The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1918-03-08

prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture)
From the time raspberry plants are
set, they need an ample supply Of mois-
ture and they are affected more quick
ly and seriously when it is deficient
than most other fruit plants. In the
sections where the highest average
yields of red raspberries are obtained,
often 5000 quarts of fruit per acre
are secured. The average for the
whole country however, is not more
than $500 quarts, and this difference is
due almost wholly to difference in
the moisture supply. In the sections
referred to as giving the highest yields,
d deep soil furnishes uniform and
ample supply Of moisture at all tines
To secure the best results, therefore,
the grower should, by tillage and by
supplying humus, maintain uniform
and ample moisture content in his soil,
not only during the growing and ripen-
ing of the fruit but also while the
canes are developing. Some growers
make it regular practice each year
to mulch their fields to a depth Of sew
eral inches with straw, leaves or green
hay. When this practice is followed,
the cost Is great, but the moisture sup
ply is retained well.
In semiarid and arid regions where
irrigation is practiced, the fruiting sea-
son is longer than in most humid or
nonirrigated sections. The use Of irri-
CATION in the Eastern states also has
extended the picking season and made
the plants thriftier. Larger yields Of
fruit Of the Ranere raspberry in the
summer and fall have followed the ir-
rigation of that variety and made it
profitable in some sections of the East.
In the humid sections Of the East
ern states, irrigation should be used
chiefly or entirely during the growth
and ripening of the fruit and will pay
only when an ample moisture supply
cannot be maintained by tilIage. AS
the raspberry ripens its crop during
the summer when droughts are likely
to occur, some growers have found ir-
rigation profitable.
lntercropping.
In order to reduce the cost Of inten-
sive cultivation of raspberry planta-
ton during the first year after setting,
other crops that need cultivation dur
ing the spring and early summer
months may be grown between the
rows. Among the crops best suited to
this use are the tomato, cabbage, cauli-
flower, bean, pea, summer squash and
potato. Grain chops should not be
used, as they are not cultivated and
will take moisture and plant food
needed by the raspberry plants. The
second season no other crop should be
grown, as the raspberry roots should
occupy all the ground.
Ia TiIlage.s
Tillage in raspberry fields should be
thorough and regular in order to con-
serve moisture. Except in rainy
weather, cultiyator or harrow should
be used at least once each week up to
picking time. Some growers consider
it profitable to use it as often as twice
each week, and this is sometimes nee
essary during periods Of extended
drought. The cultivation should stir
the soil to depth of two to three
inches only, as part of the raspberry
roots are shallow. Many growers short
en- the cultivator or harrow teeth which
run next to the plants, SO as to disturb
the young feeding roots near the sur
face as little as possible.
Later tillage is for the purpose of
keeping down weeds and grasses. The
fields should be free of weeds during
the winter season, as many kinds start
quickly In the spring and are difficult
to destroy after the soil is in condition
TO work. Autumn tillage, however,
tends to develop new growth, which is
tender and somewhat more subject to
winter injury than the older growth.
Autumn tillage, therefore, should be
avoided as much as possible Where
there is danger from severe winters
Maintenance of Fertility.
le The use of fertilizers in raspberry
plantations is governed by the, he
principles that apply to their y b
other fruits. As soils vary in