7ht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
367 
Growing  Red  Raspberrres 
Part  I 
An  Important  Crop. — While  not  so 
widely  grown  as  strawberries  or  black 
raspberries,  I  believe  the  red  raspberry 
one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  bram¬ 
bles.  I  am  considering  now7,  of  course, 
only  berries  of  prime  condition  and  qual¬ 
ity.  It  is  a  fact  that  because  of  the 
greater  skill  necessary  and  the  greater 
drawbacks  by  way  of  insects  and  diseases 
encountered,  a  greater  percentage  of 
small  size,  poor  quality  red  raspberries 
has  been  produced  than  of  any  other  kind 
of  berry  grown.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  last  few7  years,  when  the  raspberry 
beetle  and  raspberry  mosaic  have  demor¬ 
alized  the  red-raspberry  growing  industry 
in  the  Lower  Hudson  River  Valley,  a 
section  w7here  the  largest  amount  of  high- 
quality  red  berries  was  produced  and 
where  it  was  considered  their  greatest  in¬ 
dustry.  This  section  was  made  so  beau¬ 
tiful  by  these  red  berry  plantings  that  a 
trip  through  it  was  indelibly  stamped 
upon  the  memory.  Raspberry  mosaic  is 
distributed  over  the  entire  United  States 
and  Canada.  It  attacks  wild  and  culti¬ 
vated,  red  and  purple  raspberries,  black¬ 
berries  and  may  eventually  spread  to  all 
brambles.  This  is  a  dark  picture,  the 
seriousness  of  which  has  appealed  to  our 
experiment  station.  During  the  past  year 
Dr.  Rankin,  who  had  already  made  a 
study  of  the  disease  in  Canada,  wras  called 
here  to  take  up  the  work.  While  admit¬ 
ting  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  he 
has  a  vei'y  hopeful  view  of  the  future.  1 
am  hoping  Dr.  Rankin  will  soon  feel  the 
development  of  his  plan  sufficient  to  war¬ 
rant  a  reassuring  statement  to  the  berry 
growers  of  the  State.  Being  a  red  berry 
grower  myself,  and  expecting  to  stick  to 
it,  I  cannot  say  I  approve  any  plan  which 
would  mean  giving  up.  I  cannot  feel  that 
the  Almighty  will  ever  allow  to  perish 
from  the  earth  so  wonderful  a  creation 
of  his  as  the  red  raspberry.  I  rather  ex¬ 
port  Him  to  endow  some  of  us  mortals 
with  sufficient  wisdom  to  overcome  this 
problem. 
Soil.  —  Although  red  raspberries  do 
fairly  Avell  on  many  soils,  and  in  many 
locations,  they  will  do  best  on  the  lighter, 
warmer,  well-drained  soils.  This  should 
not  be  taken  to  mean  they  will  not  be 
satisfactory  on  clay  soils.  They  can 
never  be  fully  satisfactory  on  wet,  heavy 
soils. 
Varieties. — There  are  a  number  of 
newer  and  more  desirable  varieties  re¬ 
cently  introduced,  many  of  which  have 
started  out  with  groat  promise  only  to  be 
soon  discarded  and  condemned  by  many 
growers.  I  believe  the  different  perform¬ 
ance  in  most  cases  due  to  disease  getting 
into  the  planting.  In  considering  varie¬ 
ties,  I  am  talking  about  healthy  plants  of 
each  variety  as  I  know  them  to  grow  and 
perform  when  healthy7.  The  Marlboro 
was,  when  first  introduced,  a  wonderful 
berry  for  its  time.  It  was,  however,  al¬ 
most  entirely  displaced  a  few  years  ago 
by  Perfection  and  later  Empire,  both  im¬ 
provements  on  Marlboro.  Later  these 
would,  under  normal  conditions,  probably 
have  been  partially,  if  not  entirely,  re¬ 
placed  by  June  and  Ontario,  because  just 
as  strong  or  stronger  in  growth,  as  pro¬ 
lific,  of  much  larger  size,  better  in  quality 
and  of  longer  picking  season.  All  these 
varieties  suffered  severely  soon  after  the 
last  three  were  introduced.  There  are 
also  the  Ruby,  King,  Marldon  and  some 
others,  none  of  which  ever  attained  much 
prominence  because  of  undesirable  color 
or  other  defect,  though  all  are  good  in 
some  respects. 
The  Later  Varieties. — The  Cuthbert 
was  for  many  years  the  standard  of  per¬ 
fection  in  a  later  berry,  and  is  still  so 
considered  by  many.  There  is  no  doubt 
today,  however,  that  two  varieties  at  least 
far  surpass  it,  Herbert  and  Donboro,  in 
healthy  production,  quality  ami  size.  The 
Herbert  is  a  little  soft  and  will  not  stand 
long  shipment.  The  Danboro,  while  one 
of  the  largest  aud  best  quality  berries 
grown,  is  also  one  of  the  best  shippers 
something  rarely  found  in  a  berry.  Our 
station  is  just  now  sending  out  three  new 
seedlings  for  trial,  one  half-blood  Cuthbert 
of  great  promise,  also  one  from  Minne¬ 
sota.  Beside  these  are  some  everbearing 
varieties,  of  which  Ranere  is  best  known, 
and  none  of  sufficient  commercial  promise 
in  New  York  State  hardly  to  merit  men¬ 
tion. 
Plants.- — Red  raspberries  are  propa¬ 
gated  from  suckers,  designated  as  soft  or 
hard  woods.  Suckers  soring  up  from  de¬ 
veloping  buds  along  underground  runners, 
and  differ  from  blackberry  suckers  in  that 
as  soon  as  the  sucker  pushes  through  it 
starts  development  of  a  perfect  root  sys¬ 
tem  of  its  own,  and  is  soon  feeding  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  parent  plant.  Probably 
not  more  than  10  per  cent  of  all  plants 
set  are  soft  woods,  i.  e.,  plants  taken  up 
as  soon  as  they  have  developed  sufficient 
root  system  to  sustain  them,  generally 
from  10  to  20  in.  high.  For  best  success 
with  soft  wood  plants  soil  should  bo  well 
prepared  and  transplanting  done  during 
a  wet  time.  A  hard  wood  plant  is  a  sucker 
rhat  has  been  allowed  to  remain,  reached 
full  development,  ripened  and  dropped  its 
leaves.  Many  times  light  plants  do  best. 
Th®re  is  always  danger,  however,  that 
light  plants  are  due  to  disease,  rather  than 
late  thick  stand.  The  principal  advan¬ 
tages  of  soft  woods  are  that,  you  can 
detect  signs  of  disease  on  the  foliage  and 
to  some  extent  avoid  it,  and  get  more 
fruit  the  first  season  after  planting.  Of 
hard  woods,  you  can  set  more  rapidly  and 
with  less  care,  and  generally  much  less 
expense,  and  any  time  before  ground 
freezes. 
Soil  Preparation.  —  Soil  preparation 
for  soft  wood  plants  must  be  most  thor¬ 
ough,  with  an  abundance  of  immediately 
available  plant  food.  With  hard  woods 
there  should  be  plenty  of  plant  food.  As 
to  preparation,  with  me  there  is  very  lit¬ 
tle.  I  have  planted  in  an  old  strawberry 
bed.  My-  method  is  to  throw  open  a  dead 
furrow  at  proper  intervals,  laj7  out  plants 
at  a  distance  I  want  to  plant,  get  in  fur¬ 
row,  pick  up  each  plant  as  I  walk  along, 
place  iu  center  of  furrow,  kick  in  some 
dirt  with  each  foot  and  step  on  it  and 
pass  on.  I  then  take  a  good-sized  one- 
horse  plow,  and  plow  three  times  around 
each  row.  I  cut  each  plant  to  about  18 
in.  and  cover,  if  possible,  the  plowed 
space  with  a  good  coat  of  stable  manure. 
Distances  op  Planting.— -The  dis¬ 
tance  of  planting,  especially  between 
rows,  must  depend  to  some  extent  on  the 
method  of  training  and  cultivation  to  he 
followed.  In  the  Lower  Hudson  Valley 
the  hill  system  is  used  to  a  great  extent, 
though  giving  way  somewhat  to  stake  and 
wire.  Where  the  hill  method  is  followed 
plants  are  set  mostly  5x5  ft.,  each  staked 
with  a  single  stake,  with  from  three  to  as 
high  as  eight  canes  tied  to  it  each  year, 
and  cultivated  both  ways.  This  is  varied, 
some  trying  to  crowd  as  close  as  4x4  ft., 
while  many  of  the  best  growers  use  6  ft. 
or  more  each  way.  The  finest  piece  I 
ever  saw  was  a  patch  of  red  berries  in 
Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  planted  5x5  ft., 
averaging  nearly  eight  canes  to  the  hill, 
nearly  8  ft.  in  height  and  3  ft.  in  diam¬ 
eter,  and  each  hill  appearing  almost  a 
solid  mound  of  berries  from  top  to  bottom, 
and  about  ready  to  be  picked.  Those 
were  Perfections  and  merited  the  name. 
I  believe  the  trend  is  toward  posts  and 
wire,  and  one-way  cultivation.  If  closely 
tied  and  well  eared  for,  one  may  get  good 
results  with  as  little  as  5  ft.  between 
rows.  Some,  however,  again  use  as  much 
as  8  ft.  between  rows  for  cultivation.  In 
other  parts  of  New  York  State  no  attempt 
at  tying  is  made;  they  grow  them  in 
rather  wide  hedges,  cultivating  between. 
From  tiiat  it  is  only  a  step  to  the  method 
followed  in  some  parts  of  the  Alps  and 
Helderburg  Mountains,  where  they  clear 
a  piece  of  ground,  manure  it,  plant  it, 
generally  to  Cuthbert  red  berry  plants, 
and  do  nothing  further  except  cut  out  old 
canes  and  pick  the  berries,  the  number 
and  size  of  which  is  sometimes  unbeliev¬ 
able.  In  any  kind  of  hedge,  whether  tied 
or  not,  the  distance  in  the  row  of  plant¬ 
ing  is  purely  one  of  choice;  some  prefer 
one  or  two  canes  every  foot  or  so,  others 
three  to  five  every  3  to  4  ft.  We  prefer 
posts  at  about  20  ft.,  and  three  wires 
with  two  canes  every  12  to  18  in.  This 
requires  a  maximum  of  expense  and  labor. 
I  like,  however,  to  aim  at  the  best. 
WILLIAM  HOTALING. 
Why  Does  the  J.  H.  Hale  Bear  Uncer¬ 
tainly? 
The  J.  H.  Hale  peach  is  still  a  storm 
of  controversy.  That  it  ships  better  than 
Elberta  is  commonly  accepted,  and  that 
it  is  perhaps  slightly  better  in  quality  is 
usually  maintained.  At  the  same  time  it 
is  recognized  that  the  tree  is  less  vigor¬ 
ous  than  Elberta,  tends  to  produce  too 
many  buds,  and  must  consequently  be 
thinned.  Moreover,  it  has  appeared  vari¬ 
able  in  different  localities,  producing  well 
in  some  orchards  and  poorly  in  others. 
At  a  recent  horticultural  gathering  this 
fact  was  emphasized  in  a  very  pointed 
manner  when  one  grower  from  the  floor 
of  the  assembly  asked  another  who  had 
stated  some  of  the  good  points  of  the  J. 
H.  Hale  peach,  “Yes,  but  do  you  ever 
get  any  fruit?”  The  reply  was  iu  the 
affirmative,  yet  the  questioner  shook  his 
head  in  a  puzzled  way.  That  is  the 
question  that  has  puzzled  many,  and  it 
is  to  Prof.  C.  II.  Connors  of  the  New 
Jersey  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
that  we  are  indebted  for  a  plausible  ex¬ 
planation. 
Prof.  Connors  has  found  that  there  is 
self-sterility  in  peaches,  just  as  we  know 
there  is  among  pears,  only  in  a  lesser 
degree.  It  has  always  been  thought  that 
peaches  were  self-fertile,  and  Prof.  Con¬ 
nors  shows  the  reason  for  this  belief, 
which  lies  in  the  fact  that  out  of  some 
hundred  commercial  varieties  examined, 
the  J.  H.  Hale  alone  evidences  the  poor 
pollen  development  found  in  that  variety. 
Upon  examination  it  was  noticed  that  the 
anthers  of  the  J.  II.  Hale  are  pale  in 
color,  and  that  they  bear  little  or  no  pol¬ 
len.  Trees  inclosed  in  tents  have  pro¬ 
duced  but  5  per  cent  normal  fruit. 
Noav  it  is  a  characteristic  of  this  va¬ 
riety  frequently  to  sot  a  number  of  so- 
called  “buttons.”  that  is,  small  fruits  that 
develop  normally  for  four  or  five  weeks 
after  blossoming  and  are  then  retarded 
in  growth.  They  ripen  somewhat  later 
than  the  normal  fruits,  are  usually  somo- 
Avhat  flattened  and  lacking  in  flavor,  and 
the  kernel  is  generally  abortive.  The  evi¬ 
dence  seems  to  point  to  rlie  fact  that  the 
J.  H.  Hale  produces  either  little  or  else 
defective  pollen  which  fails  properly  to 
fertilize  the  ovary. 
The  outcome  of  it  all  will  doubtless  be 
the  same  recommendations  as  are  now 
made  for  apples  and  pears,  namely,  the 
interplanting  of  varieties  to  act  as  pollen- 
izers.  Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  have 
had  experiences  that  Avill  uphold  or  dis¬ 
prove  this  explanation,  or  possibly  they 
have  other  explanations  to  make.  We 
should  like  to  hear  from  them.  H.  B.  T. 
Fruit  Notes  from  Missouri 
Paraavax  for  Grafting. — In  what 
grafting  I  do  I  hoav  use  parawax  instead 
of  standard  grafting  Avax.  I  prefer  the 
former  because  it  is  cheaper,  and  because 
it  takes  only  a  moment  louger  to  coat  the 
whole  scion  with  this  water  and  airproof 
covering,  which  surely  is  an  advantage, 
as  it  prevents  any  drying  out  of  the 
scion.  At  least  the  results  have  been 
wholly  satisfactory.  I  apply  it  with  a 
small  brush  Avhile  quite  hot.  I  melt  it 
in  a  small  can  and  set  can  (Avhen  weather 
is  cold)  on  a  hot  brick  in  the  bottom  of 
a  bucket.  On  the  recommendation  of  E. 
A.  Riehl  of  Illinois  I  tried  grafting  by 
cutting  off  stock,  splitting  down  the  hark 
at  one  side  and  inserting  scion  after  the 
manner  of  a  bud,  after  shaving  down  one 
side.  This  method  is  a  very  easy  aud 
quick  one,  and  was  found  successful. 
My  greatest  difficulty  with  apple  and 
pear  grafts  was  from  blight.  Scarcely 
one  was  exempt.  Some  would  die  part 
Avay  and  some  all  the  way  back  to  the 
stock.  It  seemed  certain  that  this  blight 
was  due  to  the  aphis,  which  would  al- 
Ava.vs  be  present  in  numbers  sufficient  to 
curl  the  tender  leaves  at  the  tip  of  the 
growing  scion.  I  thought  it  would  be  an 
easy  matter  to  rout  these  enemies  with 
Black  Leaf  40,  sprayed  at  close  range 
from  an  atomizer,  but  strange  to  say, 
I  did  not  find  it  very  effective.  Prob¬ 
ably  my  mistake  Avas  in  not  applying  this 
spray  earlier  as  a  preventive  before  the 
aphides  had  entrenched.  After  midsum¬ 
mer  the  aphides  retired,  the  blight  ceased 
and  the  grafts  still  had  time  to  make  a 
fine  groAvth  before  Winter. 
Apple  Notes. — Another  season  eon- 
firms  the  fact  that  the  Stayman  apple  is 
regularly  subject  to  cracking  to  a  very 
injurious  extent.  The  nature  of  the  soil 
here  is  probably  responsible.  This  apple 
does  not  acquire  a  good  color  until  very 
late,  along  in  October,  a  month  or  more 
after  other  kinds  have  been  picked  and 
stored.  Then  many  specimens  Avill  dye 
themselves  as  deep  a  ml  as  the  Winesap, 
its  parent.  The  surest  apple  always  to 
Color  a  beautiful  brilliant  red  by  the  first 
of  September  is  King  David,  and  no 
apple  in  my  collection  has  less  faults. 
It  excels  Winesap  in  sureness  of  yield, 
productiveness  aud  high  color.  It  is 
smaller  than  Jonathan,  as  grown  here, 
approximates  more  closely  the  size 
ot  tV  inesap.  The  quality  is  very  good. 
Jonathan  is  productive  enough  to  please 
anyone,  and  its  apples  are  large  and 
highly  colored  when  they  get  the  sun¬ 
light,  but  they  begin  dropping  early. 
Senator  is  a  large,  liattish,  showy  apple 
with  yellow  specks  on  a  deep  red  ground, 
very  haudsome  and  early  enough  to  be 
called  a  Fall  apple;  but  it  Avill  take 
better  spraying  thau  Ave  have  ever  given 
it  to  keep  it  from  blotching  badly. 
Summer  Apples.— For  a  first  of  Au¬ 
gust  apple  that  is  very  large  and  of  a 
brilliant  dark  red,  in  fact,  by  far  the 
handsomest  of  Summer  apples,  there  was 
a  contest  on  last  season  botAveen  Wilson’s 
Red  June  and  San  Jacinto.  These 
varieties  resemble  in  size  and  color,  but 
there  are  several  points  of  distinct  dif- 
terence.  'Wilson’s  is  upright  in  growth, 
San  Jacinto  spreading.  The  latter  came 
iu  bearing  earlier,  bears  more  heavily, 
averages  large  in  fruit,  rots  less  and 
colors  more  evenly.  Numerous  specimens 
of  its  fruit  would  measure  11  inches  in 
circumference;  some  more  thau  this. 
They  arc  rounder  thau  Wilson’s,  which 
is  of  the  “sheep-nose”  type.  Occasionally 
a  San  Jacinto  would  he  found  that  would 
pass  for  Wilson’s.  The  Avorst  fault  of 
Wilson’s  was  the  rot  which  affected 
many  of  its  fruits.  But  these  two  varie¬ 
ties  should  be  great  money-makers.  The 
Italian  fruit  venders  “fell”  for  them  at 
first  sight,  although  other  apples  were  a 
drug.  They  were  interested  immediately, 
i  really  think  these  Iavo  apples  deserve 
prominence  and  extensive  interest  among 
fruit  growers.  The  man  who  has  them 
to  sell  Avill  never  lack  buyers,  no  matter 
how  glutted  the  market.  No  fancy  cata¬ 
logue  picture  could  exaggerate  their 
beauty.  Jefferis  bore;  a  fair  crop  for  this 
variety  and  the  fruit  ran  large.  It  is  an 
attractive  apple  when  well  colored  with 
its  red  stripes,  but  it,  is  quality  in  which 
this  apple  is  particularly  strong.  It  is 
so  good  that  one  eating  calls  for  another, 
and  it  is  easy  to  gain  a  round  of  regular 
customers.  It  ripens  through  the  first 
part  of  August.  It  was  so  late  in  coming 
into  bearing  on  my  soil  that  I  should 
not  venture  to  recommend  it  to  others. 
It  was  recommended  to  me  by  the  late 
Prof.  Van  Deman  as  one  of  the  finest 
Summer  apples,  hut  it  was  12  years  be¬ 
fore  it  bore  a  fair  crop.  L,  r.  Johnson. 
Cape  Girardeau  Co.,  Mo. 
Experience  with  Alfalfa 
We  raise  Alfalfa  here  on  level  land 
with  a  hard,  sandy  clay  subsoil,  Avith  a 
Idack  loam  about  8  in.  on  top.  It  may 
take  a  little  longer  to  get  started,  but  avo 
get  good  crops  on  land  that,  according  to 
the  experiment  stations,  ought  not  to  raise 
it  at  all.  It  is  surprising  to  soo  the 
amount  of  hardship  it  Avill  stand  here. 
With  us  acid  rock  will  help  it  more  thau 
lime,  and  Avith  me  the  common  variety  is 
much  better  than  the  Grimm.  Last  year 
the  Grimm  Avas  cut  twice,  the  common 
three  times.  1  believe  if  I  were  to  sow 
Grimm  again  I  Avould  mix  it  with  the 
other.  We  get  perfect  seedings  with  10 
lbs.  of  the  best  seed!  that  can  bo  bought. 
We  cannot  economize  on  either  grass 
seed  or  poison,  but  have  the  best  of  both. 
On  my  fiat  land  it  will  last  a  great  deal 
longer  than  clover.  I  have  weighed  roots 
cut  off  with  the  pIoav  on  such  land  that 
weighed,  after  washing,  over  1  lb.  each. 
With  me  the  common  Alfalfa  seems  to 
improve  for  about  three  years.  I  do  not 
know  Ijoav  long  it  will  last,  as  I  have 
never  had  a  piece  worn  out  yet ;  but  the 
Grimm  will  not  last  that  Avay  here.  I 
was  the  first,  to  raise  Alfalfa  here,  and 
l  ave  been  raising  it  about  25  years.  On 
farms  Avhere  it  has  not  been  raised  they 
commence  by  putting  about  a  quart  of 
Alfalfa  seed  in  with  the  other  grass  seed 
until  they  get  the  land  so  that  they  risk 
Alfalfa.  I  have  raised  good  crops  on  a 
clay  loam  top  soil  10  in.,  hard,  sandy 
clay  subsoil  with  tlio  water  level  at.  2ft 
without  ditching.  It  is  a  strange  plant; 
you  cannot  tell  AA'here  it  will  grow  until 
you  try  it.  I  have  seen  it  growing  on 
hard  clay  knolls,  Avhere  it  seems  that 
nothing  would  grow.  If  other  conditions 
are  right,  it  seems  to  penetrate  almost 
any  subsoil.  r..  j.  c 
Memphis,  N.  Y. 
An  old  negro  from  the  Southern  rural 
districts  had  gone  to  the  city  seeking  em¬ 
ployment.  Every  Avhere  he  went  refer¬ 
ences  Avere  asked  for.  Finally  he  gave 
the  names  of  former  employers,  and  in 
due  time  returned  for  a  decision.  Some 
of  the  letters  were  read  to  him,  in  which 
he  AAras  praised  very  highly  and  his  Avork 
and  his  loyalty  greatly  lauded.  The  old 
man’s  eyes  opened  Avith  Avith  surprise  and 
pleasure  as  he  remarked  :  “Well  I  declair, 
if  I  had  ’a’  known  I  Avas  such  a  good 
niggah  as  dat.  T  sho  would  ’a’  got  mo’ 
pay.” — Everybody’s  Magazaine. 
The  apple  shown  here  is  a  bud  sport  of  Northern  Spy  found  by 
Isaac  C.  Rogers  of  Livingston  Co.,  N.  Y.  Tlie  apple  shown  seems 
to  be  of  representative  size.  It  has  a  dark  red  color  and  fine  flavor 
— to  our  taste  superior  to  Northern  Spy.  The  apple  is  well  shaped 
and  handsome,  and  reached  us  by  mail  on  February  0  in  good  con¬ 
dition.  It  looks  like  a  real  acquisition. 
