Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-04-23
dipped in tar to begin with and the
| other mart ic naiptad

other part is painted.
The proper length to have them is
| about five feet six inches, which admits
OF four feet standing clear out of the
ground, and the eighteen inches in is
| be stiffened considerably by slightly
| twisting the canes reverse ways up
them instead of just tying them to
| them. Strained galvanized wire also
forms a good support for raspberry
canes, as the canes may be spread out
singly and every shoot exposed, but
| when wire is used it is necessary to
have stout iron posts at each end, or
very hard wooden ones, if they are to
be lasting. Where economy has to be
studied, and stakes and supports done
without, it is good plan to bring a
| portion Of the canes over from one
stool to meet the half bent over from
| the other; this forms an arch, when by
tying the points together they will in
| that way stand a good deal of wind
! and do very well. After bearing, the
point is to clear away the old stems as
quickly as possible, by doing which
| full light and air are at once let into
| the young suckers, an important mat
ter, as by having full exposure they
ripen better and yield much finer fruits
than they otherwise would do.
The stalking and tying have been al
ready referred to, but when the plants
are two years old as many as five or
six canes may be left, but on no ac-
count should the ground among them
be dug or forked, as neither can be
done without disturbing the roots. In
stead of the digging, when the prun-
ing, thinning, and tying are complete,
some rotten manure should be wheeled
on and spread over the land as
mulching, and SO left to rot away, as
the plants feel the benefit Of it when
| decompOsing by having its juices
| washed down, and the shade it affords
keeps the soil moist by preventing
evaporation, which goes on at great
rate when the surface is bare and ex-
posed to the sun. There are many
sorts of raspberries, but none equal,
taking all points into consideration, to
the old Fastof and yellow Antwerp,
which are summer bearers, and the
October red and yellow for autumn,
all tine-fruited kinds and of good flavor.
Although autumn sorts bear on the old
or summer wood, the best way to treat
| them is to cut them down every winter
and tOp-dress the ground instead of
letting the plants exhaust themselves
by carrying two crops. To have these
autumn kinds good they must have a
sheltering, sunny position.
FENCES.
In those good old days when the
hand of every man was against his
| neighbor there were no governments
strong enough to protect the people
and their property. SO walls and
other barriers were built to keep in
| vaders out. AS time went on man
learned something about the advan-
tages of cooperation, became able to
| protect himself by bargaining with his
fellowmen, and his rights to life, liber-
| ty, and property were respected to a
constantly increasing extent But
while he could give up the JOY of raid
| ing his fellows, and lost in a great
| measure his fear of being raided, he
has never got rid of the habit of build
ing barriers against the world. ] hey
are not needed, for there are laws
sufficient to protect, and the barriers
are practically useless; but they are
kept up nevertheless. A correspondent
! Of the Spirit Of the Farm says OF these
reminders Of long gone ages and of the
enormous outlay required for main
tanning them:
1.-The farm fences of Tennessee cost
| the people over a million of dollars
| annually, one-half of which is an alb
| solutely total loss. A half million a
| year-ten millions of dollars since the
| War-have been worse than wasted in
| unnecessary fencing. This is not evil
dence of a higher civilization.
cit is neither for the public nor for
private welfare that such an immense
sum of money is frittered away year
after year. Lawful fences are required
| by statute, not for the general good,
but only in the interest of the careless
and thriftless few. The farmer must
pay every year tax, in labor, mate
rial, and money, a sum closely approx
imating the aggregate of his State and
| county tax, to protect himself from
depreciation by his neighbor. This
| is neither right nor decent. 1t is bar
| barism, not civilization.
1.-The usage of more than century
| has given the fence some sort of sane
| tion-an intense responsibility at least.
Fences are visible mete and bounda-
ry, standing-or, more often, tum-
ble-down-witness that within its in
! closure there dwells a sovereign citi-
zen of the Republic. This is all there
is of it. His neighbor's breachy cattle
can tear it down at will. His neigh
boris dogs go under it, through it, over
it, and work their mischief upon all he
has endeavored to protect with his law
full fence. Poachers and thieves climb
over or pull down the sacred barriers
| and rob and plumber his fields, his
orchard and his garden. His fence is
not worth ten cents a mile as a genuine
protection against spoliation. y