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Show SMALL FRUITS NEED WINTER PROTECTION Should Be Bent to Ground and Covered With Earth Pick Warm Day for Working. (By E. F. M'KUNE, Colorado Agricultural Agricultur-al College, Fort Collins, Colo.) In a climate such as ours, there is always more or less winterkilling of raspberries, blackberries, Logan berries, ber-ries, and blackcaps, so, in order to insure in-sure a crop for the following year, it Is almost always necessary to protect the bushes iu some way from the cold and drying winds. Sometimes the practice prac-tice of merely tying the bushes with strong string and bending them over is enough to protect them, but this method often fails. The cheapest and best way is to cover them with soil to the depth of three to four inches. This should be done as late as possible, pos-sible, but before the ground is frozen. Some time before the bushes are to be covered, the old canes should be cut, leaving a few more canes than are needed for the next year's crop. The extra canes are to be used in case any should be broken during the covering process. All the old canes should be burned immediately, to get rid of the different diseases that they may have on them. The covering should take place on a rather warm day, as the canes will bend easier and are less apt to break. With bushes that have strong and brittle stems, it is often necessary to remove a spadeful of soil from the side of the bush toward which the canes are to be bent. Use only enough soil to cover the canes thoroughly. Straw can be used in place of the dirt, but it affords a good home for mice, and they are apt to destroy the caoes by eating the bark. |