Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1916-07-14

CLUSTER OF MAYES DHWBERRE5.
most popular variety. is not very hardy.
and hitherto its culture has been con
fined to rather mild climates. Any fer
tile soil provided with good drainage
and with a good supply of humus to
retain moisture is suitable for growing
dewberries. Many Of the large fields
in North Carolina are on coarse sand
and in other sections clay loans are
used for this purpose. The plants.
however. should not be set on wet soil.
been found to kill the plants. On the
other hand. sufficient supply Of mois.
ture is essential for the development
and ripening Of the berries.
Dewberry plants are usually set dur.
ing the winter and early spring in the
south and in early spring In the north
As they occupy the soil for several
years, the land should be well prepar
ed beforehand. The use Of cover crops
to add humus to the soil Is frequently
q desirable preliminary. and much
better results are usually secured II
the land Is planted to cultivated crops
for two years before setting out the
plantation. This will result In a bet.
ter growth Of the plants the first year.
and the plantation will yield a crop
much sooner than II no such prepare.
ton Is made.
Two systems Of planting are follow.
ed-the hill system and the solid row
system. With the former the plants
are set Eve feet distant each way.
with the latter three feet apart In rows
which are four to six feet apart. Cul.
,tivation IL begun as soon as the plants
are In the ground and continued until
the growth OF the canes trailing along
the ground interferes with the work.
The following spring. just before the
buds start, the canes should be train.
ed There are q number Of different
ways Of doing this. details Of which
are discussed in farmers bulletin 726.
a new publication Of the United States
department Of agriculture on this sub
ject. In some cases where the hill
system q used stakes are set by each
plant and the canes wound in the spiral
around them. With the solid row sys.
tenn Of culture posts are sometimes set
between every two plants. and In 9th
er places q wire trellis II used
In the south, where the growing sea
son Is long, all the canes both old and
new are usually cut OF after the fruit
has been picked. In northern regions
the season u too shortsto secure new
growth, and In consequence the old
canes only are removed. The former
method has the advantage Of minimiz'
ing danger from the diseases which
affect the dewberry. OF these the two
most serious are anthracnose and dou.
BILE blossom. In states where It 10 not
possible to remove the canes after har'
vesting the crop the blossom disease q
controlled by removing in the spring
all buds which show infection.
Prospective dewberry raisers usually
obtain their plants from nurseries.
Those, however. who already have q
plantation can raise their own plants
by covering the tips Of the young
canes with q few inches Of soil late In
the summer or early In the autumn.
These tips win root freely. and the
new plants will b ready to dig late
that fall or early the next spring. The
duration Of a plantation will depend
largely upon the attention It receives
and the system Of pruning adopted
In North Carolina plantations fifteen
years old are still productive