In rows, the canes may be supported by two wires, one stretched on each side of the plants and held in place by a nail driven into the cross piece of the support, slanting toward the center. (Fig. 384.) The wires may be raised at any time and drawn into the middle of the row so as to get nntqidp of all the canes. and then be nut back in place, thus drawing all the outside canes close together between the wires. The wires may be caught over the stake without any cross-arm, but this sometimes breaks the canes that are drawn in next to the stake. No. 12 galvanized iron wire is used for this purpose.
The pruning required is simply the removal of the fruiting canes as soon as the crop is gathered. If in hills and the canes are not supported by stakes or wires, the ends of the new canes are pinched to make them grow stocky. In spring the bushes may be cut back. (Figs. 385, 386.) The raspberry is easily pruned with the hand pruning-shears, but to do the work comfortably among blackberries, long-handled shears or a blackberry hook is required, with which to reach in among the thorny canes.
Few varieties are perfectly hardy, and so the canes may need protection during the winter in the North. Raspberry canes are easily protected by bonding them over and laying them on the ground; blackberry plants must be loosened a little at the roots to enable them to bend without breaking. Blackberries are seldom covered except in the extreme North.
Currants and gooseberries.—These two fruits are almost necessities in the farm garden. They are easily grown and yield a large quantity of fruit for the space occupied and the labor ex pended. They delight in a deep, moist, rich soil, the size of the fruit depending more on the rich ness of the soil than on the variety. Strong one year-old plants are best. They are planted four by six feet apart. The pruning required is to remove wood more than three or four years old to encour age the growth of strong new canes. The best fruit is borne on wood two or three years old.
The greatest difficulty to be met is the injury by the currant-worm, which eats the foliage soon after the leaves unfold. This pest is destroyed by dusting the bushes with powdered hellebore when the leaves are wet, or applying it in water. A blight attacks the leaves soon after the fruit is ripened, sometimes causing them to fall, thus leav ing the bushes bare from the middle of July until winter. This weakens the bushes so much that the
fruit the following season is small and of poor quality. Spraying the bushes with Bordeaux mix ture is often necessary.
The gooseberry requires practically the same treatment as the currant and is subject to the same pests. The English varieties are more subject to mildew. The fruit is not so much in demand in the markets, but is delicious and should be more largely used.
Varieties of small-fruits.
The following varieties of small-fruits are rec ommended for general home planting : Strawberries: Brandywine (St.), Sample (P.), Marshall (St.), Clyde (St.), Senator Dunlap (P.), Haverland (P.) Raspberries: Cuthbert, Columbian, Loudon, Cum berland.
Blackberries: Agawam, Snyder, Ancient Briton, Eldorado.
Currants: Fay Red Cross, Wilder, White Grape, White Imperial.
Gooseberries: Downing, Red Jacket, Josselyn.
The following varieties are adapted for home use in the colder parts of Ontario and Quebec (W. T. Macoun): Strawberries: William Belt, Bubach, Greenville, Lovett, Splendid, Senator Dunlap, Excelsior.
Raspberries, Red : Herbert, Clarke, Cuthbert, Marlboro.—Yellow: Golden Queen.—Black: Hilborn, Older.
Blackberries: Agawam, Snyder.
Currants: Red: Pomona, Victoria, Wilder, Cherry.—White : White Grape.—Black: Saunders, Victoria, Collin Prolific.
Gooseberries: Red Jacket, Downing or Pearl.
For Iowa (A. T. Erwin): Strawberries: Dunlap, Bederwood, Warfield. Raspberries: Red, Cuthert, Turner, Loudon.— Black : Gregg, Older, Cumberland.
Blackberries: Ancient Briton, Snyder. Currants: Perfection, Red Dutch, White Grape, Red Cross.
Gooseberries: Champion.
For Colorado, eastern slope of the Rocky moun tains (W. Paddock): Strawberries: Captain Jack, Jucunda. Raspberries: Red : Marlboro.—Black : Kansas. Blackberries: Wilson, Erie.
Currants: Cherry, Fay, White Grape. Gooseberries: Downing, Champion.
For Colorado, western slope : Raspberries: Red : Cuthbert, Marlboro.—Black : Gregg.
Currants. Cherry, Red Cross, White Grape. Gooseberries: Chautauqua, Downing, Oregon.
For Alabama and neighboring regions (R. S. Macintosh): Strawberries: Excelsior, Lady Thompson, Klon dike, Aroma, Gandy.