostly 
left on, a 1-inch board four feet long is used. A hole 
is bored through each end and a V-shaped notch is 
made fron^ the middle 
of one side to the center 
of the board. The board 
is laid on the ground 
with the stick at the 
apex of the notch. The 
stick is withdrawn, bro¬ 
ken in two, and half 
pushed into the ground 
through each of the 
holes at the ends of the 
board. This being done 
a hole is dug, three feet 
across and 18 inches 
deep, the board replaced 
over the sticks, and the 
tree set with its stem in 
the notch. 
Being on the general 
topic of northwestern 
.fruit, may I attempt to 
correct a certain misap¬ 
prehension that appears 
to exist somewhat gen¬ 
erally among eastern 
growers regarding the 
apples there? They are 
good apples, no doubt of 
that, and the growers 
make the very most of them possible by leaving no 
trouble untaken to have the fruit perfect in develop¬ 
ment and in pack. Some varieties are inferior in 
flavor to the same varieties in other localities, others 
superior; that is a matter of locality everywhere. 
But in Flood River Valley, in Oregon, White Salmon 
Valley in Washington, and in one or two other smaller 
valleys in that vicinity, the volcanic ash soil, the 
climate, or something not well understood, gives the 
apples a peculiarly thick, tough, skin, so much so that 
most varieties are almost never eaten without peeling. 
This tough skin gives shipping and keeping qualities 
in a degree found nowhere else. I lived in Hood 
River Valley several years, developed an orchard 
there to bearing age, and believe this to be the kernel 
of the whole matter, and the chief reason why we 
hear so much about Oregon apples. 
Sanford, Florida. f. w. b. 
R. N.-Y.—The influence of climate and soil on 
apples, and indeed on many other fruits, is being 
realized by orchardists everywhere. Variations in 
color are especially marked. Every fruit grower must 
study this point, and not decide to grow any variety 
merely because some one else gets good results from it 
