March , i <? i 6 
25 
numerous young ones, 
which will be the pro¬ 
ducers for the following 
summer, will be pretty 
well advanced. Tie these 
new canes to the supports, 
and when they have at¬ 
tained the height of the 
trellis they can be pinched 
at top to strengthen them 
and start side shoots. In 
spring a shortening of ap¬ 
proximately Y of the 
strong, healthy wood is 
all the pruning required, 
unless the growth is poor. 
Raspberries are inclined 
to be a little tender and 
frequently winter kill. 
Winter killing, I believe, 
is caused by an unhealthy 
growth, the result of im¬ 
poverished soil. When 
the plants are properly 
nourished it is very rare¬ 
ly that they succumb to 
this danger, and a little 
extra care of the soil is 
far better than having to 
take the canes down every 
fall and bury them for 
protection, as is often 
done. Insects or diseases 
seldom attack raspberries. 
When they do, they are 
usually the result of a 
poor soil condition; good 
soil promotes a vigorous 
growth that is rarely 
troubled by any of these 
things. Red rust is the 
most troublesome of the 
possible diseases; it ap¬ 
pears in the form of red 
blotches on the foliage 
and soon spreads until all 
adjacent canes are af¬ 
fected. There is no cure 
for it, although Bordeaux mixture is a good preventive, com¬ 
bined with a cutting out and destruction of all that may be 
badly affected plants. Anthracnose is another foliage disease 
which can be kept in check with Bordeaux mixture. Among 
insect pests, borers may become annoying. The only remedy 
for them is to cut out and destroy the infested canes. 
As to varieties, personal preference figures largely, but for 
good all-around sorts the 
following will be found 
satisfactory: 
Cuthbert is the best 
red raspberry to date; it 
is of good size, fine 
color, hardy, vigorous 
and an excellent bearer. 
King is also good, and 
Perfection is a new 
variety that has merit 
and will surely be popu¬ 
lar. Golden Queen is 
the best yellow fruited 
variety, very productive 
and delicate in flavor, a 
poor shipper, but just 
the variety for the home 
garden. 
Cumberland is still 
the standard of the 
black varieties. Its fruit 
is very large and the 
plant produces well. 
Gregg and Black Dia¬ 
mond are also good black 
sorts. Among the pur¬ 
ples Columbian is the best 
all-around berry, with 
Schaffer and Royal Pur¬ 
ple as substitutes. Do not 
neglect to include a few 
of the ever-bearing rasp¬ 
berry St. Regis; it bears 
early in the season and 
will fruit again in the 
fall. 
Blackberries and 
Currants 
Blackberries require 
the same treatment as the 
raspberry. They do well 
under the same soil con¬ 
dition, they require the 
same method of pruning, 
and are subject to the 
same diseases and attacks 
of insects. Among the 
best sorts may be men¬ 
tioned : 
Early Harvest, a very 
good early variety whose 
fruit is only medium in 
size but very sweet and 
juicy. Eldorado is a good, 
large fruited variety that 
is termed a late sort. 
Rathbun and Snyder are 
old tried and true varie¬ 
ties that have stood the 
test of public opinion for 
a number of years. Ice¬ 
berg is the best white 
fruited blackberry, but 
these are far behind the 
black varieties in flavor. 
Currants are very pop¬ 
ular in England, but we 
seem to think that outside 
of being a good fruit for 
jams and jellies, it has no 
value. This is a mistake, 
for when well grown the 
currant makes an excellent table fruit with a peculiar acidity 
of flavor of which one quickly becomes fond. 
Currants are very easy to grow and are wonderful pro¬ 
ducers. They require very little pruning, the best method 
being to cut at the ground line each year a few of the very 
oldest shoots. If this is done regularly, you will always have 
a young, vigorous, balanced plant, capable of producing good 
fruit in liberal quanti¬ 
ties. In pruning always 
remove wood that is sev¬ 
eral seasons old, as it 
ceases to produce re¬ 
sults after that period. 
The currant worm is 
the most persistent in¬ 
sect we have to deal 
with, but any good 
poison, such as arsenate 
of lead or Paris green, 
will destroy it. The 
plants should be sprayed 
in spring just as soon as 
the leaves appear, and 
again when the plant is 
in flower, or the fruit is 
setting. Sometimes San 
Jose scale infests the 
currants; any of the. 
soluble oil sprays on the 
market will destroy this , v/u ,, , , , , , 
. r , - Whether red, black, purple or 
pest if Sprayed on when yellow, the raspberry is a justly 
( Continued on page 68) popular fruit 
The cane fruits are vigorous growers and need no coddling. In 
winter, though, a mulch is advisable to protect their shallow 
root system from freezing 
Currants generally do best in a sunny situation, though partial 
shade is by no means fatal to their success. A well made bed 
is desirable and worth while 
Home grown berries can mature 
on the bush instead of in the 
fruiterer’s window 
