PLACING VINES ON TRELLIS 
(Illustrated on page 29) 
This picture shows the method we use 
in trellising up vine berries, including 
Boysenberries, Youngberries, Logan¬ 
berries, all trailing blackberries and 
dewberries. Under most conditions we 
believe it is the best plan to leave the 
vines on the ground as they grow during 
the summer. We let them stay on the 
ground right on through the winter and 
put them on the trellis in the early 
spring just about the time the buds 
start opening. In cold sections the vines 
have a much better chance of being cov¬ 
ered with snow when left on the ground 
than if on the wires. If it is a variety 
that needs protection, they can be cov¬ 
ered with a little straw, or other mate¬ 
rial, much better on the ground. Here 
in (IJalifornia where we have no fear of 
the cold hurting the canes, we still find 
this the best practice, because if the 
canes are trellised up in the late sum¬ 
mer about the time they are to go dor¬ 
mant, the canes are sometimes injured 
by sunburn soon after the leaves fall. 
If left on the ground the canes lie in a 
bed of leaves as the leaves fall and the 
temperature is much more uniform than 
on the wires. 
Please do not understand this to mean 
that you will ruin your vines if you 
trellis them in the summer or fall, for 
we simply mean that, over a period of 
years, you will average larger crops if 
the canes are allowed to stay on the 
ground until spring. Now be sure to put 
them up before growth starts much in 
the spring. 
Note, in the picture, that the canes 
cire weaved around the two wires and 
not wrapped in bunches around each 
wire; also, that they are so spread out 
that each bud on each cane will have 
an opportunity to develop. The canes 
should be taken around the wires in 
long spirals and never bent over the 
wire and straight down so that the wood 
will be broken. Great care should be 
used to prevent injuring the buds on the 
canes as they are put up, for each bud 
injured or knocked off is just gone for 
the season. If the canes are long and 
are carefully put up as shown in this 
picture, we find it unnecessary to do 
any tieing in this district. 
When this method of trellising is used 
it is very easy to get the canes otf the 
wires after the crop is picked. All that 
is needed is to slash between the wires 
with a long sharp knife, and, as the 
vines are not tied, they fall off. 
SPRAYING — (For the Commercal 
Grower) —In the past berries have re¬ 
quired very little spraying in California. 
During the past few years a microscopic 
mite known as the blister mite is be¬ 
coming bad in many sections of this 
state. This mite enters the blossoms of 
all the later sorts of blackberries and 
cause sections of the berry to remain 
red after the balance of the berry is 
ripe. In all sections where this condition 
has appeared all varieties of blackber¬ 
ries, except the Advance and possibly 
the dewberries, should be sprayed. The 
Advance and the dewberries blossom 
very early and, so far as we know, have 
never been attacked by the blister mite. 
For this trouble spray in the spring, 
just when the leaf huds are starting to 
open with lime-sulphur, one to ten. That 
is, one gallon of commercial liquid lime- 
sulphur to ten gallons of water, or if 
you use the dry lime sulphur, use four¬ 
teen pounds to one Hundred gallons of 
water. Now the above is dormant 
strength and will burn if used after the 
plants are leafed out, but should be used 
just when the leaf buds are starting to 
open and none of the leaves are more 
than one-half inch long. A thorough job 
of spraying at this time will get almost 
perfect control. In bad cases, or, to get 
absolute control, a second spraying 
should be given when the berries are 
about half through blossoming. This 
second spraying consists of five pounds 
of soluable, or wetable sulphur to one 
hundred gallons of water. For Hima¬ 
laya blackberries which blossom over a 
very long period, two or three sprayings 
during the blossoming time are advis¬ 
able. 
Even if your bush or vine berries 
have never been attacked by the 
berry mite, so that you do not fc^l it 
necessary to spray with lime-sulphur at 
the end of the dormant season for this 
trouble, still we believe a spraying with 
the lime-sulphur at this time will be 
very cheap insurance. Even if you were 
going to have no redberry trouble, which 
you cannot tell at spraying time, the 
good that the lime-sulphur spray would 
do in helping to control rose scale, thrips, 
and fungus diseases, would well warrant 
the small cost. This applies to all varie¬ 
ties of bush and vine berries, including 
Youngberries, Boysenberries, dewberries, 
raspberries, loganberries and all varie¬ 
ties of blackberries. The exceptions to 
this rule are Advance Blackberries, 
Mountain Blacks and Rogers Dewberries, 
all of which are evergreen, for which 
reason, it would not be advisable to use 
a dormant strength spray as recom¬ 
mended above. Also, all of these varie¬ 
ties are so very early that none has ever 
been attacked by red-berry mite. 
To control the white scale (rose 
scale), which gets on the canes near the 
ground and sometimes becomes quite 
bad, spray during the dormant season 
with one of the refined lubricating oil 
sprays as is used on citrus trees. Use at 
the rate of gallons to 100 gallons 
of water and keep it well mixed. Even 
if the rose scale is hardly bad enough 
to justify an oil spray during the dor¬ 
mant season, still it may pay to spray, 
for while you are killing the scale you 
may clean up enough thrips to prevent 
trouble later in the season. Even if you 
use this oil spray in the winter, you 
should still spray with lime-sulphur 
when leaf buds start opening. 
Should thrips or red spider show up 
any time during the season spray at 
once with oil using one gallon to one 
hundred gallons of water. Or if you pre¬ 
fer you can use Black Leaf 40 and 
Whale oil soap up until fruiting time. 
In this case use one pint Black Leaf 40 
and 3 pounds of Whale oil soap to one 
hundred gallons of water. 
It is very much better to prevent an 
attack of thrip or red spider than to 
try to control it after it has come. Red 
spider or thrip do their damage while 
the crop is maturing or being picked. 
30 
