THE GARDEN.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 30 July 1919, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

. BASRBEREIEB. While no fruit pays better for good cultivation than the raspberry, there is no doubt that this fruit may be grown well in almost any kind of .soil, provided ample moisture is afforded in hot weather. The fair r9sults produced by an amateur or beginner with a few old stools or rows at his command show that it is easily grown. The way the soil is worked before planting takes place has a lot to do with continued success. Trenching at least two feet deep should take place some time previously, and, if the soil is on the light side, a good quantity of manure can bo worked in. Propagation is done by suckors, and those that spring up some distance from the older steins are the most easily detached, and best for planting, and the safest time for work is in the autumn, while.there is pleuty ; of warmth in the soil, and yet little ' fear of long continued drought. ; At one time raspberry plants were | nearly always set out in clumps about i four or live feet apart, and four or five leanea were tied to a stake. A bettor method, and one giving less trouble, is to have a wire about 3 feet from the ground, the cane being planted a foot or eighteen inches apart, and tied to the wire. But where the canes grow rampant, or where much exposed, two wires are best, one at two feet from the ground, the other at four feet, this steadying the canes, the top 3 of which j may be allowed to run a good deal i higher than the wires. If more than one row. s planted, at least five feet should bo allowed between the rows. If the. soil is naturally light, a par- • tially shaded-position cun be used to

! advantage. The depths at which the roots are set j depends a great deal on the nature of j the soil, but* shallow rather than deep planting should be the rule. This "because the raspberry plant roots deeply with the lower tiers of roots, and seems ,by the nature of the upper, more [ iibrous parts to delight in running jusl under the surface. The long thong-liks | roots steady the plant in position while those nearer the Hurfaco colled [ food and moisture. For this reasor they should be kept up, well spread out and as far as possible kept always moist. As before mentioned, the raspbern pays for good treatment, and a libera dressing of the surface annually is wel | repaid by the improved yield of fruit | The mulch need not necessarily be al farm-yard manure. AVoll decayec j vegetable matter from the refuse heaj ' makes a splendid dressing. Failing am of the above, some slow-acting phos phatic and potash manures, such a: basic slag and kainit, can be scatterci j on,during winter. It should be men 5 tioned that deep digging about the roots should be avoided. —"Press."