Rocky Ford Enterprise

Raspberry Cane Blight.

From The Farmers' Review: Will some reader of the Farmers' Review please tell me what is the matter with my red raspberry bushes? Inside of two days something like a blight came on them, which destroyed all clusters of promised berries. They looked as if they were burned up; but such was not the case, as we had plenty of rain and favorable weather. Would you advise cutting out the old brush as soon as done bearing? At what season shall I cut back the new growth? I break them off just before they get above the fruit bearing branches. (3) At what time should cherry pits be planted? Must they freeze before coming up? Will the Osheart cherry grow to bear in this country. F. J. Gage, Fond du Lac County, Wis.

The queries were submitted to Prof. E. P. Sandsten, of the Wisconsin Station, who replies as follows:

(1) It is difficult to tell what the trouble is with your subscriber's raspberry canes. There are several diseases which infest them, but judging from the description I should say that it was raspberry cane blight. It is supposed to be a fungous disease. It generally attacks the bearing canes, causing them to turn black at about a time when the fruit is one-half ripe. The disease appears during all kinds of seasons, and it in many instances causes considerable damage. The young canes are, as a rule, not infested. As soon as blighted canes appear they should be carefully cut off and burned. It will not make any particular difference whether the canes are pruned back or not. Pruning, or pinching, as it is called, has not proven to be of any particular benefit to the fruiting capacity of the canes. Spraying has not proven effective against this disease. It is always advisable to cut out the old canes as soon as they have fruited, giving the younger ones which are to fruit the next season a chance to develop.

Cherry stones or pits should be kept as follows: The whole cherries may be left in a pail or barrel until they become soft and decay so that the pits will separate and wash out easily. They should then be placed in boxes as follows: First a layer of moist sand in the bottom of the box, then a thin layer of pits, another layer of sand and so on until the box is full. The box should then be buried in the ground about four inches below the surface in a place well drained, and left to remain until the following spring. This would give the pits a chance to freeze and thus during the winter, thus making it possible for young plants to break through the pits after they are planted. The pits are generally planted in rows three feet apart and about one to two inches apart in the rows. They should be given frequent cultivation throughout the season. The Osheart cherry has not proven a success in Wisconsin.