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Show GROWING OF OMALL FRUITS Blackberries and Raspberries Most Desirable De-sirable for Canning for Future Consumption. The growing of raspberries and blackberries is not quite as easy a matter mat-ter as the growing of strawberries, nor is the fruit quite as popular. For use on the table fresh the strawberry Is far and away the best fruit grown. But for canning for future consumption consump-tion the raspberry and blackberry are much to be preferred. For this reason rea-son no farmer should be without them. Fruits are absolutely necessary for the maintenance of good health. The farmer who does not supply an abundance abun-dance for every day of the year Is inviting in-viting sickness, with its long train of expense, care, sorrow, and perhaps death. it is true tenant farmers, unless they have a long tenure of the land, cannot well afford b i plant anything but strawberries. straw-berries. Tvt men who live on their own farms or have long leases, can have no excuse for not growing all classes of fruit suitable to the climate in which they live. If they do not it is pure negligence or indifference to the pleasure or health of those dependent depend-ent upon them. Raspberries, both black and red, can be grown in abundance if care and proper management are given, says a writer in an exchange. Obtain plants from the nursery. These are of only a few months' growth and are simply the tip ends of the old stocks which have taken root 'n case of the blacks, and young sprouts in case of the reds. It scarcely pays to attempt to reset old stalks. The new ones do not cost much and are the only ones safe to plant. Put them in rows six or seven feet apart and two feet in the row. You will begin to get fruit the second year and they are good for eight or ten years. As the young shoots come up nip off the end with the fingers at the height of 15 to 18 inches. This causes them to branch, supplying more bearing wood. In field culture it is not customary cus-tomary to support the bushes In any way, but .where growing in a small way it is not only feasible, but quite an advantage in many ways to have supports. Some tie them to stakes, others hold them up by wooden frames. One of the best ways is to set a post about every 20 feet in the row. Nail to-this cross arms about 2 feet long, and then run wires connecting con-necting the ends of the cross arms. These cross arms should be 2 to 3 feet from the ground. The bushes can be tied to these wires. After the fruit is picked the old wood should all be cut out and burned. It benrs but one year. The new growth will bear next year. The object of Support for Bush Fruits. burning at once Is to get rid of any fungous diseases or injurious insects that the old bushes are likely to harbor. har-bor. For best results the ground around the bushes should be well mulched with straw manure every year. This supplies fertility and retains moisture. The varieties of black raspberries that are now popular in Illinois and other northern states are the Plum. Farmer and the Cumberland. Of the red raspberries the old reliable Cuth-bert Cuth-bert leads. Other good ones are the -Louden and King. The St. Regis everbearing ever-bearing has been widely advertised, but I have yet to see anyone who has had real success with it. Blackberries are grown and cared for much the same as raspberries. However, How-ever, they are much more susceptible to injury from cold and drought. The Snyder is really the only blackberry that has withstood the winters of northern Illinois, and even that Is frequently fre-quently injured. Heavy mulching will carry It through dry spells and mature fruit that would be of little value without with-out it. |