1914. 
THE RURAL NKW-YOKKER 
<93 7 
THE NEW BERRY CULTURE. 
Part III. 
For the busy farmer who wants a 
home supply of berries, and yet knows 
that he is likely to neglect them in the 
rush of other work, I would recommend 
that he plant one row each 100 feet long 
of the three kinds of cane berries, culti¬ 
vate a crop of something between them 
the first year, then fix them up nicely 
early in the Spring, before the busy sea¬ 
son, and mulch heavily with straw, 
marsh hay or any rough material, put¬ 
ting it on heavily enough to smother 
down the weeds. The cultivating would 
then be done for the year, and some one 
could surely find time to take out the 
surplus canes. A patch of this size 
should produce fresh ripe berries for the 
family table every day for two months, 
and an abundant supply for canning. 
It is a different thing to try to recom¬ 
mend varieties as those which prove best 
in one locality may take second or third 
place in another. The Cuthbert red 
raspberry is an exception to the rule; 
unlike others it seems to succeed well al¬ 
most anywhere that red raspberries may 
be grown, and I consider it the best for 
general purposes. The Snyder black¬ 
berry is considered the hardiest of all, 
and is an upright grower, being more 
easily handled than most varieties. It 
ripens the entire crop in a few days, 
which is sometimes objectionable. Most 
writers recommend taking out the old 
canes as soon as the crop is harvested. 
If disease is present this may be best, 
but we do not take them out until Win¬ 
ter or Spring because it is very difficult 
to find time until our marketing is done. 
The new growth whips around worse in 
the wind where the old canes are re¬ 
moved, and we consider that thorough 
cultivation is of more importance to the 
vigor of the new growth than the re¬ 
moval of the old canes at this time. We 
also think that our berries are less liable 
to disease than those weakened by lack 
of cultivation, even when the bearing 
canes are promptly removed because the 
more vigorous a plant the more resistant 
to disease. Another objection we meet 
in our method of pruning or rather of 
not pruning but we have tested several 
ways of pruning and the result has in¬ 
variably been a diminished yield. 
I have met a number of men who re¬ 
fuse to believe the statement that red 
raspberries will produce more berries 
from one hill of six straight canes five or 
six feet high without any branches than 
the same hill would produce if the canes 
had been pinched back at three feet and 
made to brauch. But not one of them 
had ever tested it. The fewer branches 
we get on any of the cane berries the bet¬ 
ter and yet we must not cut them all 
off. There is a vast difference between 
a cane that has grown without branches 
Carrier For Berry Baskets. Fig. 172. 
and one with the branches removed. 
I'age 346 shows the blackberries as they 
grew with the proper number of canes 
left in the hills. Fig. 171 the same hills 
after being tied. The cross shows where 
they were tied. Very little trimming was 
needed here, just a few branches clipped 
out where too thick after they were tied. 
Some varieties branch more and conse¬ 
quently require more thinning. Page 346 
shows the red raspberries as they should 
be, when ready for the next crop. Here 
the tying is done by looping the string 
around the cane and the wire, in a half 
hitch, going from one cane to the next, 
sometimes for rods, without breaking the 
string. A hard knot should be made 
about every two feet, so that, should the 
string bo broken, only a few canes will 
be loosened. 
When the canes are irregular in size 
the short strings are used the same as 
in the blackberries. Fig. 172 shows one 
of our carriers, made of two pieces of 
half-inch boards and some plastering 
lath. The pickers set the baskets in dou¬ 
ble, then when full the top ones are 
lifted out and placed on the lower board 
so they can bring in eight quarts each 
time. Some of the larger pickers like to 
have the lower board wide enough to 
hold two rows of baskets. The pruning 
hook shown is one of the best tools I 
use. It is made from an eight-inch file 
and a broom handle, and cost 10 cents. 
The hook to cut easily must be V-shape, 
not round and the blade should be sharp 
nearly to the handle. The shuttle A can 
be cut from a thin piece of wood in a 
few minutes with a keen penknife and we 
can work much faster with it. It is 
about eight inches long by 1*4 inch wide. 
The string is thrown over the center pin, 
brought through the notch at the bottom, 
then over the pin from the opposite side, 
alternating from side to side, and with 
a little practice may be wound full of 
string very quickly. One of the great 
difficulties in following this system is 
that many allow too much bush to grow 
and then cannot bear to cut out the big 
strong canes. In that case I would cut 
out all I could, and then hire a man to 
cut out half of what was left while I 
went to call on my neighbors. 
Pennsylvania. b. v. Egbert. 
SUCCESS WITH AN OIL TRACTOR. 
I have used tractors for plowing for 
three years. The soil is semi-gumbo, 
much covered with “rip-gut” and swamp 
smartweed. Roots of the latter were 
three-quarters inch through and as - many 
as 13 to the foot. It was killing on four 
horses weighing 2,050 pounds each, to 
pull a 14-inch bottom. I first tried steam 
tractors. They did not pay. They re¬ 
quired a man to steer, one to fire and one 
on plows (three 16-inch bottoms) and 
a man and team to haul water, which 
was required every mile and took time 
to get aboard. Then a gasoline tractor 
which was an improvement and made 
better time, but finally bought an oil 
tractor, 27 horse-power and find it the 
thing to do the work. We use it to plow, 
disk, reap, mow, thrash, bale, run sil¬ 
age machine and saw. Plowing, two 
men are necessary for perfect work. 
When it is filled with 20 gallons coal oil 
at eight and one-third cents per gallon, 
and 20 gallons water and one gallon 
lubricating oil we are ready for a steady 
go till 6 p. m., when two more men 
come out, having had their supper, with 
team, wagon and one barrel water 
and one barrel oil and a lunch 
for midnight; light an acetylene head¬ 
light and plow until G a. m., when 
the day crew comes on. Thus we plow 
23 out of a possible 24 hours when the 
land is just in right condition, and get 
crops in at seasonable times. Three 
plows in wild grass and six in stubble, 
plow about 12 to 24 acres daily. For 
seeding oats on corn ground it pulls three 
disks heavily loaded and two loaded tooth 
harrows on fast gear. It lessens number 
of horses kept one-half. 
The steering apparatus has no chains 
to tighten, then loosen and tighten the 
other one, but is a simple screw that the 
front wheels obey instantly. Two table¬ 
spoonfuls of gasoline starts you. Pull 
the levers and your feed bill stops until 
you want to work again. It eats only 
when at work. It plows better than any 
horses can and at a more regular gait, 
forms furrows 10 inches deep, 16 inches 
wide. Wait until ground is in condition, 
thus securing better seed bed and better 
crop. j. E . M. 
Elmer, Mo. 
Marcella, who had been gazing out 
of the window, suddenly began to laugh 
hysterically. ‘ What in the world is the 
matter, child?” asked her mother. 
“When I finished my carpet rug,” Mar¬ 
cella explained, “I folded it across my 
lap and carried it that way down the 
street to show it to Rosemary.” “Well, 
what of it?” “That was only three days 
gasped Marcella, with a renewed 
outburst of merriment, “and now nearly 
every girl in the block is wearing a car¬ 
pet rug muff.”—Judge. 
He’s Big All Over 
And Good All Through 
Big Ben is built for endless service. 
He has no "off-days,” no shut-downs. 
His four years of existence have been 
one long record of on-the-dot accu¬ 
racy. 20,000 jewelers say that he does 
more efficient work for less pay 
than any other clock alive. 
A Big Ben battalion, over 3,000 
strong, leaves La Salle, Illinois, every 
day. Their sparkling triple nickel- 
plated coats of implement steel; their 
dominating seven-inch height; their 
big, bold, black, easy-to-read figures 
and hands; their big, easy-to-wind 
keys—all make Big Ben the world’s 
master clock. 
In return for one little drop of oil, 
he’ll work for you a full year. 
From "Boots on” to "Lights out’—365 
times—he’ll guarantee to tell you the 
time o’day with on-the-dot accuracy. 
He’ll guarantee to get you up either 
of TWO WAYS—with one long, 
steady, five-minute ring if you need 
a good big call, or on the installment 
plan , with short rings one-half min¬ 
ute apart for ten minutes, so you’ll 
wake up gradually, and he’ll stop 
short in the middle of a tap during 
either call if you want to shut him 
off. 
Big Ben is a mighty pleasant look¬ 
ing fellow. His big, open, honest face 
and his gentle tick-tick have earned 
him a place in thousands of parlors. 
He wins friends everywhere. 
The next time you go to town call at 
your jeweler’s and ask to see Big Ben. 
If your dealer hasn’t got him, send 
a money order for $2.50 to his makers 
— Westclox, La Salle, Illinois —and 
he’ll come to you prepaid. 1206) 
SURECUREFOR 
in oat». Guaranteed. 
Simple to treat. Sent 
direct on trial where we have no agent. Free Booklet. 
Wanted Sporicide Chemical Co., at n*?. ta 
Farmers'LimeClubs 
obtain lime at whole¬ 
sale prices. We’ll 
tell you how to form 
a club. Write for 
particulars. (We ship Lime from 100 Mills) 
CALEDONIA CHEMICAL COMPANY Caledonia. New York 
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Address. 
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