RASPBERRIES--SPECIES, HISTORY, PROPAGATION, ETC.
I have given the greater part of this volume to the subject of
strawberries, not only because it is the most popular fruit, but also
for the reason that the principles of thorough preparation of the soil,
drainage, culture, etc., apply equally to the other small fruits. Those
who have followed me carefully thus far can soon master the conditions
of success which apply to the fruits still to be treated. I shall now
consider a fruit which is only second in value, and, by many, even
preferred to all the others.
Like the strawberry, the raspberry is well connected, since it, also,
belongs to the Rose family. It has a perennial root, producing biennial
woody stems that reach a height of from three to six feet. Varieties,
however, differ greatly in this respect. Usually, the stems or canes do
not bear until the second year, and that season ends their life, their
place being taken by a new growth from the root. The flowers are white
or red, very unobtrusive, and rich in sweetness. The discriminating
bees forsake most other flowers while the raspberry blossoms last. The
pistils on the convex receptacle mature into a collection of small
drupes, or stone fruits, of the same character as the cherry, plum,
etc., and the seeds within the drupes are miniature pits. These drupes
adhere together, forming round or conical caps, which will drop from
the receptacle when over-ripe. I have seen the ground covered with the
fruit of certain varieties, when picking has been delayed.
All peoples seem to have had a feeling sense of the spines, or thorns
of this plant, as may be gathered from its name in different languages;
the Italian term is _Raspo_, the Scotch _Raspis_, and the German
_Kratsberre_, or Scratchberry.
The Greeks traced the raspberry to Mount Ida, and the original bush may
have grown in the shadowy glade where the "Shepherd Alexandre," _alias_
Paris, son of Priam, King of Troy, gave his fateful decision in favor
of Venus. Juno and Minerva undoubtedly beguiled the time, while the
favored goddess presented her claims, by eating the fruit, and perhaps
enhanced their competitive beauty by touching their cheeks with an
occasional berry. At any rate, the raspberry of the ancients is _Rubus
Idoeus_.
The elder Pliny, who wrote not far from 45 A.D., states that the Greeks
distinguished the raspberry bramble by the term "_Idoea_," and, like so
many other Grecian ideas, it has found increasing favor ever since. Mr.
A. S. Fuller, one of the best-read authorities on these subjects,
writes that "Paladius, a Roman agricultural author who flourished in
the fourth century, mentions the raspberry as one of the cultivated
fruits of his time." It thus appears that it was promoted to the garden
long before the strawberry was so honored.
While it is true that the raspberry in various forms is found wild
throughout the continent, and that the ancient gardeners in most
instances obtained their supply of plants in the adjacent fields or
forests, the late Mr. A. J. Downing is of the opinion that the
large-fruited varieties are descendants of the "Mount Ida Bramble," and
from that locality were introduced into the gardens of southern Europe.
In America, two well-known and distinct species are enriching our
gardens and gracing our tables with their healthful fruit. We will
first name _R. Strigosus_, or the wild red raspberry, almost as dear to
our memory as the wild strawberry. It grows best along the edge of
woodlands and in half-shadowy places that seem equally adapted to
lovers' rambles.
Nature, too, in a kindly mood, seems to have scattered the seeds of
this fruit along the roadside, thus fringing the highway in dusty, hot
July with ambrosial food. Professor Gray thus describes the native red
species: "_R. Strigosus_, Wild Bed E. Common, especially North; from
two to three feet high; the upright stems, stalks, etc., beset with
copious bristles, and some of them becoming weak prickles, also
glandular; leaflets oblong-ovate, pointed, cut-serrate, white-downy
beneath, the lateral ones (either one or two pairs) not stalked; petals
as long as the sepals; fruit light-red, tender and watery, but high
flavored, ripening all summer."
The second great American species, _R. Occidentals_, will be described
hereafter. Since this book is not designed to teach botany, I shall not
refer to the other species--_R. Triflorus, R. Odoratus, R. Nutkanno_,
etc.--which are of no practical value, and, for the present, will
confine myself to the propagation and cultivation of _R. Idoeus_ and
_R. Strigosus_, and their seedlings.
PROPAGATION
Usually, varieties of these two species throw up suckers from the roots
in sufficient abundance for all practical purposes, and these young
canes from between the hills or rows are, in most instances, the plants
of commerce, and the means of extending our plantations. But where a
variety is scarce, or the purpose is to increase it rapidly, we can dig
out the many interlacing roots that fill the soil between the hills,
cut them into two-inch pieces, and each may be developed within a year
into a good plant. Fall is the best season for making root cuttings,
and it can be continued as late as the frost permits. My method is to
store the roots in a cellar, and cut them from time to time, after
out-of-door work is over. I have holes bored in the bottom of a box to
ensure drainage, spread over it two inches of moist (not wet) earth,
then an inch layer of the root cuttings, a thin layer of earth again,
then cuttings until the box is full. If the cellar is cool and free
from frost, the cuttings may be kept there until spring; or the boxes
containing them can be buried so deeply on a dry knoll in a garden as
to be below frost. Leaves piled above them ensure safety. Make sure
that the boxes are buried where no water can collect either on or
beneath the surface. Before new roots can be made by a cutting, a
whitish excrescence appears at both its ends, called the callus, and
from this the rootlets start out. This essential process goes on
throughout the winter, and therefore the advantage of making cuttings
in the fall. Occasionally, in the fall, we may obtain a variety that we
are anxious to increase, in which case some of the roots may be taken
off for cuttings before setting out the plants.
These little root-slips may be sown, as one would sow peas, early in
the spring as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. A plot of rich,
moist land should be chosen, and the soil made mellow and fine, as if
for seed; drills should then be opened eighteen inches apart, two
inches deep on heavy land, and three inches deep on light. The cuttings
must now be dropped three inches from each other in the little furrows,
the ground levelled over them and firmed, which is best done by walking
on a board laid on the covered drill, or else by the use of a garden
roller. If the entire cutting-bed were well sprinkled with fine
compost, and then covered so lightly--from one quarter to half an
inch--with a mulch of straw that the shoots could come through it
without hindrance, scarcely a cutting would fail. Unfailing moisture,
without wetness, is what a cutting requires.
Roots may be divided into half-inch bits, if forced under glass, and in
this way nurserymen often speedily provide themselves with large stocks
of very scarce varieties. The cuttings are placed in boxes of sand
until the callus forms, and little buds appear on the surface of the
roots, for which processes about five weeks are required. They are then
sown in shallow boxes containing about three inches of soil, formed of
equal parts of sand and decayed leaves, and subjected to the heat of
the green-house. When they have formed plants from three to five inches
high, they may be potted, if very valuable; or, if the weather is warm
enough, they can be transplanted at once into the open nursery-bed, as
one would a strawberry plant. I have set out many thousands in this
way, only aiming to keep a little earth clinging to the roots as I took
them from the shallow box. Plants grown from cuttings are usually
regarded as the best; but if a sucker plant is taken up with fibrous
roots, 1 should regard it as equally good.
If we wish to try our fortune in originating new varieties, we gather
the largest and earliest berries, dry them, and plant the seeds the
following spring; or we may separate the seeds from the pulp by
expressing it and mixing them with dry sand, until they are in a
condition to be sown evenly in a sheltered place at once. As with
strawberries, they should be raked lightly into moist, rich soil, the
surface of which should not be allowed to become dry and hard. The
probabilities are that they will germinate early in the spring and
produce canes strong enough to bear the second year. If the seed is
from a kind that can not endure frost, the young plant should receive
thorough winter protection. There is nothing better than a covering of
earth. In the spring of the second year, cut the young plant down to
the ground, and it will send up a strong, vigorous cane, whose
appearance and fruit will give a fair suggestion of its value the third
year. Do not be sure of a prize, even though the berries are superb and
the new variety starts off most vigorously. Let me give a bit of
experience. In a fine old garden, located in the centre of the city of
Newburgh, N. Y., my attention was attracted by the fruit of a raspberry
bush whose roots were so interlaced with those of a grapevine that they
could not be separated. It scarcely seemed to have a fair chance to
live at all, and yet it was loaded with the largest and most delicious
red raspberries that I had then ever seen. It was evidently a chance,
and very distinct seedling. I obtained from Mr. T. H. Roe, the
proprietor of the garden, permission to propagate the variety, and in
the autumn removed a number of the canes to my place at Cornwall. My
first object was to learn whether it was hardy, and therefore not the
slightest protection was given the canes at Newburgh, nor even to those
removed to my own place, some of which were left four feet high for the
sake of this test. The winter that followed was one of the severest
known; the mercury sank to 30 degrees below zero, but not a plant at
either locality was injured; and in the old garden a cane fourteen feet
long, that rested on the grape-arbor, was alive to the tip, and in July
was loaded with the most beautiful fruit I had ever seen. It was
un-injured by the test of another winter, and all who saw and tasted
the fruit were enthusiastic in its praise. The Massachusetts
Horticultural Society awarded it their first premium, and Mr. Charles
Downing said it was the finest red raspberry he had ever seen. The
veteran horticulturist, Mr. Wm. Parry, who has had between forty and
fifty years of experience in small fruits, visited my place that
summer. The bushes he saw had never received any protection, and had
already been three weeks in bearing, but they were still full of fruit.
After picking several berries that measured plump three inches in
circumference, he said, quietly, "Put me down for 500 plants." In no
other way could he have stated his favorable opinion more emphatically.
It was as delicious as it was large and beautiful, and surely I was
reasonable in expecting for it a brilliant future. In my faith I
planted it largely myself, expecting to make it my main dependence as a
market berry. But in August of that year many of the canes lost their
foliage. Those that thus suffered were not entirely hardy the following
winter. It was eventually made clear that it belonged to the tender
_Rubus Idoeua_ class, and, therefore, was not adapted to general
cultivation, especially on light soils, and under sunny skies. As I
have shown, its start was so full of vigor and promise that it won the
favor and confidence of the horticultural veterans; but it suddenly
manifested lack of stamina and sturdy persistence in well-doing. And
this is just the trouble which every experienced propagator dreads.
Only after years of test and trial in many localities can he be assured
that his seedling may become a standard variety.
If this chance seedling, the Pride of the Hudson, is given a moist soil
in some half-shady location, it will yield fruit that will delight the
amateur's heart, but, like Brinkle's Orange, which it resembles in
flavor, only amateurs will give it the petting it requires.
As suggested when treating the strawberry, so in seeking to originate
new varieties of raspberries, our aim should be to develop our hardy
native species, the _R. Strigosus_, and if we employ the _R. Idoeus_
class for parentage on one side, seek its most vigorous
representatives, such as the Belle de Fontenay and Franconia.
CHOICE OF LAND--ITS PREPARATION--PLANTING
All that has been said about the thorough preparation of the soil for
strawberries, by drainage, deep plowing, trenching, etc., applies to
raspberries, but differences should be noted in respect to fertilizers.
Land can scarcely be made too rich for any variety of strawberries, but
certain strong-growing raspberries, like the Cuthbert, Herstine, and
Turner, should not be over-fertilized. Some kinds demand good, clean
culture, rather than a richness that would cause too great a growth of
cane and foliage. In contrast, the feebler growing kinds, like the
Brandywine, and most of the foreign varieties, require abundance of
manure. Muck, sweetened by lime and frost is one of the simplest and
best; but anything will answer that is not too full of heat and
ferment. Like the strawberry, the raspberry needs cool manures that
have "staying" qualities. Unlike the former fruit, however, the
raspberry does well in partial shade, such as that furnished by the
northern side of a fence, hedge, etc., by a pear or even apple orchard,
if the trees still permit wide intervals of open sky. The red
varieties, especially those of the foreign types much prefer moist,
heavy soils; but the black-caps do quite as well on light ground, if
moisture can be maintained. The latter, also, can be grown farther
south than any other species, but below the latitude of New York, those
containing foreign elements begin to fail rapidly, until, at last, a
point is reached where even the most vigorous native red varieties
refuse to live. If the climate, however, is tempered by height above
the sea, as in the mountains of Georgia, they will thrive abundantly.
[Illustration: SPRING AND FALL PLANTS]
I prefer fall planting for raspberries, especially in southern
latitudes, for these reasons: At the points where the roots branch (see
Fig. A) are buds which make the future stems or canes. In the fall,
these are dormant, small, and not easily broken off, as in Fig. B; but
they start early in spring, and if planting is delayed, these become so
long and brittle that the utmost care can scarcely save them, If rubbed
off, the development of good bearing canes is often deferred a year,
although the plants may live and fill the ground with roots. The more
growth a raspberry plant has made when set out in spring, the greater
the probability that it will receive a check, from which it will never
recover.
[Illustration: WINTER PROTECTION OF NEWLY SET PLANTS]
I have often planted in May and June, successfully, by taking up the
young suckers when from six inches to a foot high, and setting them
where they are to grow. Immediately on taking them up, I cut them back
so that only one or two laches of the green cane is left, and thus the
roots are not taxed to sustain wood and foliage beyond their power.
This can often be done to advantage, when the plants are on one's own
place, and in moist, cloudy weather. My preference, however, is to
plant the latter part of October and through November, in well-prepared
and enriched land. The holes are made quite deep and large, and the
bottom filled with good surface soil. If possible, before planting,
plow and cross-plow deeply, and have a subsoiler follow in each furrow.
It should be remembered that we are preparing for a crop which may
occupy the land for ten or fifteen years, and plants will suffer from
every drought if set immediately on a hard subsoil. On heavy land, I
set the plants one inch deeper than they were before; on light soils
two or three inches deeper. I cut the canes off six inches above the
surface (see Fig. C); for leaving long canes is often ruinous, and a
plant is frequently two or three years in recovering from the strain of
trying to produce fruit the first year. The whole strength of the roots
should go toward producing bearing canes for the season following; and
to stimulate such growth, I throw directly on the hill one or two
shovelfuls of finely rotted compost and then mound the earth over the
hill until the cane is wholly covered (as in Fig. D). This prevents all
injury from the winter's cold. When severe frosts are over, the mound
is levelled down again. Under this system, I rarely lose plants, and
usually find that double growth is made compared with those set _late_
in spring. I have always succeeded well, however, in _early_ spring
planting; and well to the north, this is, perhaps, the safer season.
With the exception of mounding the earth over the hill, plant in March
or April as I have already directed.
CULTIVATION
In cultivation, keep the ground level; do not let it become banked up
against the hills, as is often the case, especially with those tender
varieties that are covered with earth every winter. Keep the surface
clean and mellow by the use of the cultivator and hoe. With the
exception of from four to six canes in the hill, treat all suckers as
weeds, cutting them down while they are little, before they have sucked
half the life out of the bearing hill. Put a shovelful or two of good
compost--any fertilizer is better than none--around the hills or along
the rows, late in the fall, and work it lightly in with a fork if there
is time. The autumn and winter rains will carry it down to the roots,
giving almost double vigor and fruitfulness the following season. If
the top-dressing is neglected in the autumn, be sure to give it as
early in the spring as possible, and work it down toward the roots.
Bone-dust, ashes, poudrette, barnyard manure, and muck with lime can be
used alternate years, so as to give variety of plant food, and a
plantation thus sustained can be kept twenty years or more; but under
the usual culture, vigor begins to fail after the eighth or tenth
season. The first tendency of most varieties of newly set red
raspberries is to sucker immoderately; but this gradually declines,
even with the most rampant, and under good culture the fruiting
qualities improve.
In dry weather the fork should not be used during the growing or
bearing season. The turning down of a stratum of dry, hot soil next to
the roots must cause a sudden check and injury from which only a
soaking rain can bring full relief. But in moist weather, and periods
preceding and following the blossoming and fruiting season, I have
often used the fork to advantage, especially if there is a sod of
short, succulent weeds to be turned under as a green crop. If the
ground between the hills was stirred frequently with an iron
garden-rake, the weeds would not have a chance to start. This is by far
the best and cheapest way of maintaining our part in the unceasing
conflict with vegetable evil. An Irish bull hits the truth exactly: the
best way to fight weeds is to have none to fight; and raking the ground
over on a sunny day, about once a week, destroys them when they are as
yet but germinating seeds. At the same time it opens the pores of the
earth, as a physiologist might express himself. Unfailing moisture is
maintained, air, light, and heat are introduced to the roots in
accordance with Nature's taste, and the whole strength of the mellow
soil goes to produce only that which is useful. But this teaching is
like the familiar and sound advice, "Form no bad habits." We do form
them; the weeds do get the start of us; and therefore, as a practical
fact, the old moral and physical struggle must go on until the end of
time.