The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-17
CARE OF BUSH FRUITS
Protection from Drying Winds, Snow, and Cold Should Be Provided in Fall Pruning Methods.

Among the farm operations which engage the attention of the small fruit grower in the North during the late fall. winter, and early spring are the pruning of the plants and their pro lection from drying winds, snow, and cold
 Currants and Gooseberries.
 Both of these fruits have. stood without injury the extremes of low temperature and drying winds which prevail in the northen Great Plains region. These fruits. therefore, need no protection against the cold or winds of winter. Sometimes, however, in re- gions having heavy snowfall, branches of the currant are broken down by the weight of snow and Sleet This danger may be easily avoided by drawing the branches to- gether and tying them with coarse string. The tying may be done at any time after the leaves fall, but it is better to do this about the time the ground begins to freeze.
 This period between the falling of the leaves in autumn and the starting g of growth in spring is the season in which entrants and gooseberries are pruned. The ideal currant bush at which the pruner should aim has six Ii eight main branches, while the gooseberry has eight to twelve None of these branches should be over 3 years old. Two or three of the main branches of the curFant and three to four main branches of the gooSeberry should be removed each season, the older branches being cut out and a like number of the most vigorous canes of the current seasons growth | left to take their place. All other 1 young canes and all canes bent to or near the ground should also be re- moved. If this system. is followed leach year aftr the bushes reach the age of 3 years, pruning will be re1a- lively simple and the plantation kept l in good condition.
 Raspberries and BIackberries 1 Raspberries and blackberries need l winter protection in many parts of the l North where low temperatures and drying winds prevail, especially where fthe snow covering is light Certain varieties need protection, while oth7 l CTS endure the saple conditions with out injury Experience will indicate which varieties need this. Where the cold and drying winds are severe, as in l the Great Plains region and in Colo rado, canes of the tender varieties
 must be covered with soil This should be done as late as possible, yet before the ground is frozen some l of the soil should be ren9oved from 1 one side of the row either with a hoe 1 or blow, the canes inclined to that scide until they are in a horizontal position and then entirely covered with soil to a, depth of ? or inches. AS the canes of the blackberry are more brittle, than those of. the rasp- berry, they must be bent ever with greater care Often in practice the canes are bent over so that the top 1 is alongside the next hill, some soil 1 thrown over the ends of the canes in order to hold them down, and the remaining parts covered by the use | of a spade or by throwing a shallow furrow over the canes with a blow. | The canes should be uncovered in spring before the buds start, but not l until after all danger of hard freez- ing is past. Straw and other similar
 materials have Sometimes been used to cover the canes, but are unsatis- l factory, as the air circu1ates through them and does not prevent winter in | jury.
 When the snowfall is heavy throughout the winter, it may cover I the canes sufficiently to afford all the | protection that is needed. Sometimes, l however, in order to be adequately protected by the snow, the canes