ng. Give good cultivation the first year and mulch in the
fall, along the rows of both raspberries and blackberries, with manure
free from grass seeds, and cover the entire surface between the rows of
blackberries with old prairie hay, corncobs, or straw; or, if
cultivation the next year is intended, the inter-row of mulch may be
omitted.

The intense cold of these two consecutive winters should not deter land
owners from planting these fruits. These extremes come in cycles; and,
though old Jupiter is now, and was last winter, exerting an unusual
disturbing influence upon our planet, he will this year calm his temper
and give us nine or ten years of respite from his powerful magnetic
sway.

CURRANTS, GOOSEBERRIES, AND GRAPES

were less affected by the severity of the winter of '83-'84 than by the
late frosts of spring, which destroyed the young shoots of grapes and
the blossoms and young fruit of the berries. Currants are yearly growing
in favor and the price of the fruit advancing; and now currant culture
is profitable and likely to continue so for a series of years.

Ground can not well be made too rich for currants and gooseberries.
Plant in rows four feet apart and plants three feet apart in the rows;
give thorough culture or deep mulch over the entire surface, cut out all
wood of three years' growth (or after first crop is often considered
better), and a good crop is almost certain. Red Dutch, White Grape,
Victoria, and Versailles are still the favorites; and American Seedling
(or Cluster) and Houghton are usually the most profitable gooseberries.

Every one who can raise corn and potatoes can as easily raise, with
little trouble and expense, grapes enough for a family's use. Plant such
hardy sorts as Moore's Early, Worden, Concord, and Martha, in rows seven
or eight feet apart, and same distance in the row, give good cultivation
the first year, cut back to two or three feet in autumn, lay the short
canes on the ground and hold down with a spadeful of earth. Plant posts
four feet high and stretch two No. 15 wires along them--the upper one on
top--and in the spring, as the vines grow, tie to the wires, keeping one
cane only for fruit this year and two new ones for next year's fruiting;
and a crop is as certain as a crop of corn. Cut out weak canes every
year, and encourage those starting nearest the ground, cutting back each
autumn one-half or two-thirds the growth; cut out old canes. It is not
necessary to lay