too, I also noticed the first signs of disease. The plants
had only begun to bear fruit, however, and judging from the strong,
tall canes, they looked good for at least fifteen years. This disease,
however, practically destroyed the entire field within two years. Before
too badly diseased, I had obtained and planted out a couple of acres of
these plants and immediately began spraying them. The following spring I
sprayed them again, and although the plants became perfectly healthy, I
sprayed them once or twice during the summer, and it is needless to say
the result was a berry which, considering all its good points, was
certainly deserving of the name it bore, which was "King." In fact, I do
not hope to see anything better in the raspberry line during the next
thirty years, that is, any seedling having all its merits: a strong
growth, hardiness of cane, an immense bearer and a good shipper. It's
only fault is that the berries will drop from the plants when real ripe,
but if you are on the job this can easily be averted.

As far as anthracnose is concerned, I have found that there is not a
variety of raspberry standing out in an open field, unsprayed or partly
shaded, that will stand up under a heavy crop without being affected by
this disease.

After increasing my plantation, as I had by this time, I found I
required more help. Ability in managing my helpers was a necessity. My
experience with them in the field was that when I set them to hoeing a
newly set raspberry field if not watched they would destroy half the
roots, loosening the little hold the struggling plants had, by cutting
close and hoeing the soil away from the roots. I have seen supposedly
intelligent men plowing alongside of the plants, thinking they were
doing their work so much more thoroughly, but if they would dig up one
plant before plowing and another after, they would readily see the
results of their plowing.

A born farmer assumes that everybody knows how to handle a hoe or a
plow, but why should they, not having had practical experience? When put
to work such as hoeing, they would make the most outlandish motions with
the hoe, often destroying valuable plants, not being able to distinguish
them from the weeds. Though they may labor just as hard, they cannot
possibly accomplish as much as the expert who can skillfully whirl a hoe
around a plant in such a manner as to remove every weed and yet not
injure the plant in the least. In other words, th