The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-17

should be bent over. They may be held in this position by placing a few clods of earth on the tips; or some times forked sticks are used to pin them to the ground. In other eases rails or poles are placed across the canes to keep them in reclining po- sition. The tips, which are the tend- crest part of the canes, should be nearest the ground and be best pro- tected.
 Usually no pruning is given either the raspberry or blackberry just be- fore or during the winter. When the canes are to be protected with soil, however, all the weaker canesa as we'll crop the following season, should be removed. This thinning out of the canes will reduce the cost of cover ing In the spring if the canes of the raspberry are long and are not 70 be supported by stakes or a trellis, the ends should be, cut back. If cut back to a height of feet. the canes should be able to support their crop keeping the berries out of the dirt Sometimes when the canes are slender it will be necessary to cut them back to 2 1-2 feet in length. The side branches of the b1ackberries are usu-i ally pruned back in early spring. The length at which the lateral branches should be left depends on the habit of the variety In some sections and
 
 this time is necessary, and experience in each locality must be the guide as to this.
 Winter Protection of Strawberries
 In all except the extreme southern and western districts the autumn or early winter $ the season in which the strawberry fields should be covered with a mulch, partly to protect the plants from the continual freezing and thawing which occurs in many sec tiOns, partly to conserve moisture and keep down weeds during the following spring and during the fruiting season, and partly to keep the berries from contact with the soil when they r1pen. This mulch may consist of some kind of straw or hay or of stable manure straw, but it should be free from weed seed. Wheat, rye, oat, and buck wheat straw long-Ieaf pine needles, prairie hay, marsh hay salt marsh hay and other materials are ire quentIy used for this purpose. The mulch should be placed on the berry field after the ground freezes and be- fore it is covered with snow If a rain follows the spreading of the mulch, less trouble will be experience ed from scattering by the wind The mulch should be spread evenly over the whole field. If available, suffi- cient material to make the depth of the mulch when it settles from to 3 inches should be used.
 Stable manure, though frequently used, is not always satisfactory. Tn some sections it causes 8 vigorous leaf growth the following spring and actually lessen the yield of berries. If either the stable manure, or the straw contains weed seed, it may in fest the berry field with weeds to an extent which dspreaaes the yield and causes much expense in cleaning. When stable manure is applied, the solid portions as far as possible should be put between the rows and that part containing more straw placed over the row. In the spring before the plants start growth, sufficient straw should be removed from the rows to allow the plants to grow through the mulch. This straw may be thrown into the space between the rows. Where the ground is weedy, it will often be necessary to rake the mulch upon the rows of plants and cultivate the field. The mulch is then returned to the middIes between the rows of plants to be left until after the picking season.