Spur Bright of the Red Raspberry 
9 
abundant leaves are to be seen coming out; in Fig 2, the row on 
the right was covered with straw and soil, that on the left with 
soil; the former shows numerous bare, dead canes, and a few live 
ones with scattering leaves, the latter, vigorous canes with many 
leaves. 
That the air had a much freer access to the canes which were 
covered with straw is evident from two facts: First, a large pro¬ 
portion of the canes were killed, and second, the young shoots or 
suckers were six to eight inches high, while those that were covered 
with soil were just coming through the ground, a fact which would 
seem to indicate that the former had gotten an early start, due to 
a freer circulation of warm air. The former were more numerous 
and more stalky than the latter; the same was true of the new 
growth from the hushes which were left entirely uncovered, but to 
a less extent. 
Fig. 3 shows the vigorous young shoots coming from the 
straw covered bushes, and Fig. 4 those arising from the roots of 
the soil-covered canes. The old canes in Fig. 3, straw-covered, but 
naked and dead, stand out in sharp contrast to the leafy, thrifty 
ones in Fig. 4 which were covered with soil. The experience of 
the most successful growers, together with the results of our ex¬ 
periments, point clearly to soil alone as the most satisfactory method 
of protection during the winter months. A light covering, just 
enough to exclude the air, possibly two inches over the root ends, 
is adequate. 
TIME TO TAKE UP CANES. 
Just when to take the berries up in the spring is always a prob¬ 
lem, not because we do not know what practice is best to follow, 
but because we do not know what weather conditions to expect. 
On the one hand, if the spring is going to be late, cold and dry, 
little harm will result if the canes are left buried until after the first 
of May: on the other hand, if it is warm and wet, nothing could be 
more disastrous than to allow them to remain covered until this late 
date. The danger from uncovering and taking them up too early 
results from subsequent late freezes during the first part of May. 
The fruit spurs are usually well advanced by this time, and the new 
canes are six to eight inches in height. If the bushes are left cov¬ 
ered until late and the weather is warm, with considerable moisture, 
the canes throw out long, spindling white shoots which wilt and 
shrivel as soon as they come into contact with the air and sunshine, 
particularly if there is a little wind blowing; this, of course, means 
that the canes must grow a second set of fruit spores, which, at 
their best, are inferior to the first. While there is some difference 
