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Page 31
By a little inquiry the reader can learn whether varieties of the
foreign class are grown successfully in his vicinity. If they are,
he can raise them also by following the directions which have been
given. Brinckle's Orange--a buff-colored berry--is certainly one
of the most beautiful, delicate, and delicious fruits in
existence, and is well worth all the care it requires in the
regions where it will grow; while the Franconia and others should
never be permitted to die out by fruit connoisseurs. If the soil
of your garden is light and sandy, or if you live much south of
New York, I should not advise their trial. They may be grown far
to the north, however. I am told that tender varieties of fruits
that can be covered thrive even better in Canada than with us.
There deep snow protects the land, and in spring and autumn they
do not have long periods when the bare earth is alternately
freezing and thawing.
In the second class of raspberries, the crosses between the
foreign and native species, we now have such fine varieties that
no one has much cause for regret if he can raise them; and I
scarcely see how he can help raising them if he has sufficient
energy to set out a few plants and keep them free from weeds and
superabundant suckers. Take the Cuthbert, for instance; you may
set it out almost anywhere, and in almost any latitude except that
of the extreme Southern States. But you must reverse the
conditions required for the foreign kinds. If the ground is very
rich, the canes will threaten to grow out of sight. I advise that
this strong-growing sort be planted in rows five feet apart. Any
ordinary soil is good enough for the Cuthbert to start in, and the
plants will need only a moderate degree of fertilizing as they
begin to lose a little of their first vigor. Of course, if the
ground is unusually light and poor, it should be enriched and
maintained in a fair degree of fertility. The point I wish to make
is that this variety will thrive where most others would starve;
but there is plenty of land on which anything will starve. The
Cuthbert is a large, late berry, which continues long in bearing,
and is deserving of a place in every garden. I have grown it for
many years, and have never given it any protection whatever.
Occasionally there comes a winter which kills the canes to the
ground. I should perhaps explain to the reader here that even in
the case of the tender foreign kinds it is only the canes that are
killed by the frost; the roots below the surface are uninjured,
and throw up vigorous sprouts the following spring. The Cuthbert
is so nearly hardy that we let it take its chances, and probably
in eight winters out of ten it would stand unharmed. Its hardiness
is greatly enhanced when grown on well-drained soils.
It now has a companion berry in the Marlboro--a variety but
recently introduced, and therefore not thoroughly tested as yet.
Its promise, however, is very fine, and it has secured the strong
yet qualified approval of the best fruit critics. It requires
richer soil and better treatment than the Cuthbert, and it remains
to be seen whether it is equally hardy. It is well worth winter
protection if it is not. It is not a suitable berry for the home
garden if no other is grown, for the reason that it matures its
entire crop within a brief time, and thus would give a family but
a short season of raspberries. Cultivated in connection with the
Cuthbert, it would be admirable, for it is very early, and would
produce its fruit before the Cuthberts were ripe. Unitedly the two
varieties would give a family six weeks of raspberries. There are
scores of other kinds in this class, and some are very good
indeed, well worth a place in an amateur's collection; but the two
already named are sufficient to supply a family with excellent
fruit.
Of the third class of red raspberries, representing our pure
native species, I should recommend only one variety--the Turner;
and that is so good that it deserves a place in every collection.
It certainly is a remarkable raspberry, and has an unusual
history, which I have given in my work "Success with Small
Fruits." I doubt whether there is a hardier raspberry in America--
one that can be grown so far to the north, and, what is still more
in its favor, so far to the south. In the latter region it is
known as the Southern Thornless. The fact that it is almost wholly
without spines is a good quality; but it is only one among many
others. The Turner requires no winter protection whatever, will
grow on almost any soil in existence, and in almost any climate.
It yields abundantly medium-sized berries of good flavor. The
fruit begins to ripen early, and lasts throughout a somewhat
extended season. It will probably give more berries, with more
certainty and less trouble, than any other variety. Even its fault
leans to virtue's side. Set out a single plant, leave it to
Nature, and in time it will cover the place with Turner
raspberries; and yet it will do this in a quiet, unobtrusive way,
for it is not a rampant, ugly grower. While it will persist in
living under almost any circumstances, I have found no variety
that responded more gratefully to good treatment. This consists
simply in three things: (1) rigorous restriction of the suckers to
four or five canes in the hill; (2) keeping the soil clean and
mellow about the bearing plants; (3) making this soil rich. Its
dwarf habit of growth, unlike that of the Cuthbert, enables one to
stimulate it with any kind of manure. By this course the size of
the bushes is greatly increased, and enormous crops can be
obtained.
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