Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) / A Practical Guide to the Making of Home Grounds and the Growing of Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for Home Use

by L. H. Bailey

Winter.—Wolf River,* Hibernal, Northwestern (Greening), Pewaukee (Fig. 273), Switzer, Golden Russet, Patten (Greening).*

Apricot.—This fruit is not often seen in home gardens in the East, although it deserves to be better known. When grown at all, it is likely to be trained on walls, after the English custom.

In the latitude of New York, the apricot has proved as hardy as the peach. Given the right conditions as to soil and exposure, it will yield abundant crops, ripening its fruits about three weeks in advance of early peaches.

The apricot usually thrives best on strong land; but otherwise the treatment given the peach suits it very well. The soil should be rather dry; especially should the subsoil be such that no water may stand around the roots. The exposure should be to the north or west to retard the blooming period, as the one great drawback to the successful fruiting is the early blooming and subsequent freezing of the flowers or the small fruits.

The two serious difficulties in the growing of apricots are the ravages of the curculio, and the danger to the flowers from the spring frosts. It is usually almost impossible to secure fruits from one or two isolated apricot trees, because the curculios will take them all. It is possible, also, that some of the varieties need cross-pollination.

Among the best kinds of apricots are Montgamet, Jackson, Royal, St. Ambroise, Early Golden, Harris, Roman (Fig. 274) and Moorpark. In the East, apricots are commonly worked on plums, but they also thrive on the peach.

The introduction of the Russian varieties, a few years ago, added to the list several desirable kinds that have proved hardier and a little later in blooming than the old kinds. The fruits of the Russian varieties, while not as large as the other varieties, fully equal many of them in flavor, and they are very productive. They bear more profusely and with less care than the old-fashioned and larger kinds.

Blackberry.—In a general way, the planting and care of a blackberry plantation is the same as required by raspberries. From the fact that they ripen later in the season, when droughts are most common, even greater attention should be given to placing them in land that is retentive of moisture, and to providing an efficient mulch, which can generally best be secured with a cultivator. The smaller-growing kinds (as Early Harvest and Wilson) may be planted 4 x 7 ft., the rank-growing varieties (as Snyder) 6 x 8 ft. Thorough cultivation through-out the season will help in a material degree to hold the moisture necessary to perfect a good crop. The soil should be cultivated very shallow, however, so as not to disturb the roots, as the breaking of the roots starts a large number of suckers that have to be cut out and destroyed. While hill culture (as recommended above) is desirable for the garden, commercial growers generally use continuous rows.

Blackberries, like dewberries and raspberries, bear but one crop on the cane. That is, canes which spring up this year bear next year. From 3 to 6 canes are sufficient to be left in each hill. The superfluous ones are thinned out soon after they start from the ground. The old canes should be cut out soon after fruiting, and burned. The new shoots should be pinched back at the height of 2 or 3 ft. if the plants are to support themselves. If to be fastened to wires, they may be allowed to grow throughout the season and be cut back when tied to the wires in winter or early spring.