The Colorado Raspberry Industry. 
9 
sired distance in the row from each other and place some dirt around 
the roots of each to keep them from drying out. The rest of the dirt 
can be plowed back with one horse. Irrigation should follow as soon 
as the plants are set in order to keep them from drying out. If culti¬ 
vation is to be done both ways it would be well to set the plants in 
check rows. This would lighten the expense of cultivation especially 
for large areas. 
CULTIVATION AND IRRIGATION. 
In those localities where covering is necessary for winter pro¬ 
tection there is less need perhaps for an annual plowing as this is done 
in the fall when covering and in the spring when uncovering. This 
keeps the soil from forming a hard pan four or five inches below the 
surface as is often found when only clean cultivation is used. A good 
rule to follow during the summer is to cultivate after each irrigation 
except during the fruiting season. This will not only prevent the 
ground from baking but will often take the place of irrigation. Dur¬ 
ing the fruiting season it is necessary to irrigate some soils almost 
every other day; for others twice a week is plenty. It is probable that 
if careful irrigation and cultivation were used during the growing 
season, it would not be necessary to irrigate so often during the fruit¬ 
ing season. Over irrigation has a tendency to soften the fruit. In 
running the water between the rows it is not a good plan to have the 
irrigation furrows too near the plants, as it is hard to cultivate the 
furrows in when they are too close. 
• There, is a dispute as to whether the plantation should be irri¬ 
gated and cultivated up to the last of the growing season or whether 
it is better to allow irrigation and cultivation to cease about the first 
of August, thus giving the plants a chance to ripen. It is thought that 
this latter practice is the better. Irrigation can be done the latter 
part of October or the first part of November. This will enable the 
plantation to be more easily covered with soil. This late irrigation 
is also beneficial in keeping the soil moist during the winter. 
Cultivation is quite necessary during the growing season to keep 
down weeds and perhaps more important to keep down suckers in 
those varieties that are inclined to throw up a great many shoots. 
Square teeth are used on the cultivator in the place of the round ones 
in order to cut the shoots off just below the ground. These square 
teeth can be made by any blacksmith and are one of the best imple¬ 
ments to use to keep down suckers. It cannot be emphasized too 
much that irrigation cannot take the place of cultivation. But on 
the other hand, it is often possible for cultivation to take the place 
of irrigation with good results. Frequent hoeing during the season 
up to the fruiting period is necessary especially where the plants are 
