The discussion on raspberries gave the autumn or so-called ever-bearing sorts a pretty general reputation as being of little value, while the Clark Raspberry was indorsed as valuable among the Antwerp class, and the Doolittle among the Black Caps. Very few varieties came under discussion, many well-known sorts not even being named.

About Raspberries #1

G. F. R., Toms River, N. J. - "I notice some writers regard the Clark as similar to Kirtland. Do you regard them as the same ? Would you recommend planting the Kirtland here ?"

We believe it is pretty well settled that the Clark and Kirtland are distinct varieties, although one of our reliable fruit men has said that in his ground they were very similar. Probably his plants of Clark were incorrect to name, as most growers speak confidently of their distinctiveness. We should not hesitate to plant largely of Kirtland, although we do not regard the berry as quite firm enough for a market sort, but it is a great deal better than Philadelphia, which to our mind has nothing to recommend it but productiveness and hardihood of cane - no more so, however, than the Kirtland. In buying the Kirtland, be sure of the true sort, as there are two or more sorts now growing under that name.

Raspberries #2

Towards the end of the strawberry season raspberries commence to ripen, and if the most hardy and productive kinds are selected, an abundance of delicious fruit will be on hand. Growers seem to think the Black-cap more profitable than either the Purple or Antwerp family; with litttle or no attention, this may be true, but when the latter are raised in hills, the number of canes limited to three or four, the , soil kept well worked, or better still, mulohed, the suckers hoed off, the yield of both is about the same, and the difference in price about double. Mr. Wm. Parry, of New Jersey, gives the average yield of all the different kinds of raspberries he has cultivated for the last ten years, at 2,000 quarts per acre, and the average price at twenty-three cents per quart; this shows that red berries largely predominate, as ten cents would have been nearer the mark for black raspberries.

Black-caps should be planted three or four feet by seven, the Philadelphia about the same, but Antwerps will do better five by five feet, so as to use the cultivator both ways, which will keep the suckers down.

Raspberries #3

The Rural New Yorker states that after a trial of one hundred different sorts, and fifteen years experience, there are now really no better and more profitable kinds then these: These famous old sorts, such as Miami, Doolittle, Franconia, Brinckle's Orange, Knevitt's Giant, and Hudson River Antwerp, have, as yet, no superiors. We have, it is true, made some progress in numbers of varieties, but have added no merits nor made any advance on the whole, but only in certain important qualities. The Clarke is certainly a richer berry than the Franconia, and the plants a little more hardy; but the berry is too soft for market, and few persons would notice its superior flavor.

The Philadelphia is a larger berry than its probable parent, the Purple Cane, but it is inferior in flavor.

Among the Black-Cap varieties I shall save a row or two of the following: - Doo-little, Mammoth Cluster or Miami, Seneca, and Fay's Thornless.

Raspberries #1

They should be raised by everybody in Iowa owning so much as a garden. I make those I raise stand five tests, to wit:

1st, As to hardiness; 2d, As to amount of yield; 3d, As to ease of picking; 4th, As to care required; 5th, As to size and flavor. The varieties I cultivate are - Philadelphia, Mammoth Cluster, Doolittle, Purple Cane, Ohio Everbearing, and Ellisdale.

With us the Philadelphia stands all the tests, the flavor, however, not being so generally liked as that of the Purple Cane.

Next in order come the Doolittle, Black Cap and Mammoth Cluster, so easy to pick, yielding great crops, easy to cultivate, but more easily injured by wind and winter than the Philadelphia.

The genuine Purple Cane is worthless as a market berry, but every family should have a row to mix with the others for table use. It bears great crops but it costs twice as much to pick a quart as it does to pick a quart of Black Caps, and is such a rampant grower that it takes an extra amount of labor to take care of the bush. Many seedlings of this variety, some very good and some very poor are scattered over the country.

I have cultivated the Ellisdale five years, and have decided it is one of the best; a very vigorous grower, yields full crops of rather soft fruit, endures bad treatment better than any other kind I have tried.

I rank these varieties as follows:

1st, Philadelphia for all qualities - though it propagates from sprouts, it is very easily taken care of.

2d, Mammoth Cluster and Doolittle. These excel as a market berry, are firm and easily picked. Are sometimes cut down to half or one-third of a crop by winter-kill ing, or some unknown cause.

3d, Ohio Overbearing. This variety I am still testing. So far, it gives me great satisfaction. I may conclude it one of the very best.

4th, The Purple Cane and Eliisdale.

I am testing other varieties, but concerning them have as yet nothing to say. I have discarded the Clark as of no account here, and the Davison Thornless as too tender.

I use no supports, making summer pruning give the bush such form that it will support itself. I have gathered over a gallon from a single bush. Some fruit writers say they will sometimes yield two gallons. As I have not reached that point I have concluded I must manure heavier. I aim to keep the ground perfectly clean with bright and sharp hoes. I have adopted the plan of planting two feet apart in rows - rows eight to ten feet apart. This makes the bushes support one another, and gives plenty of root room, light, air and sunshine.

Whatever may be said of Iowa as a fruit country, we can stick a peg down here and say, that no country can excel us in raising this delicious fruit; yet even here they must have good care or they will not give satisfaction. It must be intelligent care, too. The three main points in their culture are good plants to start with; ground deeply plowed and well manured; and weeds kept entirely off the ground, then prune as best you know how.

I give these items as the result of six years experience and experimenting. I am still learning much as to the mode of culture and value of varieties each year.

Tour correspondent refers to my mode of treating apple tree borers. I have for five years practiced scraping away the earth from around the trunks of the trees, about the middle of June or first of July, down two or three inches and scraping off the bark, restoring the earth in the fall. None of the trees so treated have had borers in, while some not so treated have been badly injured before I had noticed anything wrong with them.

I am not a professional fruit raiser, only cultivate my four-acre garden as a relaxation from the severer labors of the law, yet I will not yield the palm to any of our professional fruit men in the matter of an intense interest in the subject, that I may learn and tell how best to raise the choice fruits of the world about our Iowa homes. Let me add this word to close. One acre, well prepared, planted and tended, will raise more fruit than four acres badly managed; and not one in five of your readers will believe me when I say so.

Raspberries #1

Varieties of this fruit are so numerous that it is difficult to make a selection, unless one has had considerable experience with them in the locality where they are to be cultivated. What are called the Blackcaps will thrive almost anywhere from Alabama to Canada; but not so the varieties Rubus strigosus (the species to which our native red sorts belong), or the Rubus idaeus, parent of all the foreign varieties, like the Antwerps, Franconia, and Clarke. The latter is the best variety I have ever grown, for a light, sandy soil; and it is quite as hardy as any of the high-flavored sorts. For the three best varieties, raised from the foreign stock, I would name Clarke, Hornet, and Brinckle's Orange. High culture and protection in winter may be necessary; but the returns will amply repay the cost.

Among the very hardy, native, red sorts, the Wilmington and Kirtland are among the most valuable of the many which I have tested. The Philadelphia is a fruit of a purplish-red color; the canes hardy, and wonderfully prolific, - an indispensable variety for the middle States; but neither sufficiently firm or bright enough in color for a market berry.