Spur Blight op the Red Raspberry i i 
of opinion concerning the wisdom of early or late uncovering, the 
most successful growers are agreed that the former procedure is 
the safer practice. 
The method adopted consists in plowing away the soil from 
the sides of the row early in April, and in gradually removing the 
soil from the top so as to admit air and sunshine. In this way, 
the young growth becomes accustomed to the new conditions grad¬ 
ually, and is hardened off before it is completely exposed; at the 
same time, the canes have an opportunity to dry off, and if severe 
cold weather does follow, they will be in a more resistant condi¬ 
tion than if saturated with water. The canes may be left in this 
semi-covered condition for eight to ten days, or even longer, if cold 
weather prevails, without doing them any injury. With this pre¬ 
liminary hardening, they should be ready to take up by the middle 
of April, and should be able to withstand rather wide ranges of 
temperature. 
POOR CULTIVATION. 
Another factor which has undoubtedly played a part in the re¬ 
duced yield of many plantations is insufficient and improper culti¬ 
vation. We have depended too much upon irrigation, and not 
enough upon cultivation to maintain the proper moisture content of 
the soil. The result has been that the soil in the raspberry row has 
become puddled, hard, and so tightly compacted that it is prac¬ 
tically impossible for the irrigating water to penetrate and reach 
the roots. Without sufficient moisture, the plants are unable to ob¬ 
tain the necessary mineral food from the soil, and starvation is the 
result. Furthermore, the roots must have air for the growth and 
development of the bushes, and with the soil packed so firmly 
around them, proper aeration of the root system is impossible. 
In place of planting in drills or rows, a hill system would be 
more desirable’ since cross-cultivation would then be possible, and 
it would be a relatively simple matter to break up the hard ridges 
between the hills. Where planting has been carried out in rows, 
much good can be accomplished by tearing up the hard soil between 
the bushes with a grubbing-axe or mattock several times during the 
season. 
AGE OF PLANTATIONS. 
Experience has shown that although given the best of care, 
raspberry bushes begin to deteriorate quite rapidly after the planta¬ 
tion has reached the age of twelve to fifteen years. Even where 
thorough cultivation and systematic manuring have been practiced 
faithfully, we find that the old roots lack the vitality necessary to 
