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GAYLORD

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

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COT'^2":FlIOPa[T, 1876, B^S' E]- I*. I^OEJ,

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N E W B U I! O H . N . Y. :
JOURNAL PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT,

1877.

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* LIBRARY

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UNIVERSITY OF
MASSACHUSEHS

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1

AMHERST, urn.

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AN OPEN LETTER

TO THE READER.

A.VING received so many and varied questions concerning
the culture of small fruits, especiall}' strawberries, and
^ finding it quite impossible to answer them separately,
by letter, I have been led to reply by the following
brief manual. .

At the same time I shall aim to do more. This is a busy
age, and neither time nor money is abundant. There are multi-
tudes who would gladly see upon their tables the delicious ber-
ries in their season, and if they knew how easily and readily they
could be raised, would certainly cultivate them. But having
made some crude experiments with but poor, or partial success,
they come to think that some mystery is involved and that
before they can grow small fruits themselves there must be con-
siderable outlay, reading or practical instruction. But nature
is not so chary of her best gifts and, like the sunshine, she places
strawberries within the reach of all who own or hire a few square
feet of land.

While the rich amateur with his trained gardener, and the
practical and scientific fruit-grower by his skill can secure
rem.'irkable results, I shall try to show the hurried professional
and business man, the driving farmer, the lady rurally inclined,
that they, by a little knowledge and labor, can readily supply

the home market with the most wholesome of summer food. I
use the word food advisedly — food, that can sustain hard work,
for during their season I almost live upon berries, and I have
but few idle moments. I shall endeavor to give some instruction
concerning the culture of small fruits so simply and clearly that
one who has never seen them, can go to work intelligently —
and so concisely that an hour's reading or less will prepare for
this work. But let no one think that he can master the science
of small-fruit culture in half an hour or half a life-time. I have
been studying the subject for j^ears with enthusiasm, and feel
that I am yet but on the threshold of its knowledge. Charles
Downing and A. S. Fuller would be the last men in America to say
that they knew it all, and yet few know as much about every
phase of horticulture. I have reference to the practical knowl-
edge needful to secure a simple and definite end. We would all
b§ in a woful pHght if we had to teach our cooks the whole
science of chemistry before they could give us a batch of sweet,
light bread.

For the ordinaty purposes of the garden and market there is
no mystery involved. Ill-success usually arises from the lack of
a little practical knowledge and from neglect — or from leaving
the care of the plants to the " hired man " who may have an
antipathy to everything save cabbages and potatoes.

But a fraction of the money that supplies a household from
the market with fruit that is often but half ripe or half decayed,
would stock the garden with the choicest varieties.

Besides, the most delicate and luscious kinds are the most
easily grown usually. But they are not often found in market
because too soft for transportation. They may be picked from
our own gardens daily with the dew upon them.

The Editor of the American Agriculturist writes with a

great deal of force — " The unfortunate people who buy their fruit
do not know what a strawberry is."

To teach as many as possible who own a little land what a
" Charles Downing," a " Triomphe de Gand," or some other lus-
cious strawben-y is, directly from thek own vines, is one of the
objects of this manual.

At the same time I have some hope that the following pages
may contain suggestions of value to those who, like m3'self, are
engaged in raising small fruits upon a large scale. I have care-
fully consulted the best authorities. I have closely questioned
successful and practical growers, and have had some experi-
ence myself, reaching through a number of years and a fair
degree of success, as the following testimonials may prove :

Stkawberries — What Dowjstikg Says. — There is probably no higher
authority upon fruit than Charles Downing, Esq., and having seen the
nine varieties exhibited by Rev. E. P. Eoe, at D. Smith's bookstore, said
that he had never seen as fine a collection, take them altogether, though
he had seen as fine specimens of single varieties. They are the Monarch
of the West, Champion, Triomphe de Grand, Jucunda, Seth Boyden,
President Wilder, Late Prolific, Charles Downing, and Lenig's White. —
Neioburgli Daily Journal.

We have seen and tasted some of the finest strawberries from the pro-
lific gardens of Eev. E. P. Roe, Cornwall : in size enormous, in quality
admirable, and in abundance of yield extraordinary. The culture of this
fruit is so easy and the result so great, we wonder that every family in the
country does not have its strawberry bed. [The fruit was shown to Dr.
S. I. Prime.] — Neio YorJc Observer.

Delicious Strawberries. — The Rev. E. P. Roe, well known as the
author of several popular works, called our attention to some strawberries
of his own raising which surpass, in the combined qualities of size and
sweetness, any it has been our good fortune to test. The " Monarch of
the West " was the name of the variety. The vines are very prolific of
fruit, the berries Jianging in thick clusters of every shade of maturity, and
promising to last till late in the season. Even those which were not quite
ripe were sweeter and higher flavored than we have been accustomed to
find the ripe specimens of other varieties which attain the same size. — New
York Bveiiing Post.

6

Rev. E. P. Roe, of Cornwall-oii-the-Hudson, has exhibited specimens
of the "Monarch of the West" strawberries, which he has raised upon his
place from vines less than a year old. They are fully an incli in diameter,
of a fine red color, very fragrant in smell, and very delicious to the taste.
Mr. Roe states that they are the most readily cultivated of any variety
which he lias ever raised, and they can be raised wherever a weed will grow.
Charles Downing, who visited his phice on Saturday, June lOtli, pronounces
the '*]\Ionarch of the West" the finest of about twenty varieties inspected,
not excepting that which goes by his name ; though Mr. Roe himself thinks
the '"'Charles Downing" variety the superior of the two. — New York
Tribune.

Giants in These Days. — Mr. E. P. Roe, whose " Play and Profit Id
my Garden " our readers will remember, sent us hist week some tangible
evidences that he had not exaggerated its profits, however much he may
have depreciated his own labors. Half a dozen baskets of strawberries
were placed on our table, with scarcely a single fruit which one would care
to take in a single mouthful. One, a "Monarch of the West," measured
seven inches in circurnference. The Havor of some of the varieties was as
noteworthy as the size. The " Monarch " is sweet as well as large, though
our favorite is a medium sized berry, tlie " Cluirles Downing." Mr. Roe
luis moved his garden from Highland Falls to Cornwall, and increased it
fropi three to twenty- three acres. He has acres in strawberries alone and
sends his plants as far West as the Pacific Coast. — Illustralcd Christian
Weekly, written hy the editor, Rev. Lyman, Ahhott.

I have tried to make the chapter on the marketing of small
fruits of special and practical value, having spent considerable
time among the leading commission men in New York, and the
retail dealers on Broadway and the avenues, endeavoring to learn
from them the best and most profitable methods of shipping fruit.
I have taken especial pains to get the views of the retail dealers
as they come directly in contact with the consumers and there-
fore know which packages sell the best and best preserve the
fruit.- They also know what varieties of fruit give the most
satisfaction. There are so many patented baskets, cups, bowls
and boxes pressed upon the public that one is bewildered in his
choice. The question can best be decided not by the enthusias-
tic puffs of the patentees, but by the verdict of the market. If

tt is a fact, that fruit " carries " better and " stands up " longer
in one package than another^ — if baskets of a certain size and
pattern find more favor with consumers and bring better prices,
the informfition has a CMsh vnlue to us all. I shall not get my-
self into a hornet's nest by criticising any of the perfect (?)
patents offered, but merely mention those toward which the
weight of favorable opinion in the market inclines. If I can
by these means bring the growers and consumers into more direct
communication, it w^ould seem that I could scarcely fail in serving
both.

Should this little venture meet with success, I may add a
supplement from year to year, giving the results of my. own, and-
the experiments of others, during the twelve months, and the
conclusions of my own observation and the opinions of practical
fruit-growers concerning the new varieties that are competing for
public favor ; a correspondence from Maine to California will
preserve this judgment from a merely local coloring.

I hope my little manual will lead many more into the garden.
It is a good place to be, or man — and woman also — would not
have been placed there in their first perfect condition.

Wishing you nothing worse than ripe luscious berries three
times a day for the three summer months I remain :
Yours in the bonds of the ancient and

Honorable guild of gardening,

E. P ROE.
CoRNWALL-ou -THE- Hudson, N. Y.

STRAWBP]RRTES

oji SHALL commence with that fruit which comes earliest
)| and which nature thought fit to be the companion of the
rose. That so many liA^e without berries throughout the
year — that such multitudes raise coarse weeds when a few
hills of " Monarch of the West " strawberries would not take
half the room nor be half as exhaustive to the soil, is one .of the
proofs of our fallen nature. Are not those who look carefully
after their pork and potatoes but contemptuously ignore straw-
berries, totally depraved ? There are some men who would never
have been content in Eden until they had turned the better part
of it into a cabbage patch. Such people need physical ethereal-
izing by fruit diet that their grossness may be refined away.
Rest assured, in Millennial gardens the cabbage will not crowd
out the strawberry.

There is another class whose seared consciences I would like
to touch. They believe in small fruits and know their value.
They enjoy them amazingly at a friend's table; they even buy
some when they are cheap, and may indulge in a forlorn weedy
strawberry bed. But as to putting forth a little intelligent
effort and supplying themselves abundantly — the time passes and
this is never done. Why ? I don't know. There are some who
seldom kiss their chihlren, read their Bibles, listen to the birds
or look at flowers, although they believe in all these things fully.
They simply jog on to-day as they did yesterday, ever vaguely
meaning at some time or other "to live up to their privileges."

But like their neglected strawberry beds they usualh' go on from
bad to worse till the}^ have to be " turned under,"

Remember, my friend — you who occasionally smack your
lips over a chance strawberry, if you have not a productive bed
of your own (having place for one) you are " sinning against light."

In a city not a hundred miles from my farm there are many
abodes of wealth with spacious grounds in which in many instan-
ces, I am told, no place is found for the strawberry bed. " It is
cheaper and easier to buy them," it is said. Tiiis is thrift with
a vengeance. No economy in brass buttons and livery, but a
little trouble (I doubt about the mone}') saved on the choicest
luxury of the year. The idea of going out of their rural paradises
to buy half-stale fruit ! But this class is largely at the mercy
of the " hired man," or his more disagreeable development, the
^^professed'' gardener who gives his soul to I'are plants, artichokes,
and clipped lawns, but stints the family in all things save his
impudence. If he tells his obsequious employers that it is
cheaper and easier to buy their strawberries than raise them, of
course there is naught to do but go to the market and pick ud
what they can. A true gardener like Mr. Thos. Skene, would
send to the house a heaped basket twice a day for five weeks
and if he had glass, for five months.

I congratulate those who have got so far back toward man's
first happy state as to make the raising of delicious fruits
their daily work. But as the conditions of life have changed
somewhat from that primitive and perfect state, and dress and
many other costly essentials require mone}^, I shall endt-avor to
show how every strawberry plant may be a source of profit as
well as pleasure.

In conclusion, I would suggest to that small class (?) who
enjoy making others happy that there are few ways in which
they can succeed better at home, and among their friends, than
by supplying them often with the ^' finest fruit God ever
made."

I trust that we are now ready to go to work, and the first
things to be considered are.

Soil and Situation.

That success depends very largely upon the character of the
soil is a well established fact. Especially must this truth be
taken into consideration in our estimates of the different varieties.
This truth is most clearly stated by the editor of the American
Agriculturist. In August 1875 he writes — "' All talk about
strawberries must be with reference to particular soils. As an
illustration of this, the He v. E. P. Roe exhibited in 'our office
windows several successive lots of the ' Monarch of the West,'
which were immense as to size and wonderful as to productive-
ness. This same ' Monarch ' behaved in so unkingly a manner on
our grounds (very light and sandy in their nature) that he would
have been deposed had we not seen Mr. Roe's berries, for it was
quite inferior to either ' Charles Downing,' ' Seth Boyd6n,' or
' Kentucky.' "

In Southern New Jersey I have seen the ' Monarch ' bearing
finely in sand. I .have succeeded well with it on both gravelly
knolls and moist loam, and last season picked many berries that
were five and six inches in circumference. I believe that few
varieties are better adapted to all conditions than this berry, and
yet the principle holds good that diversity in soil and climate causes
great differences in the product of the same kinds. This is true
of every fruit, the strawberry varying more than any other. A
favorite apple or pear in one locality is almost worthless in another.
The true way is to test upon }'our soil the promising kinds and
learn which you can grow with the greatest profit.

There are many places like my own upon which there is a
variety of soil. I have sandy loam, stiff, cold clay, gravelly
knolls, and black, low alluvial land. Upon such a place one
ought to be able to raise all varieties worth cultivation with fair
success.

The soil adapted to the greatest number of kinds is a deep,
moist sandy loam, airy and open in its situation. Those who

11

have such level plots or valleys, where the moisture never fails,
can produce enormous crops at little expense. Do not mistake
wet for moist land. Where the water stands and stagnates on or
just below the surfjice, the strawberry will not thrive. But a
little drainage may convert these low, sour lands into the most
productive.

While the above named soils and situations are no doubt the
best, there are many excellent kinds that can be grown profita-
bly on nearly all soils with a moderate outlay in preparation
and culture. I have had fine fruit on dry knolls that were
thought almost barren, and some of the choicest kinds will flour-
ish on a stiff clay.

Avoid shade. Many wonder at their half-barren beds and
short fruit season when the ground is exhausted of fertility and
moisture by the roots of overshadowing trees.

Choice of soil and exposure is one of the best and readiest
methods of prolonging the season. I have had ripe berries from
early kinds on a warm sunny slope the 31st of May, and fine
fruit the middle of July from late varieties on a cold and north-
ern exposure.

To the extreme north, warm land and sheltered situations
should no doubt be chosen, but in our latitude ;ind fartlier south
it should ever be our aim to escape that hardness and dryness of
soil which cut short the crops and hopes of so many cultivators.

Having located our strawberry plantations, we next consider :

The Preparation of the Soil and the best

Fertilizers.

The number of berries that we pick does not, usually, de-
pend upon the area planted, but upon the preparation and en-
riching of the soil and the after culture. In most instances one
acre can be made to produce as much as two, and at less expense,
which is certainly lar more satisfactory. While the strawberry
plant will live under almost any circumstances, lot it be most

12

clearly understood that large crops are only secured from a deep,
rich, mellow soil. The ground must be thoroughly loosened and
pulverized at least a foot, and if possible eighteen inches in depth,

I have seen a man digging over a garden plot with a short
fork. The ground was not stirred lower th;in six inches. No
wonder that strawberries left to the niercies of the "hired man"
usually bear so poorly. If there comes a hot dry time as they
are beginning to fruit, they often wilt to the ground. The fruit
becomes hard and dry and late blossoms and young berries never
mature.

For garden culture, cover the ground at least three inches
with the finest and oldest manure that can be had, and then plow
and cross-plow, or trench with a spade to the depth of eighteen
inches, or at least one foot. If you cannot get old rotten barn-
yard manure, take the best you can; any fertilizer, with the ex-,
ception of lime, is better than none at all. After making the
ground smooth the garden plot is ready for the plants.

Does any one object that such deep stirring and enriching of
the soil costs time and money. Of course it does, but the
return is fifty per cent profit, w^hile it is doubtful whether the
old slovenly method would yield legal interest.

But let us say' here that the soil must never be worked when
it is too wet. If it crumbles under the spade or plow, it is in
proper condition. If it is sticky and turns up shiny from the
plow-share wait till the sun, wind, or drainage have performed
tlieir offices.

In field culture, land from which a crop of corn or potatoes
has been taken is in a proper condition to prepare at once for
strawberries. If full of stones, clear it as far as possible, as they
are unsightly and prevent thorough cultivation. Cart on manure
till the ground is thoroughly covered. Though this advice may
not apply to Western prairies, at the east and south we rarely
err in over-enriching our ground. Turn all under with a heavy
plow, followed if possible with a subsoil plow. Pick off the
stones again if there are any, and cross-plow as deeply as possible,
barrow and pick what stones are left and you are ready for the

13

plants. It is better not to mark out for them with a light corn-
plow till just before planting, so that the roots may be placed at
once in fresh, moist soil. I think there are but few practicnl
fruit-growers who will not say that one acre prepared in this
manner will yield as much as two run hastily over once with a
plow and harrow and then r.'lanted with little or no manure.

This thorough preparation gives not only a large crop, but
also large showy fruit and a long season in picking, and here is
where ihe profit comes in. Besides if the ground is rich it resists
drouth far better than if poor. Many of the berries sent to New
York are so inferior that they scarcely pay the expense of pick-
ing, freight, and commission, and those who were economical of
time and manure, or ambitious to count a large number of acres
in fruit, lenrn by costly experience that only well prepared and
cultivated land returns satisfactory profit. Let no one who has
read of unusual yields imagine that he has only to half plow an
acre of rough poor land to secure like results. The conditions
of success . I re simple but they must be complied with. Nature
is not to-be cheated nor " cornered." She ever demands square,
straightforward dealing, or quietly checkmates.

If the land is in fair condition for corn, enrich it with from
30 to 50 tons of" barnyard manure to the acre ; if it is poor or
coiiiparatively so, do not be afraid to put on 75 tons. Mix
this thoroughly in the soil by plowing and cross-plowing. If
manure cannot be had, guano, bone dust, hen droppings can be
harrowed in at the rate of 800 to 1,000 pounds to the acre ;
though I would much prefer composting these concentrated agents
with fifty times their weigiit of leaves, muck, sod, or even good
earth. A pig-sty properly managed will enrich a large strawberry
bed, and I find my pigs, in working over weeds, leaves, and rub-
bish into strong manure, are worth more to me than their pork.
A crop or two of green clover or buckwheat plowed under is most
excellent.

But suppose the land designed for strawberries is in stiff sod.
In this case there must be patience and one makes haste slowly.
A year, or at least several months, must intervene before the

14

ground can be suitably prepared. In the first place there must
be time for the sod to decay thoroughly, or else there can be no
deep plowing and clean culture. The grass and weeds will be
almost sure to master the strawberries. But in sod land there
is usually another enemy even more fatal than half-subdued grass
and weeds — an ugl}^ customer with the portentous name of
Phjdlophaga Quercina. The name is bad enough, but the thing
itself is much worse. You need not draw a breath of relief,
when I tell you that I mean only the white grub, the larva of the
May-beetle that so disturbs our slumbers in early summer by its
sonorous hum and aimless bumpings against the wall till it falls
down back of the bed and then commences to crawl till our flesh
is ready to creep also. This white grub, which the farmers often
call the potato worm, is the most formidable foe the strawberry
has, and often makes a clean sweep of them by the acre. There
is scarcely any remedy. ■ The only way is to prevent, and this
method is directly in favor of a larger ultimate succesa with
strawberries. Put sod land in corn, potatoes, or any hoed crop
for a year, and if you detect traces of the white grub, for two
years, and stir the soil as often as possible. Our Phyl — etc.
beetle seldom lays its eggs in plowed ground, preferring grass
land where the larva will be protected from the birds.

But if one is in haste for strawberries he may set them out
in August or September after some early crop which has stirred
the soil well. But if the plow turns up the white grub we ad-
vise waiting at least till the following sj)ring, stirring the ground
several times and plowing deeply just before freezing weather.
I had the good fortune this year to be able to plow, on the 3d
and 4th of January, a piece of land infested with the grub. On
the night of the 4th the ground froze solid ;ind therefore I think
that after a crop of early potatoes I can set out strawberries by
the 1st of August, and thus get a fair crop in June, 1877. But
if I find Mr. Phyl — and family in the ground ready to com-
mence operations, I shall suspend mine, for I have learned from
sad experience that he and his can eat off the roots of plants
faster than 1 can put them out.

15

In order to have a supply of plants, it seemed necessary for
me to occupy some land that hud been in sod the yeiir before.
As this sod was very light and the soil free from roots and weeds,
I was able to subdue it sufficiently by fall-plowing. But I could
not so briefly subdue the white grub, and every day last summer
found scores of plants wilting. On taking hold of them I would
find every root eaten off, while an inch or more beneath the sur-
face, peacefull}' reposing, was the gorged destroyer. Of course
you can vent your vengeance on a few, but as to killing them all,
in land where they abound, I would refer the reader to Mr.
Dudley Warner s experience with " pusley."

This chief, and it might be added, only formidable, enemy of
the strawberr}^, may be found in limited numbers in old gardens
and where eveiy precaution hns been taken. When the plants
are valuable it is best to dig the grubs out, and usually they are
just below the surface early in the morning.

If it should so happen that one had bought a new place
which was all in grass and wished to have a strawberry bed as
soon as possible, I would advise trenching, and burying the sod,
inverted, in the trenches, at least a foot deep. At that depth it
would never grow and would make an excellent fertilizer. Then
after enriching the surface he can set out plants and take his
chances w^ith the aforenamed grub.

But as a general rule let sod land have one or two years of
thorough cultivation before planting it with strawberries.

Treatment of Different Soils and their Best

Fertilizers.

The practical grower soon finds that different soils require
diverse treatment. For instance, suppose one s land is of a light
dry, sandy, or gravelly nature. It would be great folly to treat
this as one would stiff clay. Here we should use cooling
manures and add vegetable matter as fast as possible.

The cleanings of the coiv-aiable are by far the best, and if
horse-manure is used it should be composted ami rotted with

16 . i

clay, muck or leaves. Rotted sods and leaves over which hi
been thrown soap-suds and slops from the house make an ex(
lent compost and are greatly improved by the addition of wo
ashes. Indeed I think that there are but few sandy n
gravelly knolls so dry and sterile but that a compost of lea^
and wood-ashes alone scattered thickly over the surface so
to leach down with every rain, would make them profitably p
ductive. Leaves are the natural fertilizer and mulch of I
strawberry, and enough go to waste every y^ar to make ferl
every bed in the country. All light and heating manures te
to increase the natural dryness and lightness of the soil, wher(
the constant aim should be to counteract this by adding i
absent element of vegetable mould. 1

Now let us consider the other extreme, a cold, stiff clay tl
may even be inclined to wetness and sourness. This oppos
kind of soil requires directly opposite treatment. Here light a
heating manures are the best, and, in preparing the ground, m
be carted directly from the horse-stable and plowed in. I
tendency of this land is to bake, crack and grow ver}'' hard,
a compost, well decayed, of stable manure, leaves, etc., is spre
and left upon the surface, it obviates this and keeps the soil m
low and porous. Plowing such land into ridges in November :
the action of the winter frost is very beneficial.

But if the water occasionally stands upon, or two or three f(
below the surface, there can be no certain success withe
thorough drainage. I have been doing a great deal of tl
during the present open winter and can recommend the " be
drain " where stones are plenty. My men build two rough-fac
walls a foot high and a foot apart, and cover with large f
stones, chinking in carefully with sm.'ill ones so that no earth c
find its way into the drain as the ditch is filled again. Tl
leaves a water-course a foot in the clear. Where there is i
much water, the same form of drain of half the size will answ
This kind of stone-work is done rapidly, as two men in two sh(
winter days built thii'teen rods with a water-course six inch
square. I

17

Another rough cheap drain, when the flow of water is not
great, is to set two stones upon the edges and lean them together,
forming a kind of an arch, and then fill up with stones around
and over them. This can be done rapidly and answers very
well. When stone is not at hand tile no doubt will answer
equally well.

We have thus given a considerable space to the preparation
and enriching of the soil. This is the foundation of all certain
success and here is just where the majority fail.

Having thoroughly prepared and drained the land, the next
consideration is,

Wher\ to Plai\t.

The strawberry is so tenacious of life that it may be trans-
planted with care at almost any season ; but there are times
which are especially favorable. In northern latitudes spring
undoubtedly' is preferable, while at the far south October and
November are the best months.

In spring, the ground is moist, showers usually abundant, and
the impulse of growth is strong. At this cool season, the plants
do not heat, or dry out during transportation, if packed with
ordinary care. Land that is to be set with strawberries in spring
should be thoroughly prepared the fall before, if possible. Novem-
ber plowing is especially beneficial where the ground is inclined
to be at all wet or heav}''.

The earlier they are planted the better. I make it a rule to
set them out as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. Of
course this term early is relative, and also depends upon the sea-
son. In 1875 little could be done in the open ground before
May, and yet in other years I have had excellent success with
plants set out in March. February is a spring month at the far
south, and April a winter month in high latitudes. The safe rule
in every region is to plant as soon as possible after the ground
is dry enough. There is much to be said also in favor of summer

18

and fall. Plants set out in July and August, if kept from runners,
produce a fair crop of extra fine fruit the season following, where-
as plants set in spring should not be permitted to bear at all.
Thus, much time is gained by summer planting. The following
testimonials were secured by a bed of Monarchs of the West that
I set out in August.

" I never saw such large berries in this country." — Mr. Ball, of Ball,
Black & Co., New York City.

*' Only in Scotland have 1 seen larger berries." — Rev. Dr. J. Forsyth,
Chaplain West Point Military Academy.

" I certainly never saw so many strawberries growing together of such
a uniform monstrous size." — Hon. John Bigelow, Sec'y of State.

Plantings made in September and even October often yield
some good fruit the season following. Land on which an early
crop has matured, instead of being left as a seed bed for weeds,
can often be planted with strawberries to great advantage in
July, August, or September. In our latitude plants set out even
in November, if they survive the winter, start with wonderful
vigor and make a much stronger growth than if planted in spring.
I once set a bed of Charles Downings in November. Two-thirds
of them died, but .the few remaining soon made up the loss and
covered the ground. Some prefer October and November for
setting, and protect the plants by drawing a couple of inches of
earth upon them just before winter and then uncover early the
following spring. I have not tried this to any extent but know
a gentleman who succeeds with this method on a stiff clay.

The chief difficulty in summer planting is the drouth and
heat usual at that season. If there conies a showery time, as is
often the case, this obstacle is removed. I set out a large num-
ber last summer and lost a far smaller per cent, than in the
spring, which was dry. If one has plants upon his own place,
and can take them up with a ball of earth around the roots,
and water after setting, they will scarcely show they have
been moved. Even plants coming from a long distance can be
saved by some extra care. I sent away thousands, and chiefly

19

by niail, all through August and September last year and there
were only a few complaints of losses. I expect to put out two
acres next July or August,

Still, as a general rule and for large plantings, experience
proves that it is safer to set out strawberries in spring.

Obtaining Plai\ts.

If you have them, or can get from a neighbor just what you
want, this is a simple matter. But there are multitudes who, like
myself, in starting a new place and getting new varieties, must
purchase at a distance. I find that sending to trustworthy dealers
and paying a fair price, is by far the most profitable course. Some
have a mania for getting everj'thing cheaply, although they like
to obtain good prices themselves. They quote to the regular
dealer some very low terms that they have seen or heard of and
ask to be supplied at the same rates.

There is a large class who cultivate a few of the leadinsr
varieties by the acre for their fruit. In the spring they must thin
out their plantations to keep them in bearing condition, and are
willing to sell the surplus, — and I might almost say refuse — at
the time for anything they can get. But to make the low prices
for this transient supply the standard for the regular plant-growler
who at great labor and expense keeps pure and separate a large
and varied stock, and is ready to fill an order at any time in the
season, is both unjust and absurd. In buying new stock I go to
men who have won a reputation and whose prosperity depends
upon their keeping it — who will honestly try to sell me just what
I ask for and believe that they are doing so.

I have heard of agents and transient men buying a large
number of plants of a single kind and then filling all their orders
from this one lot, putting on labels of different varieties to suit
their customers. The established fruit-grower, even if he is not
d gentleman, cannot afford any such trickery. Of course mis-
takes are made by the most careful, but they are mistakes and

20

not something else. Even though we do our best, trouble often
arises. It is very easy to say that one's plants are pure, but not
so easy to be sure of it until after they have fruited.

Though you buy your stock from the most trustworthy
growers, through some mistake, or the carelessness of a workman,
another kind is sent and put unsuspectingly among pure plants,
or a few plants by some chance are tied up where they do not
belong. You think your plants are pure but find as they come
into bearing that they are mixed. I have so trained my eye, that I
recognize the fruit and foliage of the leading kinds instantly, and
if a plant even looks suspicious I now dig it up and throw it away,
as I do also plants that produce poor and imperfect berries. I
have more and more faith in careful selection, and in propagating
from superior stock, and shall take special pains to carry out this
princi2:>le on my new place. I wish to be able to say of my stock,
I know it is pure.

Do not be deterred by distance from sending for what you
want. Where but a few hundred plants are desired for home use
the mail offers great facilities. In 18751 sent more than 32,000
strawberry plants through the mails, in addition to those for-
warded by express, and there was but little complaint and loss
even during hot weather.

Of course large orders and bulky kinds of plants must go
by express or freight.

Wl\at kit\ds to Plant.

This is a question upon which few will agree and 1 do not
hope for a general endorsement. But I shall give the best light
on the subject I can, suggesting that the grower must learn
largely by experience what kinds he can raise most profitably
upon his soil and in his locality and with reference to his market.
For the main crop I would advise that half or two -thirds of one's
land be set out with Wilson's Albany seedling. This variety

21

is the strawberry wheat and will always sell at some price.
There are but few regions where it cannot be grown profitably,
and it certainly is the most abundant bearer of any variety yet
generally known. On strong moist land it will produce enormous
crops of fair sized berries. But if the ground is poor and becomes
hard and dry during the bearing season the fruit runs very small
toward the last, and scarcely pays for picking. •

After the main planting of the Wilson, there are a dozen good
varieties to choose from, and which of these are the most profit-
able will depend largely upon the nature of the soil, locality and
market. If the soil is a good moist loam or inclined to clay, I
would recommend Triomphe de Gand, Jucunda and President
Wilder, grown in narrow rows. These varieties always bring-
high prices, but on light land and with ordinary culture seldom
pay. On a thin sandy soil I would suggest Seth .Boyden, Mon-
arch of the West, Charles Downing, Kentucky Seedling, and
Champion, adding that these strong growing varieties with ordinary
care will grow and bear well on almost any soil. The Downer
and Green Prolific flourish where a weed will, and few weeds
can get the better of them. They bear abundantly berries that
iare tolerable for home use but too soft for market. They are
good varieties for those who want strawberries without labor.
On the other hand, for the amateur who is willing to pet his plants
and keep all runners cut, the La Constant, Lenig's White, Black
Defiance, and Kissena give beautiful and delicious fruit. There
are also new varieties of great promise, the best of which to
my knowledge, are Great American and Dutchess. One of
the largest, the latest and most beautiful berry that I have
seen is the President Wilder. To my taste its flavor is
unsurpassed and it also brings the highest prices. It bears well
with me, but requires a strong, moist, rich soil. It should have a
place in every garden. For general culture after the Wilson
I would recommend the Seth Boyden, Charles Downing, and
Monarch of the West. I would also advise the trial of several
other varieties, as the Colonel Cheney, Triomphe de Gand, &c.,
on a. iiiiiittid scale. The grower must learn by experience what

22 .

kinds he can raise with profit, for soil and locality cause more
differences in the strawberry than in any other fruit. In some
markets quantity is the main thing, but in New York fine quality
and size secure the largest returns ; I therefore am planting
chiefly the large varieties. In order to have a long strawberry
season, plant on a warm southern slope the Nicanor, Black
Defiance, Wilson, and Triomphe, or other^ early kinds. The
leading varieties that I have named will come in as the main crop.
For late fruit select a moist soil with a cool northern exposure
where the snow melts late, and set out President Wilder,
Kentucky, Jucunda and Triomphe de Gand. While the last is
early, it also continues late, remaining in bearing longer, if kept
free from runners, than any other kind with which I am ac-
quainted. New varieties may enable us to extend the season
still more. The monthly Alpines will bear till frost, and in rich
moist soil give consideriible fruit in the fall.

I am more and more inclined to believe that even those vari-
eties that bear perfect flowers, i. e., both stamens and pistils, are
rendered increasingly productive by growing near each other, so
that the pollen, during the season of bloom, passes freely across
the different beds with every breeze and is carried from one blos-
som to another by the honey-gathering bees. While I keep my
beds fjir enough anart to prevent all intermixture by their running
together I think that I get better crops by growing several vari-
eties as neighbors.

How to Plai\t.

In the moist season of spring this is usually a simple matter,
and careless work succeeds And yet there is a difference
between plants merely li^r'ng and having them start at once into
vigorous growth. Sl:'\l atd care always pay, though they are not
always necessary.

In the spring take a handful of plants, stretch out the roots
straight and shorten them by cutting off at least one-third of
their length. Where plants are bought, they often come tied in

23

bundles of fifty, and the work of cutting off the ends of the roots
can be done readily with a sharp knife. Set out if possible on a
still day. A cold dry wind is far worse than the mild radiance
of an April or May sun. In any case the roots must be kept
moist by moss or water till they are in the ground — the roots,
not the tops. Many leave their plants in water till the life is
soaked out of them. Do not plant when the ground is wet and
sticky, unless during or just before a rain. If the sun and wind
strike wet ground immediately after it has been stirred it often
becomes like hard mortar. In the spring, and especially in
summer and fall it is better to set plants soon after the prepara-
tion of the soil, before even the surface has time to dry. In the
field harrow the land smooth, use a line if possible, or let some
one mark out with a plow who is not like a man that once
worked for us and planted corn so crooked that the crows could
not find it. Let the rows for field culture be three feet apart and
the plants stand one foot from each other in the row. At this
distance 14,520 will be required for an acre. Spread the roots
out as fiir as possible and put them down their full depth but do
not cover the crown of the plants. Press the gvovcud firmlf/ around
the roots. Millions of plants are lost by loose, careless setting.

In the garden where the plow will not be used the rows may
be two feet apart instead of three and the phxnts one foot apart
in the row. Or beds four feet wide can be made with a walk of
two feet between them. Put three rows down each bed, plant-
ing the first six inches from the walk and the other two rows
eighteen inches apart. If plants are scarce or high, they can be
set three feet apart in the row and each one permitted to make
two new plants which can, be caused to take root in the row .so
as to leave each one a foot apart, which I think is the best dis-
tance. But to be sure of a good strong bearing bed the following
season it is not safe to set the plants less than one foot apart in
the row.

Even in spring, unless the ground is very moist and the time
showery, it is well to give the plants a good sprinkling. If it is
at all dry and hot, water thoroughly, and after the water has

24

soaked away, draw a little dry earth over the wet surface to
prevent its baking and to retain the moisture.

In summer and fall planting there will be no trouble if we
can hit upon a showery time. But it is not always convenient
or possible to wait. If we are setting out plants from our own
place, it can readily be done, except in a severe drouth, by taking
them up with a ball of earth around the roots. Use a garden
trowel or spade, cutting down on four sides so that the soil will
not crumble away from the roots. With a hand barrow, or
some boards nailed across two poles, a couple of men can take up
a hundred or more at a time, and carry them without jarring to
the bed where, holes having been prepared before, they can be
put at once into their places. In this way I have set out large
beds in the heat and drouth of August, scarcely losing a plant,
and expect to set two acres next summer after taking off a crop
of early potatoes. Of course the plants so removed need one or
two liberal waterings and then dry earth drawn up around them
the next morning. It should be done in the cool of the after-
noon or upon a cloudy day. A few rows can be set out every
evening, preparing the ground just before, so that it may be
moist and fresh.

The same result can be secured with even greater certainty
by another method. In most country homes there are small
flower-pots lying idle during the summer, or it will pay to buy a
hundred or more four inch pots. These can be sunk in the
earth so that the rims are just below the surface along the rows
from which new plants are desired, and the runners so guided
that they will take root in the pots. If this is done the middle
of July, by the first of August you will have strong plants that
can be set out in beds to fruit the next year and the pots used in
the same way again. From many growers potted plants can be
bought in August, and unless treated with utter neglect are sure
to grow. Plants set out by either of the above methods in sum-
mer or early in fall yield a fine crop of splendid berries the
season following.

But ordered plants often come by mail or express in hot dry

25

weather and there is no earth around their roots to give them a
start. They should be opened at once and placed in a cool cellar
with damp moss around the roots, or the roots buried in some
moist shady place till evening. In the afternoon prepare the
ground so that it may be fresh, and as soon as the sun is oiF com-
mence setting. If the roots look at all black shorten them one-
third as in spring, in order to stimulate a new growth. Other-
wise we do not shorten roots in summer and fall. Mix good,
fine garden soil with water till a sticky paste is made that will
coat the roots as you dip them into it, then put them down their
full depth in the moist soil, spreading them as far as it can be
done, and press the ground very firmly about them. Water thor-
oughly, soak the ground and then draw over the wet surface dry
earth. It is well to shade them for a few daj's by large inverted
flower-pots, boards, shingles, old strawberry baskets, etc. A
mulch of cut grass or litter of any kind that serves to keep the
ground moist, is of value. I have had excellent success on a
large scale by throwing a handful of coarse weeds on the top of
each plant, being sure to remove them by five p. m. each day,
and putting them back in the morning, continuing the protection
till the plants start to grow. Then the danger is over unless it
should be very dry, in which case the ground around them must
be kept moist till rain comes. By the liberal use of mulch, this
can be done quite easily.

With late fall plantings, as in spring, there is little danger from
drouth and heat, but the plants often do not become sufficiently
established to stand the winter.

I would suggest the general trial of the experiment of covering
late plantings with two inches of earth in November or December
Mccording to latitude and then uncovering early in spring. Time
•rind labor is abundant in the fall and plants which can be made
to survive the winter start with almost double vigor in the spring.

But if one is going to plant largely and can get his land ready
the work can be more easily and safely performed in spring than
any other time.

Having set out our plants we next consider

26

Modes of Culture.

As a general thing our after treatment will depend upon our
object — fruit or plants. With me a rapid increase of plants is
the chief object from most of my beds. All I have to do in this
case is to make the ground very rich, keep out the weeds and let
them run, which they will generally do fast enough. They can
be greatly aided in rooting however by keeping the surface loose
and by top dressing with fine rich compost in July and August.
Even those not rooted in October will make good plants by spring
if the ground is well top-dressed, scattering the fine manure broad-
cast over the plants. When the variety is valuable I have them
layered by pressing the young plant into the soil and drawing a
little earth over it. But while raising plants is simple enough it
is even more expensive to cultivate for fruit as the ground
between the rows cannot be kept clean by mulch nor the cultiva-
tor, but must be weeded out in large areas by hand. Where
plants are the object the land can scarcely be made too rich, and a
top-dressing of wood-ashes and a compost of hen-manure and fine
earth in the spring and just before rains during the summer, are
great stimulants. Where these cannot be had,, guano and bone-
dust are excellent. But these strons; concentrated manures must
be used with care or they will burn the plants like fire. It is usu-
ally best to mix them with ten times their bulk of earth or muck,
and scatter the compost around, very near, but not on the vines.

I shall keep my beds free from old plants by stretching a
line along the old rows about the 1st of September and spading
them deeply under. After strawberries have been grown upon a
piece of land about four years I shall turn all under as soon as
they are done bearing and sow buckwheat and plow this under
as it comes into flower. The following spring I shall plant pota-
toes, corn or a root crop. And after the land has had the rest of
change plant again in strawberries. Raspberries or any other
of the small fruits can be planted with advantage on ground that
has been in strawberries.

27

With the majority, however, strawberries are raised solely for
the sake of their fruit. As a general thing it requires considera-
ble time, and extensive and therefore expensive advertising to
build up a profitable business in plants.

What is the best method of culture where fruit is the chief
object ? I will briefly give that one which most pleases me, and
then name some others which may be better and more satisfactory
to the grower.

For the field I prefer that the rows be three feet apart,
and the plants one foot apart in the row. If set out in spring,
keep the plow, cultivator and hoe going among them so that
the ground is always loose and free of weeds. Let no runners
grow. If you want new plants of the variety, set out a bed
for the purpose and let them cover the ground. There is no
such excessive labor in keeping off the runners as many sup-
pose. A little boy or girl with a pair of shears, by going over
the plants once a week, in the running season, will keep a very
large area free. When there are children in the family, the
work is so light as to be almost play ; and if they are paid some-
thing, the satisfaction of earning money for themselves will
change the task into a pleasure. Where many are grown it will
pay well to hire one or two good boys and they will keep acres
clipped. There is no need of putting high-priced labor at the
work. Thus the plants, whether set in spring or fall, are permitted
to make no runners unless the varieties are very scarce. Even
if they are, I keep* a few hills or rows clipped to see what they
will do with good culture. It must soon become obvious to those
who have studied the habits of most varieties of strawberries,
that a plant will expend most of its vitality in its effort to propa-
gate itself. If the best results in fruit are desired, this vitality
must be restricted to the one office of producing berries.

By fall, plants treated in this way touch each other and
make a "strong, bushy, continuous row. Of course if any of the
plants die, I let enough run to fill up the spaces. By having
but a single line of plants the plow and cultivator can run very
close to them the first year, thus keeping the ground mellow and

28

moist and leaving but little hoeing and handwork. Pick off all
blossoms and permit no fruit to form the first year unless it be on
a very few strong plants of some new variety in order to get an
idea of the quality. As the ground begins to freeze, I cover
the rows two inches deep with light strawy stable-manure, leaves,
or any coarse litter, but never with strong wet manure. Ever-
green boughs, where they can be obtained with little trouble,
make one of the best winter protections, and for a choice bed in
the garden it is often well to take a little pains to procure them.

Early in the spring, before the plants begin to grow to any
extent, dig or plow the spaces between the rows. After the
plants are in blossom they must not be disturbed, unless the
ground has been neglected and grown hard or weedy. In this
case I believe it is better to loosen the soil with a small subsoil
plow, fork, or long pointed hoe, get out the weeds, and put on a
mulch, or they will smother the crop ; and if there comes a drouth,
the fruit will be small and almost worthless on hard, and therefore
dry ground. But there should be no such neglect where people
wish to succeed. Stir and clean the land between the rows and
pull out all weeds as soon as the ground is dry enough to work ;
then level it down- and put on the mulch at once while it is moist
and mellow. Leaves, marsh hay, especially old dead grass from
the rakings of the lawn, make an excellent mulch. Enough litter
is burnt every spring to double the strawberr}^ crop. Having
put the mulch on two or three inches deep so that weeds cannot
grow through it, the plants may be left till after the picking sea-
son is over. The mulch serves a quadruple purpose, keeping
the ground moist, the weeds from growing, the fruit clean, and in
wet weather enabling one to walk between the rows without mir-
ing or getting muddy. Berries that lie down in the mud and sand
will not sell in any market, and for our own tables we pi-efer
powdered sugar and cream to a mixture of rain water and earth.

if before or during the bearing season a few rampaiat Aveeds
show themselves in the rows or elsewhere, they can be pulled
out by hand. Do not hope to raise many strawberries and many
weeds on the same ground. Virtue w^ill fare just about as well

29

with rampant vice in the same heart. Both weeds and vices are
fought best when the}^ are little. Mr. Downing told me of a man
who was noted for having one of the neatest and cleanest nurseries
in the country. The secret of his success was that he kept
stirring the ground so often that the weeds could not get started
or established. At the same time he employed less help than
others cultivating the same space. If, as is often the case on good
ground and with some varieties, the plants commence running in
June, let the little boy commence with his shears and continue to
clip off all runners as long as they form.

The mulch can be left between the rows, keeping the weeds
from growing during the busy season. About the first of Septem-
ber the mulch will be quite rotten and the weeds pushing through
it. Now spade or plow it under and weed the rows out thor-
oughly. But the best results will be obtained by digging the
mulch under as soon as the bearing season is over and cultivating
between the rows till the plants are again covered for winter.
This turning under the mulch in July, August, or even September,
will so renew the plants that by winter they will be stronger
than ever and give even a better crop the ensuing year. Beds
thoroughly cleaned in September will scarcely become weedy
before winter and can wait till spring before another weeding.
Thus with a heavy mulch between the rows, two thorough clean-
ings a year will keep them in good condition in most cases. As
the ground begins to freeze give winter protection as before.

This treatment can be kept up from three to six years,
according to the variety. The Triomphe de Gand would con-
tinue productive even seven years, I think.

As soon as the. plants of any kind begin to fail, dig or plow
all under and make a new bed somewhere else. Do not keep a
strawberry bed ten or fifteen years in the same place, saying
with an acquaintance of mine, " It is more convenient there than
anywhere else." Nature in this respect is justly called a " dame,"
and her will is not to be trifled with. She has a feminine love
of variety and gets tired even of strawberries after a time. If
one aims, therefore, to put his beds not merely where they are

30

convenient, but where he will get fruit, he will move them around as
often as possible and give the land the change of a. different crop.

The " hi]l-s3^stem " is similar to the above only the plants are
kept farther apart, so that in some cases the cultivator can go
between them both ways. I do not think, as a rule, any larger
fruit is obtained by this method than from the narrow and con-
tinuous row, and there are grave objections to it. It leaves too
much space unoccupied. It is difficult to mulch these wide open
spaces so as to keep the ground moist. These unproductive
spaces are apt to be widened by plants dying. In the single row
system if a plant dies a runner can be allowed to take root at
once in its place.

What is termed the '' annual system " has great advantages,
especially where one has plent}- of land and can shift his beds
often. In this case the soil is made very rich and the plants are
put out in spring. The .spaces between tlie rows are cultivated
and kept clean until the runners start strongly and thenthese
are left to cover all the ground, which they will do by fall. On
the, approach of winter the entire surface is covered with marsh
hay, leaves or strawy manure, the coarsest of which is raked olf in
spring and stacked' for future use. Some employ straw cut into
inch pieces which is left on the ground, the plants growing up
throusi'h it. Pine leaves or needles are an excellent mulch or
winter protection. After the winter covering is taken off, paths
a foot wide are cut through the beds for the pickers and the rest
of the plants are left to fruit. Immediately after bearing they
are plowed under and the following year a crop of corn or pota-
toes is cultivated, and then the next spring the land is set with
strawberries again. Thus only one crop is taken from a plant-
ing. This is found a very profitable way of cultivating certain
varieties like the Hovey, Wilson, Charles Downing, etc. But it
will not succeed well with the very large varieties like the Seth
Boyden, Monarch, Jucunda., and Triomphe, etc. In land that
is inclined to be very weedy and grassy or to become hard if
not stirr(Ml and mulched, I fear these closely matted beds would
disappoint in hot, dry seasons.

ol

Mr. Wm. Parry, who is one of the most practical and suc-
cessful horticulturists on a large scale, in New Jersej, gives the
following as one of his favorite methods of culture :

" A plan that has given good satisfaction with me is to open furrows
2-2- feet apart, and spread a preparation of equal parts of marl, ashes and
ground bone along tlie furrows, after it has been mixed and incorporated
together for ten days or two weeks, until the heat, generated by the action
of the ashes and marl, has mellowed and softened the bone so that the
particles will crumble like chalk when rubbed between the thumb and
fingers. Using one ton of the ground bone, and the same quantity each
of ashes and marl, on five acres, will give a vigorous growth of dark green
foliage to the strawberries.

" The ground being frequently stirred with horse and cultivator close to
the rows, leaves but a small portion of the ridge between the plants to be
loosened with the hoe. As the runners extend and widen the beds, the
cultivator is made narrower ; and care being taken to pass along the alleys
every time in the same direction, drawing the runners always in one way
will leave them more even and regular than if drawn both ways by going
back and forth in the same alley. The plants then form ridges about 18
inches wide with alleys one foot wide between them. This plan is more
certain and reliable than keeping the plants in hills and cutting off the
runners. There is less hand labor, most of the cultivation being done by
horse-power, and if some of the plants should be destroyed by grubs or
insects, there will be enough left to produce a good crop of fruit.

" At the approach of cold weather or beginning of winter give them a
good coat of stable manure, spread evenly all over the plants. If the rows
are 2^ feet apart, a horse and each cart wheel will follow along an alley
without injuring the plants. Tlie covering with manui^e is of great impor-
tance, as it protects the buds and embryo fruit from severe freezing, and
prevents the roots from lifting and heaving out as the frost leaves the
ground. The rains, soaking the strength of the manure into the soil, give
food and nourishment to the roots. The straw and coarser materials,
being bleached and beaten close to the ground by the winter's snow and
rain, do not prevent the young growth from coming through in the spring,
but serve to keep the fruit clean in summer."

I should regard this method as peculiarly adapted to Mr.
Parry's land, which is a very light, sandy loam, in no danger of
baking or becoming hard, and not greatly troubled with grass or
white clover, I should judge.

]3ut I think that iu most localities the method first described

32

if faithfully carried out will give the most satisfaction and profit,
especially in the garden.

As the cultivator grows in experience he will try methods
of his own and modify others to suit himself One method how-
ever will always be exceedingly popular. People will buy good
plants but let them stand around in the wind and sun or mould-
ing in the cellar until much injured. Then they will set them
out on poor, half-prepared ground and leave them to an unequal
fight with grass and weeds till picking time when the wretched
crop will lead them to berate both the plant-dealer and straw-
berry culture as arrant humbugs. They will then plow the
half-choked plants under and return to their congenial crops of
cabbage, corn, etc.

Raising ne^A/^ Varieties.

If one wishes to raise new varieties he can do so in a hap-
hazard way very easily. Select very fine berries of the different
kinds which contain the qualities which are sought to be united
in a new variety and mash them into dry sand so that all moist-
ure is absorbed. Prepare a seed-bed of rich fine soil in a half-
shady place^, sow the mingled sand and seed at once and sift
through a coal sieve fine rich earth upon them till they are covered
one-quarter of an inch. Keep the seed-bed moist and in four
weeks the little plants will begin to appear. On the approach of
winter cover the young plants with one or two inches of straw.
In the spring put them out eighteen inches apart each way and
number them. Keep off all runners. A few may bear the first
year, but you cannot tell much about them till the second.
Then you can thin out your seedlings very fast, for most of tliem
will prove far inferior to those now in cultivation. A few may be
pretty good. Two or three may be excellent. One or two mav
possibly be first class, even better than anything known. But the
probabilities are that out of 1000 seedlings you will not get one
as good as many varieties we now have. Raising new seedlings
is an innocent and useful form of gambling in which blanks are

33

innumerable. But to draw a prize like the Chas. Downing or
Seth Boydeii is a good thing for the whole country as well as for
the fortunate possessor. Seedlings of promise should be taken
up with a ball of earth and set by themselves where they can
spread and be tested more fully. When in blossom note and
mark carefully whether the flowers are pistillate or perfect.
Flowers which possess both stamens and pistils and which
fertilize themselves, producing fruit without the aid of another
variety, are termed "perfect."

The mysteries of scientific hybridization and forcing under
glass do not come within the scope of this practical hand-book.
For these and kindred topics, the history of small-fruits, and full
lists of varieties, few of which are in general cultivation, I refer
the reader to the valuable works of A. S. Fuller and others, which
can be bought at the office of the American Agriculturist, 245
Broadway, New York.

At the close of this manual will be found a chapter on pick-
ing, preparing small-fruits for market, and the best packages for
shipping.

Varieties.

I will close this chapter on strawberries with a description of
some of the leading kinds that are now in favor.

Monarch of the West.— The largest of all ; fruit enormous,
and averaging large to the last. I picked one berry that measured
7 inches around, and others 6i, 6, and 5 inches. It is also the
most vigorous grower I have seen. Though so large it has a very
fine flavor and a delightful aroma. With me it has proved a good
bearer on both light and heavy soil, and I have seen it loaded
with fruit on the New Jersey sand. A superb variety for home
use, but a little soft I fear for distant markets. With a near
market and with careful handling it wOl bring the highest prices.

Seth Boyden (No. 30). — This is still one of my chief favo
rites. Though a comparatively new variety, its reputation is

34

now established as one of the very finest. It certainly is the
sweetest of all the large berries, and for home use cannot be sur-
passed. It scarcely requires sugar, and yet is far from being
insipid. It is one of the strongest growers and very hardy. With
slight protection, it will stand the severest winters. Berries im-
mensely large, very many under ordinary culture measuring four
inches around, and some five. A good bearer. I have sold many
bushels in New York at 40 cents per quart, and they retailed
at 50 cents. I have disposed of many thousand plants of this
kind, and, though soil, locality and culture make a great differ-
ence with every variety, I am hearing from all quarters, golden
opinions of the " 8eth Boyden." A gentleman who has tested
hundreds of varieties, places it as second best on his long list,
after a careful comparison in the fruiting season. He regards
the '^ Monarch of the West " as the best on his sandy soil. A
friend writes that he picked as many quarts of " Seth Boyden,"
from a half acre as from the same area of Wilson, kept carefully
in hills, and adds that they carry excellently to market. I find
that they " stand up " among the best. Many complain of the
" green tip," but if they will only leave them till ripe, they will
find no "green tip."

Charles Downing. — One of the best varieties grown. Fruit
large and abundant. The more I see and hear of this kind the
more I find in its favor. It is extremely vigorous, hardy and
productive. It seems to do well on any soil, and is excellent for
home use, but soft for distant markets.

President Wilder. — Locality seems to make great differences
with this variety, but upon my soil I regard it as one of the
best. It is with me exceedingly large, quite prolific, and one
of the very latest. It is the handsomest berry I have, and in
color, shape, and flavor cannot be surpassed. It carries to market
well and brings the highest prices. But in some localities I am
told it does not do so well, and I have seen it looking poorly.
It requires good soil and thorough culture. I like it better every
year.

35

Triomphe de Gand,— An old, well established favorite. If
[ were compelled to raise but one strawberry I would choose this
variety, for the reason that it remains so long in bearing, and
has also the good qualities of being large, firm, of a sweet, rich
flavor, and a good bearer. But it requires high culture and the
runners well cut. A bed of Triomphes, well cared for, will last
longer than any other kind I have known.

Ohampioili — A very promising new variety. Fruit large,
and of a spicy acid flavor. Plants very vigorous and exceed-
ingly productive. I have fruited it and have seen large beds in
bearing, and it bids fair to be one of the best. Season medium
to late. It must be planted near other kinds, as it will not bear
alone. Last season's fruiting has greatly increased my confidence
in this variety.

Wilson's Albany Seedling.— The most abundant bearer in
existence. I have known single plants to produce over 400 ber-
ries. It is the great market berry, of medium size, firm, and
very acid.

JuCUnda. — A superb variety if you can obtain it pure and
right, which I have found considerable difficulty in doing. I
had a bed in full bearing this year, which I know to be pure,
and a more beautiful sight I never saw in the way of strawberries.
Fruit enormous, bright colored, and firm. It should have rich
soil and runners cut.

Black Defiance. — A very large, dark colored, high flavored
berry ; excellent for home use. Too dark for market. Only
moderately productive with me.

Lady of the Lake. — A very fine berry and worthy of a
place m all collections.

Lenig's White.— a beautiful and delicious white berry with
a pink blush. It is a strong grower and hardy, but should be
kept rigorously in narrow rows. It is a shy bearer at best.

Late rrolinC. — Neither late nor very prolific with me, but

36

well worth a place in an amateur's collection. Large, showy, and of
a sprightly acid flavor.

Cumberland Triumph.— This is a berry to delight an amateur.
It is a strong, splendid grower, making enormous stools, and produc-
ing fruit of mammoth size, and as regular as pippin apples. For
near market it will bring the highest price ; but its softness and pale
color will prevent it from becoming a general favorite.

Colonel Cheney. — As a market berry this variety is coming into
favor, and is said to be very large and handsome. I shall test it
quite thoroughly the coming season. I know that it is a good grower.
Its flowers are not sufficiently perfect to bear well alone and it is well
to plant Wilsons on either side.

Kentucky. — One of the veiy best late strawberries, of bright
showy color, a moderate bearer. The flesh is pure white and of ex-
cellent flav^or, and the fruit large.

Pioneer. — This appears to me to be the best of the new early ber-
ries and the best of all of Mr. Durand's seedlings that I have seen.
It is a tall, vigorous grower, foliage light green, fruit very large, of a
light scarlet color, delicious in flavor, and possessing an exquisite
aroma. It is a royal berry for the home garden, and one of the very
best.

Miner's Great Prolific. — Has impressed me, both on my own
place and wherever I have seen it, as a berry of exceeding great prom-
ise. In some respects it resembles the Charles Downing, but is dis-
tinct from it. It is darker in color, averages larger in size ; and
where I have seen it, it has been equally "productive. I shall plant
it largely. I think it will do well on a great variety of soils, and in
most sections, but would suggest that it is a little soft for long
carriage.

Hovey.— An old variety and still much esteemed in some localities,
especially near Boston. It is large, conical, bright crimson, and of a
good sprightly flavor. It will not bear by itself, as it is a pistillate
variety.

La Constant. — A beautiful and delicious berry, but requir-

37

ing the richest soil and highest culture with runners cut, A. fine fruit
for the amateur.

The monthly bush Alpines, white and red, should also find a place
in the garden, since upon rich, moist soil and with clean culture they
will supply the table until frost.

If any enjoy a musky flavor let them cultivate a bed of Hautbois.

This is but a very partial, list. There are hundreds of old varieties
which in the main have gone out of favor. There are also scores of
new ones, very few of which, notwithstanding the enthusiasm of the
originators, will ever become established favorites. I shall test these
new comers and report accurately on their behavior with me.

Kerr's Late Prolific— Grreat things were claimed for this berry at
first, and then it passed into disfavor. I do not think its character
has been understood. If allowed to run it will soon mat the ground
with a perfect sod of plants. The fruit will be small and the foliage
will buru. But for two Summers I have kept the runners off of a
few plants, and the result has been surprising. In both instances
there was an abundance of large, late and delicious fruit. The pet-
ting that the Great American requires would give superb results with
this berry.

We have enough merely good berries. As the proverb goes,
" There is always room at the top." If better varieties than we now
have can be originated they will be most welcome. That any of the
new and wonderful kiuds that are now being trumpeted over the land
are better, can only be learned by a careful trial, reaching through a
. number of years and over a wide and varied region of country.

But we have no cause to complain, for the long list of good and
very good varieties is like the bill of fare at a fashionable hotel of
which a traveler complained that it would take him a week to eat his
way through it.

38

They who live without strawberries, certainly miss one of
the best things that this old, thorny, and thistle-cursed globe
can produce. Man's folly gave the devil a chance to plant his
hoof on Eden, but he was not permitted to stamp it all out of
existence, and one of the daintiest little bits remaining is ripe
with us about the tenth of June.

RASPBERRIES.

AM taking an increasing interest in this fruit, as the fol-
lowing, from the New York Evangelist, will suggest : —
" Our friend, Rev. E. P. Roe, has on exhibition at the
office of the American Agriculturist, 245 Broadway, seven-
teen distinct varieties of raspberries — Herstine, Hudson River
Antwerp, Franconia, Highland Hardy, Saunders, Belle de Palluau,
Belle de Fontenay, Vice-President French, Clark, Old Purple
Oane, Brand3^wine, Philadelphia, Mammoth Cluster, Dooiittle,
Davison's Thornless, an unknown variety, and a seedling that
promises to be exceedingly valuable, as it is as large and firm
as the Antwerp, and stood out last winter without protection."

Why families are without this delicious and easily raised
fruit is a mystery. It also promises to be increasingly profitable
to those who are near good markets, as from its softness those at
a distance cannot compete. Pears and grapes may be sent from
California, but not raspberries.

The list of good raspberries is not by any means as long as
that of strawberries ; not that there are not a great many varieties
in the catalogues, and many new candidates for favor which are,
.as yet, guarded by the sanguine proprietors as jealously as harem
beauties, but there are but few of them which are known to be
productive and vigorous, except in limited localities, and under
very favorable circumstances. There is still great room for im-
provement in this fruit, and he who can originate a large, firm,
bright colored berry growing on hardy, productive, vigorous canes,

40

and adapted to a wide range of country, ought to greatly advance
his own fortunes, and certainly will confer a benefit on the public
at large.

The Hudson River Antwerp has been regarded as the type
of excellence, and, as it once grew, it has not been equalled by
anything that I have yet seen. But even in its palmy days it
flourished only in a limited locality on the western bank of the
Hudson River. Immediately opposite, on the eastern shore, it
could not be grown with profit. Even in its favorite haunts it
has, of late years, failed greatly, though by some it is now
thought to be recovering something of its old vigor, ^under high
culture and upon new land. As it is such a splendid variety, the
fruit always commanding the highest prices, I have set it out
quite largely, intending to try wood ashes as a fertilizer.

I have a seedUng, which much resembles the H. R. Antwerp
in its fruit, from which I am hoping great things. But the plnnt
itself is very different. It originated by chance, in an old gar-
den in the city of Newburgh, N. Y. A fuller description of the
locality will be given hereafter. Its roots were intertwined with
those of an old grape vine and currant bush, and it has never had
half a chance. But it produced such fine fruit as to attract much
notice, and my cousin, Mr. T. Hazard Roe, was induced to mark
and leave it for future observation. During the summer of 1874
it made a vigorous growth without any extra stimulus whatever,
one of the canes attaining the length of fourteen feet. It received
no protection at all throughout the very severe winter of '74-5, the
canes merely being left upon the grape arbor. Its appearance
during the fruiting season of 1875 is thus described by Mr. Ben-
sel, editor of the " Home, Farm and Orchard'' who carefully exam-
ined into the merits of this new candidate, and says : " Two or
three years ago a raspberry plant sprang up in the garden of Mr.
T. Hazard Roe, in this city, which was permitted to grow as a
matter of curiosity and because it insisted upon growing. The
seedling was not laid down nor otherwise protected during the
winter, but each year increased the number of shoots, which
bore fruit to the tips. The present season it is a most vigorous

41

plant, or hill of plants, one of the canes measuring fourteen feet
and bearing large raspberries in their different stages of growth,
in great profusion, along its whole length. This cane was unpro-
tected throughout the last severe winter, and this is sufficient
attestation of its hardiness. The wood bears all the appearance
of the true raspberry, but is lighter in color than the Hudson
River Antwerp. The berry has the beautiful color, and is the
equal in size, of the Hudson River Antwerp ; slightly conical ;
not quite so rich, to our taste, as the Antwerp ; and hard enough
when fully ripe, to bear carriage well. Mr, E. P. Roe, of Corn-
wall, we understand, will propagate and have charge of the plant
which gives promise of such great usefulness."

I picked a basket of the fruit on a Friday afternoon, when it
was somewhat damp from a shower in the morning, and not in
the best condition to be tested, but after a ride of three miles the
berries were in a fair state of preservation on Tuesday of the
week following. I think it will be firm enough even for long
carriage to market, and yet this question must be decided by
further experience on a larger scale. It is much firmer than the
Herstine and a larger berry. Chas. Downing has seen the plants
in bearing, and considers the seedling one of j&ne promise, but
with his proverbial caution and wide experience which make his
opinions so valuable, says that it needs more testing under varied
circumstances.

I am well aware myself that, like scores of others, it may
disappoint all hopes. It takes kindly to its new home upon my
Cornwall place. In the fall of '74 I removed some plants, and
upon one left a cane several feet in length. It stood all through
that bitter winter without protection, and the summer following,
was loaded with the largest raspberries upon my place. I shall
report upon it from time to time, stating its faults as well as good
qualities. It is a week later than the Hudson River Antwerp,
which, I think, is a good feature, as it thus follows early varieties
and prolongs the season.

Two or three years ago it was thought that we had found in
the Herstine, the coming raspberry, but while it is large, luscious,

42

and excellent for home use, I think it will be found much too
soft for market. And this is the objection against many kinds
otherwise good.

There are three varieties of red raspberries, however, that are
widely coming into favor for market purposes.

I will name first the Brandy wine or Susqueco, which is a very
firm, bright scarlet berry, medium' in size, or quite large with
good culture. It is a rampant grower and suckers rapidly,
though I have never seen it attaining much height. It is said to
be perfectly hardy even in the latitude of Canada; and at the
same time to endure the heat and drouth of the south better
than even the blackcap varieties. Indeed it is a native of the
south, having been found growing wild on the banks of the
Brandywine, and the Indian name of this stream, Susqueco, was
first given to it. It should be known by this appellation only, as
^' brandy-wine," in our day is too suggestive of chemicals and
drugs. I find that in New York city both commission men and
dealers on Broadway are very decided in its praise as a market
berry, saying that it is the only one firm enough to be shipped
to a distance.

The next berry in value is the Highland Hardy, or Native.
As the Antwerp declined in productiveness and vigor, this variety
took its place, and is now grown very largely along the Hudson
River. It is indeed very hardy and vigorous. I have never
known it to be injured by the winters that were severe upon
what were considered hardy kinds. It is also the earliest red rasp-
berry witli which I am acquainted, and a most abundant bearer.
The berries are small to medium, and carry well to market.
Some of its growers in Ulster Co., N. Y., are making large profits
per acre. While it is much inferior to the foreign varieties, it is
infinitely better than no raspberries at all, and from the way it
behaves with me, I should judge that it could be raised where
anything will grow.

The most vigorous and productive foreign variety that I have
seen, is the Franconia, a large, roundish-conical, firm, delicious
berry that roni.-iins long in bearing. 1 have continued picking

4S

from my canes five successive weeks Tt requires winter pro
tection and well pays for the trouble. Where this variety suc-
ceeds, it may be planted largely with confidence, as the fruit is
first-class for home use or market.

The amateur will scarcely ask for anything better than
Brinckle's Orange, where it can be grown.

We all know about the old f^ishioned blackcaps which we
delighted to gather in childhood ; and in moist, rich spots I have
seen wild bushes clambering over a fence that produced as large
fruit as any of the vaunted kinds sent out from nurseries with
great parade. At least they seem so to me now, seen through
quite a long vista of years. I know however that this kind of
distance increases rather than diminishes the objects of our early
wonderment.

The leading variety of this class is unfortunately named
" Doolittle," which however has done so much that it ranks first
in vigor and productiveness, and is the favorite for market.
Next in value comes the considerably larger and later berry —
the McCormickor Manmioth Cluster. With these two kinds one
might be quite content. But there are others, and also new
claimants, that are well worth a trial.

At the close of this chapter will be found a fuller list of those
that are now somewhat prominently before the public.

Soil and Situation.

The red raspberries, especially the choicer kinds, prefer a
rich moist loam, and will do well even upon quite a stiff, cold clay,
if it is not wet. In every case there must be thorough drainage.
Upon light, dry, sandy soil, the large foreign varieties cannot be
raised profitably except quite far to the north, and in the south
they can scarcely be grown at all, under any circumstances.
But the vigorous native red raspberries, like the Susqueco and
Highland Hardy, or the blackcap family, will flourish almost
anywhere, north or south. Still, if one has a deep, rich, moist
field or garden plot, there can be grown premium crops. Rasp-

44

berries are not so impatient of shade as the strawberry, and may
be profitably raised in a pear, or young apple orchard, as their
cultivation will help the trees.

The season can be greatly prolonged by planting early kinds
on the south, and late varieties on the north side of a wall or
piece of woods.

Preparation of the Soil, Fertilizers, etc.

What I have written under this head in the chapter upon
strawberries applies, with modifications, to all the small fruits.
Thorough preparation is the foundation of all certain success.
As the white grub does not injure the raspberry, it is necessary
to cultivate other crops before planting only long enough to
thoroughly subdue the grass and weeds, and to deeply pulverize
and enrich the land. Any good garden soil can be prepared for
the plants at once.

For the foreign varieties, as the Franconia, the Antwerps, etc.,
there is little danger of making the soil too rich. But ground
that will produce a heavy crop of corn will also yield large crops
of the hardy nati:ve and black raspberries. But in every case
there must be deep cultivation, thorough cleaning of the land, and
draining where there is any inclination to wetness. There is
not a garden in the country in which some varieties of raspber-
ries will not thrive.

As a fertilizer, there is scarcely anything better than barn-
yard manure composted with muck that has been sweetened by
a winter's frost. The land should in all cases, if possible, be
prepared by deep plowing in the fall, and the manure can be
drawn directly from the stables and mixed thoroughly with the
soil, as at this cool season its heating qualities are an advantage
rather than an injury. If barnyard manure cannot be had, muck,
sweetened by the action of frost and mixed with lime, or better
still with ashes, is most excellent.

In the treatment of different soils, light and heavy, the same
principles apply here as in the case of strawberries. Close up

45 ^—

and deepen light and porous land with muck composts, rotted
leaves and sods, and use light and heating manures for cold,
heavy ground.

Bone-dust, poudrette, etc., comp6sted with muck, sods and
leaves, make excellent manures in every case. Top dressings of
wood ashes are always good, but never fail to give the land deep
plowing, or, in the garden, trenching, as this prevents loss from
drouth.

Plants and Planting.

In stocking a new place, or in obtaining new varieties, plants
must be bought, and, as we have said before, it is always best to
purchase of trustworthy dealers. Most kinds propagate them-
selves rapidly, and a little later we will show how this process
can be hastened. In buying, insist upon being furnished With
young and well rooted plants.

Raspberries may be set out to advantage both in fall and
spring. In our latitude and in most soils, I would prefer fall for
the red raspberries which are propagated by suckers, and spring
for the blackcap and purple cane varieties that are increased by
roots forming .at the tips of the canes.

My plan with red raspberries has been to purchase or take-
up the plants and set them out in October or the first week in
November, if mild. Where the variety is very choice, I have
quite large holes dug to the depth of eighteen inches and the
bottom filled up with good surface soil. But in gardens and
where the ground has been deeply prepared, this is not necessary.
If I intend to cultivate them with horse power both ways, I mark
out the ground into squares of four feet and put two or three
plants at each corner, setting them in the ground one inch deeper
than they were before. At this distance and where two plants are
set in a hill, 5,444 are required for an acre. After I have fin-
ished planting, the ground is perfectly level, and in after culture
should be kept so. I then sprinkle over and around the hill a
shovel full or two of old rotted compost, which, leaching down

46

with the fall and spring rains, gives the young plants a fine start.
I next cut off the tops or canes a little above the ground, and
mound the earth entirely over them as winter protection. The
frost cannot injure them, and the work of planting is done when
usually we have the leisure to do it well. Early in spring, as
soon as the hard frosts are past, remove the mounds from over
the hills and leave the ground level.

Do not let long tops remain on the plants with the view of
getting fruit the first year. Where this is done the usual result
is few and poor berries the first year, and scarcely any at all the
next. All the plants can do the first season is to establish
theiQselves and send up canes for the next year's fruiting. Even
where berries are desired at once, one or two buds left on the
shortened canes just above the ground will produce more and
bel^tor fruit than if the same canes had been left three feet high.
I should judge that fall planting would be still more advantageous
south of New York, but they will need the same protection, as
there is more freezing and thawing where there is but little snow.

But in many localities, and especially to the north, spring
planting answers equally well, if not better. But let it be done
as early as possible, or else the little buds just above the roots,
which make the canes for future bearing, will start to grow and
thus be broken off in setting. The ground should be thoroughly
prepared by deep fall plowing, and again plowed and harrowed
in the spring. If all the preparation has been left till spring, let
it be very thorough. Nothing is gained by haste and slighting.
Do not plant when the ground is wet and stioKy, nniess it be just
as a good rain is commencing. Press the soil down quite firmly
around the plants, after filling the holes. Do not at any time, put
manure in the hills so that it will come in cohtacc witn the rooCs.
Spread it on top of the ground over them, and the rains will take it
where it is wanted. Many a tree and plant is injured, if not killed,
by placing green, strong manure directly upon the roots. But a
top-dressing of manure of any kind is of great value to the j^oung
plants, both in fall or spring setting, as it oives them a good
strong start at once. Old rotted compost has the tx^av effect, and

47

wood-ashes are also excellent. Plants mnv .-ilso be set out during
the summer, as will be explained under the head of propagating.
In our latitude, and to the north, the blackcap raspberries do
better when set out in the spring. To the south, and in warm,
light land, they thrive equally well after fall planting. These
should be put five feet apart each way, as they are very strong
growers. At this distance 1,742 will be required for an acre.
While deep plowing and clean culture are as beneficial to these as
to the red varieties, they do not require as rich a soil. Set them
down so that the little bud which makes the new growth is one
inch beneath the surface in heavy soil, and two inches in light soil.
Cut off all the old cane.

PropagatioT\.

The first effort of the young raspberry plant, after transplant-
ing, is to become established, and next to propagate itself. About
all it can do the first season is to take a good root hold upon the
soil, and throw up one or two shoots or canes. But the second
season the roots of all the red raspberries (except the purple cane
family ) which have been spreading laterally through the soil,
show a tendency to throw up new shoots which are termed suck-
ers. With some varieties this disposition is so strong that these
suckers will fill up all the spaces between the rows, and choke
the bearing hills. For most practical purposes the red raspberries
will propagate themselves fast enough in this way, and unless
new plants are needed, the suckers must be treated as weeds and
all cut out with the hoe, save four or five in the hills.

But some varieties do not sucker readily, and in introducing
new varieties it is often profitable to hasten nature's usual pro-
cedure. In doing this there is scarcely a limit to the results
of skill and good management. The practised gardener who has
glass forcing-houses, can take the smallest roots of a scarce
variety and cut them into half-inch pieces, and from each one
make a new plant. Then as they begin to grow he can take the
new green wood of the little plants, and cut this into small pieces

48

which, in sand, and the warm humid air of the propagating house,
speedily set up an independent existence. Thus from one plant
thousands can soon be grown.

But even if we have no glass we can accomplish a good deal
with root cuttings. Take up the plants that you wish to increase
very carefully in the fall, following each root so as to get it all.
Leave enough on the plants to start them well the next season,
and then they may be set out again as before directed. Take the
roots you have cut off and divide them into pieces three inches in
length. Prepare a box by boring holes in the bottom so as to
give good drainage. Put a layer of leaves over these to prevent
the soil from sifting out, then a thin layer of fine moist earth.
Upon this place a layer of the roots, next earth, then roots again
till the box is nearly full. There should be two inches or more
of earth over the top layer of roots. The box can then be buried
upon a dry knoll beneath the action of frost ; or it can be placed
in a cool cellar where the roots will not freeze and where the}^
can be kept moist, but not wet. In spring, as soon as the ground
is dry and warm enough to work, the roots can be set out in rich,
finely prepared soil. Set them slanting a little and in drills,
four inches apart in the row and one inch deep. In light, porous
land they can be put down two inches. A top-dressing of fine
rotted manure will greatly stimulate the little cuttings. They
should be covered about an inch deep with a mulch of straw or
dead grass and, if kept moist by occasional waterings, nearly all
will develop into good strong plants.

There is often advantage in summer planting which may
easily be done at any time from June till August, if the plants are
upon your own place. Have the ground which you wish for rasp-
berries thoroughly prepared and ready early in June. Take up
the young suckers that are from six inches to a foot high with a
large ball of earth around the roots and put two in a hill. If
this is done unon a rainy or cloudy day they go right on grow-
ing and make strong canes by fall. Thus a year in time is saved
as these may be permitted to bear a partial crop the following
season.

49

The blackcap varieties do not throw up suckers but are propa-
gated by their tips taking root. This they will do to large
extent themselves if not in an exposed position where they are
whipped about by the wind. When new plants are desired it is
best to layer the tips by covering them with two or three inches
of earth. This is done with a garden trowel, and in our latitude,
in August and September. The time to do it in every locality is
indicated by the tips of the bushes swelling and turning purple.
They will then readily take 'root if covered with a little soil. As
new branches grow, bend over and touch the ground, many more
tips will be ready to take root. If a large number of plants are
wanted it will pay to go over them often in September and Octo-
ber, covering the ends. I have found it more satisfactory to
leave these young plants in the ground till spring ; but as has
been stated before, they can be taken up and set out in the fall if
desired. But in most localities the frost will throw them out if
not protected b}^ mounding the earth slightly over them and then
uncoverinu early in spring. The bushes may be trimmed in win-
ter if more convenient, as it does not hurt the young plants to be
separated from the parent at this season.

Culture for Fruit.

In the garden where the plow will not be used, the plants
may be set out three feet apart each way. If planted in the fall
cover with earth as before directed. As early in the spring as
the ground is fit to work, uncover and fork the ground deeply
between the rows. I would recommend that the spaces between
the hills be covered at once while the soil is loose and moist,
with a heavy mulch of leaves, rakings of the lawn, or any coarse
litter that will keep the surface damp and the weeds from grow-
ing. By fall the plants will have sent up new canes on which
will be borne the fruit the coming season. In October the mulch
can be dug under, and thus the soil is kept rich. About the 1st
of November shorten in the young canes from one-third to one-
half, and you will get more and better fruit and the plants will

50

be strengthened. If a cane is six feet high I would reduce it to
four feet. If a cane is but three feet in height I would not leave
more than eighteen inches to bear the next season ; small canes
show a lack of vigor which must be increased by pruning. If
there are side branches, I would cut off two-thirds of their
length. This is one of the cases -in which we suffer loss through
our avarice, and usually it takes years of experience to teach
one to prune his raspberries and grapevines with sufficient rigor.
I was once taught a very useful lesson in this respect. I had
some raspberries which were called hardy. They were up to
the point where the snow covered them — about two feet that
winter, but the tops were killed. From those canes, but two
feet high, we picked more and better fruit than from a row five
feet in height that had been covered. Where the ground is
rich and the canes vigorous I think that three and a half to four
feet is a good height. Early in November or just before freezing
weather, bend down and cover with earth all the foreign and
half-hardy kinds. The best way to do this is to let a man throw
a spade full of earth up against the hills on one side. Then
let a boy bend the canes (all in one direction) gently down
over these little mounds, which prevent their breaking by
making too sharp an angle, while a man covers them with earth.
The work can be done ftir more rapidly, by two men — one work-
ing on each side of the row, and by this method a great many
plants can be covered in a day. It is best to cover them well,
so that the rains will not wash the soil away and uncover
the canes. Early in spring after the heavy frosts are past, first
remove the earth on each side of the plants and then raise them
by placing a fork carefully under the ends and lifting them gently.

Early in spring place stakes by the side of the hills with a
crow-bar and tie up the canes at once, using soft but strong
twine. Tie up the ends of the canes snugly as well as lower
down, otherwise they break with the wind or their burden of
fruit.

Next loosen the ground thoroughly between the rows with a
fork, digging in a dressing of manure, and then mulch as before.

51

The tops of the raspberries are biennial, the roots perennial.
The canes that were covered during the winter will bear the
fruit and then begin to die. As soon as they are thruogh bear-
ing they should be cut out close to the ground, and carried away.
In the meantime, the roots have sent up new canes which will
bear the following season. In October the mulch can again be
dug under, and the canes buried in earth just before the ground
freezes. This method can be kept up a long time. Plantations
of raspberries have remained productive for twenty years, but
usually they begin to fail after ten or twelve. They should then
be dug out and plantings made upon new ground, and three or
more years elapse before returning them to the same spot.

From three to five canes are enough to leave in a hill. • The
number depends upon the vigor and branching habit of the variety.

If one does not like the method of cultivation by mulching,
he can keep the soil clean and mellow by the frequent use of the
hoe. I prefer a long blunt-pointed one that goes deeply into the
ground "without cutting the roots. But I think that in garden
culture the mulching is of great advantage, not only in keeping
the ground moist, mellow and rich, but in preserving the fruit
from being splashed with mud by the heavy showers often pre-
valent at the time of ripening. I have seen many quarts spoiled
from this cause.

Where the hardy varieties are raised, the treatment may be
the same, with the exception of winter covering, which is not
needed. If the blackcap varieties are cultivated in the garden,
the plants may be set three feet apart in a single row\ Twenty
plants of the Doolittle, and the same number of Mammoth Clus-
ter will abundantly supply a large family. If the latter can be
•placed in a cool moist place on the north side of a wall, the sea-
son of fruit will be greatly prolonged.

62

Field Culture.

After thorough preparation the plants of red raspberries
may be set out in spring or autumn four feet apart each way,
covering them on the approach of .winter as before directed, if not
hardy, and uncovering early in spring. We are now getting such
good varieties of hardy kinds that it scarcely pays to plant the
tender ones on a large scale, except in localities especially suited to
them. As soon as plants are set out throw one or two shovelsful
of rich compost over and around them. Keep the plow, cultivator
and hoe at work, so that the ground is always loose and clean. If
tender, cover just before freezing weather. This can be done rapid-
ly by letting a boy bend them over, while a man fastens them
down by a shovelful of earth. Then, with a plow throw a furrow
over them upon each side, and go over them again with a shovel,
to make sure that all are well covered. The hardy kinds will
need no protection, although a shovelful of fine compost, thrown
over the roots in the fall, will give them a strong start in the
spring. Cut out the old canes as soon as you are through pick-
ing, as these are now worse than useless, and will absorb much
of the root power in their slow decay, which should go into the
new shoots. Put stakes of five feet in the hills the second year,
and tie up the canes before the buds swell. As soon as the crop
is gathered the stakes can be taken up and stored under cover.
Chestnut wood makes the best stakes, and if the part that goes
into the ground is charred a little with fire, they will last much
longer. Stakes split out of heavy wood are more durable than
round poles.

I do not believe in the method of dispensing with stakes.
The bushes are often broken down by the wind or weight of ber-
ries, and muddy fruit gets into the basket and spoils the sale of
the entire crop, giving the grower's brand a bad character in the
market.

Unless new plants are wanted for use or sale, treat the suck-
ers as weeds, leaving but from four to six in a hill, according to

53

the vigor of the variety. Where many suckers are grown, the
best results in fruit cannot be obtained.

When a plantation begins to fail, higher manuring will rein-
vigorate it. Wood-ashes and muck are excellent stimulants.
Mulching even on a large scale, where leaves or marsh hay is
abundant, will often pay well, and help the plants greatly. Fields
can also be renewed by letting suckers stand between the rows,
and digging out the old plants. But after a time it will become
evident that the land is exhausted of raspberry food and new
plantings should be made elsewhere.

If blackcaps are to be plowed both ways, the stools should be
five feet apart, but if the cultivator is to run only one way, let
the rows be six feet apart, and the plants three feet in the row.
If black raspberries are planted six feet by three, 2,400 will be
required for an acre ; if six by four feet, 1,742.

Varieties.

In the following partial list I have merely named those that
are now more or less in favor.

Hudson River Antwerp.— Heretofore the great market berry
upon the west side of the North river. It is very large, firm,
somewhat dry, musky in flavor, early, and continues long in
bearing. Where it can be grown it is the best of the foreign
varieties. It has declined in vigor greatly for several yenrs, suf-
fering much from mildew, and general debility, not ripening its
wood. It is therefore being superceded by other kinds in its old
haunts, especially by the Highland Hardy. But I think it can
still be grown profitably on new, rich, moist, but well drained
soil. It once yielded enormous crops and brought its growers a
great deal of money. It must be well covered with earth before
severe frosts.

FranCOnia. — Perhaps the best and hardiest of the foreign
varieties, but requiring winter protection. The berry is large,
roundish, of good flavor and firm enough for market. • It con-

54

tinuea long ia bearing, and where it thrives is very productive. Like
all the foreign varieties it requires high culture.

Cuthbert. — The best market raspberry I have ever seen. As firm
as the Brandywine, a third larger and almost doubly productive. It
does comparatively well on light, thin soils — better than any other
kind that I have seen — but in moist, loamy land, its yield is simply
enormous. It is such a strong grower after once becoming rooted in
the soil, that it has little need of fertilizers. One of its best charac-
teristics is its power to endure the hot sun unharmed, and I think it
will prove better adapted to the South than any other good rasp-
berry. It is also the hardiest raspberry that I know anything about
As I have seen the berries on my place they average as large as the
H. R Antwerp ; bright red when ripe, turning a little dark when
overripe. As Dr. Thurber states it is the firmest of the red raspber-
ries; and it is good enough in flavor to satisfy most people for the
home garden. It is rather late in maturing. I sincerely think it is
the most valuable raspberry yet introduced. Charles Downing says
of it, " I consider it the most promising raspberry before the public
as far as yet tested. The fruit is large and very firm, and the plants,
as I have seen them, are vigorous growers and exceedingly produc-
tive."

Belle de Fontenay. — Some assert that this variety and the Ama-
zon are ideniical. A large berry but not very firm, deep crimson, ir-
regular, long-conical, and of good flavor. The canes are very strong
and stocky, the young shoots producing a second crop in Autumn.
It is the best of the fall-bearing varieties. It throws up an endless
number of suckers, which must be cut off as soon as they appear, if
much fruit is desired. By cutting ofi'the canes even with the ground
in Spring, the new shoots will produce a large crop in the autumn.

Hornet. — Very large and fine, but very uncertain in most locali-
ties.

Brinckle's Orange. — The amateur's variety. Orange in color,
large, obtuse-conical, and of delicious flavor. The canes are strong
and the plant very vigorous and productive.

55

All the above varieties need careful Winter protection and high
culture,

Clark. — This variety is almost hardy, though its tops have been
killed in my garden. If held down by a shovelful of earth, it will
endure almost any winter. The fruit is large, especially if the canes
are cut back rigorously, and of a sweet, rich flavor. It is too soft for
markat, but excellent for home use.

Philadelphia. — This is another variety that needs but little pro-
tection, if any, and where quantity rather than quality is desired, is
one of the best to plant, as it is the greatest bearer I have seen. But
the fruit is dark, soft and of poor flavor.

Herstine. — A large, beautiful, fine-flavored berry, excellent for
home use, but too soft for distant markets. It is productive and a
very strong grower, doing well even on poor soil.

Saunders. — It resembles the Herstine but is usually not so pro-
ductive.

Turner. — A favorite variety at the West. Medium to large, quite
prolific, moderately firm, and ripens its crop early. It is said to be
hardy.

Highland Hardy. — The earliest raspberry. It is very productive,
generally hardy and thrives on almost any soil. The fruit is medium
in size but improves greatly under high culture and rigorous prun
ing. It has been superceded by the Outhbert.

Brandywine or Susqueco. — This is probably the best of the red
raspberries for field culture and has already been quite fully de-
scribed.

Blackcap Varieties.

Doolittle or American Improved.— Large, juicy, if well pruned
and grown on good moist land, very vigorous and enormously pro-
ductive. It is the best for the general crop.

McCormick or Mammoth Cluster.— Very large and a week or
ten days later than the above, a very strong grower and exceedingly
productive. One of the best.

Davison's Thornless. — The earliest blackcap that I have seen,
and almost free of sharp spines. It is of value for the garden, but
not sufiiciently vigorous and productive for field culture.

56

The Gregg. — Promises to be among cap varieties what Cuthbert is
among upright growing sorts, i. e., the best of them all !

The following I extract from the " Report on Fruits," of the Mont-
gomery County, (Ohio) Horticultural Society.

" The Gregg Raspberry, shown with others, is a new Raspberry,
fully one-half larger than the Mammoth Cluster, of excellent (juality,
wonderfully productive, and as hardy as any other black Raspberry.
The sight of the berries on the bushes was really marvelous. Such a
sight was never before seen by any one of this committee. We think we
can conscientiously say, ' Good-bye, Mammoth Cluster ' "

Ganargua. — A hybrid between the red raspberry and blackcap,
and it is said to be hardy, early and productive. The berry is large,
firm and fine flavored, but its color will prevent its becoming a favor-
ite in the market, as it is neither red nor black. It is a strong grower
and is propagated from the tips.

The Pride of the Hudson.

But pride often has a fall, and my promising berry may soon pass
out of notice. It certainly shall if it does not prove worthy of its
name, for never shall I consciously commend a poor fruit ; and if it
be my own, I shall be still more critical. The Cuthbert and Reliance
raspberries have Been spoken of very highly, and I hope to be able
to report upon them and others from time to time.

If one wishes to raise new varieties, let him select the finest berries
when fully ripe and mash them in dry sand till all moisture is ab-
sorbed. Sow the seed in the Fall about one-fourth of an inch deep,
and sift over them some finely pulverized muck, the greater part of
which would be raked off again early in Spring. What the seeds re-
quire is slight covering of very fine, light soil which must be kept moist
and at the same time have no tendency to bake or become hard. They
will then germinate early in Spring. Protect the young plants the
following winter and set each one out singly the following Spring;
number them, and in about three years from the time of sowing you
can learn the value of the new varieties. The subject of picking,
marketing, etc., will be treated hereafter.

CURRANTS

HE culture of the currant is becoming increasingly profitable
eA^ery year. The briefness of this chapter does not indi-
cate my estimate of the value of this fruit, but its cultiA^a-
tion is so simple that but few words of direction are neces-
A deep rich soil, clean culture, mulch, and the pruning
knife are the secrets of success. Straggling currant bushes
along old fences and half-smothered by grass and weeds are not
the models to be recommended. It is pretty hard to kill a cur-
rant bush, but only by the following methods can paying crops be
raised in the garden or field.

A moist, heavy soil is the best, but high manuring and mulch-
ing will make any answer. It is difficult to enrich the soil too
highly as the currant is a gross feeder and not particular as to
quality. Wood-ashes however are specially excellent. Deep
plowing in preparation, clean culture and mulching, will go a great
way toward making up for lack of fertilizers.

Set the plants of the white and red kinds four feet apart
each way and keep them in shape and bounds by pruning. At
this distance 2,722 will be required for an acre. During the
first two years let the spaces between them be kept clean and
mellow by the frequent use of the plow and cultivator, keeping
the ground level. The third year a paying crop may be ex-
pected. Let the ground be thoroughly cultivated and cleaned
as early as possible in spring, working in a heavy top-dress-
ing of compost or any manure that can be had. If a mulch of
leaves or any kind of litter can be put on at once while the

58

ground is fresh .and moist all the helter. But if such material is
not at hand, give the ground in the garden a thorough hoeing or
light forking early in June, and then scatter over it, between
the bushes, a mowing of coarse weedy grass that is not fit for
hay. Where currants are grown largely I believe it would pay
to raise orchard grass for the purpose of mulching. This starts
early and a heavy burden can be niowed even in May. Mulch,
by keeping the ground moist, largely increases the weight of the
crop. In the South and upon light soils it is indispensable to
any profitable success. Moreover, where it is not used the fruit
is generally badly splashed with mud, and only clean handsome
fruit brings paying prices.

As any part of the wood becomes old and unproductive cut it
out. Keep the bushes thinned, strong and vigorous. Six or
eight stocky shoots will produce more and better fruit than a
much larger bush full of thick tangled branches and old wood
through which air and light cannot circulate. Cut out in spring
all the young suckers except what are needed for the renewal
of the plants. Bushes usually become unproductive through
over-crowding of young and old wood, till at last there is little
else save wood and leaves. Strong and long shoots of new
wood should be shortened in the fall or early spring, and this
young growth employed in producing new plants.

Propagation.

The currant can easil}' be increased by cuttings. The best
time to make these is the last of September, or as soon as the
wood is ripened. Take only the young growth of that season, cut
the shoots into lengths of six inches, strip off the leaves at once,
if they have not already fallen, set the slips out in rich, moist,
but well-drained land. Sink them down so that only three bud?
are left above the surface. Let them be in rows two feet apart
and six inches in the row. Top-dress with fine old manure, if
possible. By winter they will be quite well rooted, and in the
following season will make a very strong growth. When two

69

years old they will be fit for sale or home planting, while many
one year plants are sold, and if vigorous are just as good, if not
better. Where a market can be found, the raising of young plants
is a profitable business.

While the best results are secured from early fall cuttings,
they can be made any time before winter and placed in the ground
as directed above. I have found it advantageous to mound the
earth over them, covering them completely, and then uncovering
early in the spring. This prevents the frost from throwing
them out. If it is not convenient to set out the cuttings in the
fall, they can be tied in bundles and buried in the open ground
just beneath the action of frost. Put them out in rows as early
as possible in the spring. Cuttings can be made any time du-
ring the winter and buried in a cool cellar, keeping them barely
moist enough to prevent their drying out. Or they may be taken
from the bushes early in spring, and if set out in moist land, will
generally live, but do not make as good a growth as those planted
early in the fall.

The old fiishioned way of layering or bending down branches
in spring, and throwing earth upon them here and there never
fails, but the plants are not as nice as those produced by
cuttings.

Enemies.

The currant has two enemies which in some seasons and local-
ities, if not interfered with, are very destructive. The more
formidable one is known as the currant worm. It is about an
inch long, bright yellow, and dotted with small black spots
These worms are very voracious and will strip the bushes of foli-
age before one is aware of their presence, if not on the watch for
them. The remedy is a thorough dusting of white hellebore
upon the leaves when they are wet with dew ; or better still, put
two ounces of white hellebore into a pail, and pour upon the powder
a quart of boihng water. After it has stood a few moments fill
up the pail with cold water, and apply it to the bushes with a

60

syringe. The liquid kills eA^ery worm it touches. Applications'
should be continued while any of the pests remain, and if
attacked in time they can soon be destroyed.

The other enemy is a worm called the currant borer, and its
presence is known by the wood shriveling, or the foliage turning
yellow. Cut off" the infested branches close to the ground, and
burn them. If currants are grown in bush form, which is the
better way, they can seldom destroy a plant, but when the
plants are pruned into miniature trees with a single stem, the
borer is often fatal to them.

The same general principles apply to the culture of black cur-
rants, only bearing in mind that being larger and coarser in their
growth, they require more room, and need less pruning.

Varieties.

There are but comparatively few kinds of currants worth
cultivating, except as the amateur amuses himself with vnriety.
I shall merely name those which are best, and which furnish all
the qualities desirable for home use and market.

Old Red Dutch.-^-Too well known to need description.
But if those people who leave their bushes to fight with grass
and burdocks, and to fruit upon the same wood for generations,
should happen to see this old friend enjoying good cultivation
and rigorous pruning, they would declare that it was a new and
choice variety. I have been told of instances where the common
Red Dutch was sold in market for Cherry currants. There is
scarcely a fruit which high cultivation improves more, and it is
an open question whether it is not the most profitable kind tn
raise, since, from its enormous bearing qualities, what is lost i i
size and sliowiness is made up in weight. I find that many urc
inclined to think that if it received as good treatment as Cheriy
and Versailles, it would be equally profitable. It is also one of
the sweetest and best flavored when fully ripe.

Oherryi — The largest and most showy of the red currants,

61

and the great market variety. It is acid and not first quality in
flavor, but its beauty and size make it the favorite for market.
The bunches are very variable, some being small, and consisting
of only two or three berries, others quite long and large, but not
tapering like other kinds. It is a coarse grower and gross feeder,
requiring rich soil and high cultivation. The young shoots are
very strong and stocky. The bushes need a great deal of judi-
cious pruning, for the old wood has a tendency to become naked
and barren. But in most localities it is one of the most profitable
crops that can be raised.

Versailles, — if this is a distinct variety, it resembles the
Cherry so closely that it is difficult to tell them apart. It is
claimed that it is not so acid, and that the bunches are longer
and more tapering. Even so high an authority as A. S. Fuller
writes :

" Although I am not ready to say positively that there is no
distinct variety to whicK the name Versailles belongs, still I have
not yet been able to obtain one in which really distinct and per-
manent variations can be discovered. I shall be most happy to
receive any information from other growers which shall enable
me to decide this very perplexing question.'' Mr. Downing says
that the difference consists in some of the bunches of the Ver-
sailles— not all of them — being longer and more tapering than
those of the Cherry.

1 have made two large plantings from stock that came origi-
nally from Charles Dowming's place, and which I know to be nure,
and shall carefully observe all differences. But those purchasing
the Versailles with the expectation of getting something very
different and much better than the Cherry should be undeceived.

Victoria, — This k a valuable late variety, large and of bright
red color ; acid, but of good, sprightly flavor. The bunches are
very long, and the plant moderately vigorous and exceedingly
productive.

White Grape. — The best of the white currants, large, trans-

()2

parent, very beautiful. It is sweet and juicy, and of excellent
flavor. The plant is quite vigorous and very productive.

White Dutch. — It resembles the Red Dutch, with the excep-
tion of color. It is claimed that the berries are larger and sweeter
and the bunches a little shorter. .The plant is very vigorous.

Black Naples. — Very large, black and of a sweet musky
flavor; a strong grower and productive after the bushes have
attained some size and age.

There seems to be an increasing demand for black currants,
but white varieties find but a limited sale, though the best For
home use the latter should always be cultivated.

Buist's Long-Bunched Red, and Fertile de Palluau might be
added to the list, but for all practical purposes the above described
varieties are sufficient.

GOOSEBERRIES.

HE treatmeDt and propagation of the gooseberry is almost
the same as that of the currant. Success depends upon
deep and thorough preparation of the soil, abundance of
fertihzers, and rigorous pruning. Unless the plants are
kept growing vigorously the fruit soon deteriorates and mildew
is more likely to ensue. Cool northern exposures and deep,
moist soils should be selected when possible.

Cuttings can be made in the fall, but succeed equally well, if
not better, when made early in spring, as the wood of the goose-
berry is slower in ripening than the currant. When the plants
are large enough to set out, put them four feet apart each way.
They can be pruned to a single stem if desired, as the borer does
not often disturb them. But I prefer the bush form, as it gives
more opportunity for renewal with young wood. As the bushes
grow in size keep them thin and open so as to admit an abundance
of air and light. As the wood becomes old and unproductive,
cut it out.

The gooseberry, even more than the currant, is impatient of
weeds and slovenly culture. Hardness and dryness of soil is
especially injurious., and therefore mulching is of very great
advantage.

If the currant worm appears on the foliage it should be
destroyed with hellebore as I have already directed.

Mildew is the great foe of the gooseberry in this country,
and often attacks not only the fruit but the plant. There is no
certain remedy, and it is best to plant only those varieties which
are seldom or never affected by this scourge, if there are any

64

such favored kinds. I have been tc^ld that even the Houghttni
mildews in some localities in some seasons. Still in most instan-
ces our hardy, native varieties are free from rust, if grown on
moist, rich, well cultivated land and well pruned. Sometimes a
great many young suckers will start in spring which should be
cut out. The regular pruning can be done any time after the
leaves fall and before the buds start in spring. Except for an
amateur's experiments, the large foreign varieties are too uncer-
tain for our climate.

Varieties.

Houghton's Seedling— Has been the principal variety
grown of late years both for garden and field culture, and many
barrels are sent annually to New York market. The fruit is
small, almost round, pale red when ripe, sweet, tender and of good
flavor. It is readily propagated by cuttings, like the currant.
The plants are very hardy and vigorous, and as they grow large,
have a spreading, drooping tendency. It is exceedingly produc-
tive, and rarely mildews.

This variety is rapidly being superceded by the —

Downingi — A larger and better berry, oval, greenish- white
and of excellent flavor. The plant is a strong upright grower,
and very productive. It is no doubt the best gooseberry thus far
introduced. This variety is said not to grow as readily from cut-
tings as is the case with most kinds. For home planting it can
be increased by layering, or bending branches down in spring
and covering part of them with earth. By fall these branches
will be well-rooted and can be set out elsewhere.

Mountain Seedling.— Larger than either of the two first
named but not equal in quality.

Smith's Improved. — A strong grower. Berry large, light
green, oval, but not equal to the Downing.

65

Roe's Seedling.

(Named for T. Hazard Roe, upon whose place it originated.)

This is by far the largest and finest gooseberry that I have
ever seen, and if it continues free from mildew and flourishes else-
where as in its originril home, it cannot fail to supercede all others.

Last year, on account of the severe and early drouth, they
were not up to their usual size, but during their fruiting season
I cut a. number of branches laden with berries and took them to
New York. Prominent commission men to whom I showed them
said that they would bring almost double the price of any in mar-
ket. I next took them to Prof. Thurber, editor of the American
Agriculturist.

I saw at once that he was impressed. After examining them
he remarked v/ith some emphasis :

" That's considerable of a gooseberry, young man."

He at once sent for his engraver and directed that the draw-
ing should be made which appeared in November number of the
American Agriculturist and is reproduced on the cover of this
manual. He also requested me to furnish a history of the
variety as far as I could learn it. As a result the following state-
ment, prepared by Dr. Thurber, accompanied the engraving in
the Agriculturist :

" Sometime last summer the Rev. E. P. Roe, of Cornwall-on-
the-Hudson, brought us a specimen of a gooseberry, in which
bush and fruit appeared to be perfectly healthy, and the fruit was
much larger than any of our native sorts, abundant, and of a fine
green color. Upon learning it was a new seedling, we had an
engraving made of it, and requested Mr. Roe to give us its his-
tory, which he has done substantially as follows : 'In 1826 Mr.
William Roe purchased quite a large plot of ground in what was
then the outskirts of the village of Newburgh, and stocked his
place with the best fruits that he could then procure. That
which was tiien a home in the country, is now a country-like
home in the centre of a large city. Mr. T. Hazard Roe is the

66

present proprietor, and inheriting the taste of his father, has
given his place a local reputation for its fine fruit for many
years. Among the known varieties many seedlings were per-
mitted to grow, and there are now natural pears, peaches, and
apples on the place, that are very valuable, as w^ell as a seedling
raspberry that promises better than anything I have yet seen.

"But the seedling gooseberry which I brought to your office
is perhaps the fruit of the greatest promise. For many years I had
been struck by the remarkable size and fairness of these goose-
berries, and supposed that they were some very fine English
variety that by some good fortune had not mildewed. Sometime
ago I expressed my surprise to Mr. Roe that his gooseberries
were so free from rust and then learned for the first time that
they were a seedling variety, which originated on his place more
than fifteen years ago, and that they never had mildewed. I at
once concluded tliat if it could be made to do as well elsewhere,
it would be a great advance upon any variety of this berry I had
yet seen. The bush is a very strong grower, and perfectly hardy.
The variety will be thoroughly tested in various soils and local-
ities, and the best judges satisfied as to its character, before it is
sent out. Thus' far I have never seen a more abundant bearer,
the fruit being hlrge, green, and fine flavored when ripe."

It is a chance seedling, and nothing is known concerning its
parentage.

I have found by experience that the plant is readily propagated
by cuttings, and I have now quite a large number of young
bushes raised in this way without extra care — no more than I
have given to currant slips. Some young bushes have borne
fruit on my Cornwall place, with no trace of mildew. I shall
be able to test the variety A^ery fully the coming season, and
will accuratel}' report the results whether favorable or the
reverse. The plants will not be for sale before next fall, and
perhaps not until the following year.

THE BLACKBERRY.

II HERE is scarcel}^ a more wholesome fruit than this, and
11 yet the majority are depending upon a precarious supply
from the woods, extemporized into a jam by the grimy
hands of unknown pickers, when for six weeks together
they might have abundance of large, luscious berries near their
own doors. There is no fruit more easily raised. A Kitta-
tinny blackberry bush will grow where a burdock would languish,
and yet there are thousands of burdocks to one blackberry bush.

Its culture is verj^ simple. Select land that is not very moist
or rich. I have succeeded well with it on high, gravelly knolls,
but unless well mulched it is apt to suffer from drouth. Light,
warm land, however, is preferable to that which is heavy and
damp, for upon tlie latter-named soils there is too much growth
of wood which does not ripen fully, and therefore is killed by the
winter's cold. But deep plowing in preparation is always of
advantage, as it gives the roots a wide range, and prevents the
plants from suffering from drouth.

Fall is the best time for planting, but it does very well when
set in spring. I succeeded satisfactorily with Kittatinny plants
{uit out late last spring, in spite of the severe drouth that fol-
lowed. Indeed, onl}^ utter neglect can prevent success with
blackberries where they are not winter-killed.

For field culture let the rows be eight feet apart, and the
plants three feet dist.-int in the rows. If the soil is poor and
light, scatter a liberal dressing of muck compost, or any fertilizer
that is not heating, down the furrow in which they are to be

68

planted, and the roots will follow this and throw up suckers
along the rows where they are wanted, instead of in the middle
spaces.

In garden culture six feet by four is a good distance at which
to set the plants. There the soil is sufficiently rich, and only
clean cultivation and rigorous pruning will be necessary.

The only difficulties in the way of blackberry culture, are
the savage thorns, rampant growth, and liability to be killed by
severe winters. The first two obstacles can be overcome by the
frequent use of pruning-knife and hook. A little work at the
right time saves a great deal of trouble. When a blackberry
sucker first appears it is a very innocent and little affair, and a
child can pull it up, but, like a bad habit, if left till fully devel-
oped, is most formidable, and its removal requires heroic effort.
One might almost as well attack a wild-cat as to cope with it
bare-handed. When the shoots are young and tender, the hoe,
knife, or sickle can easily keep them within bounds. K-eep the
rows down as far as possible to a single line of plants standing
one foot or eighteen inches from each other. As fast as the
suckers, which are to be left for fruiting in the rows, attain the
height of four feet, clip off their tops. This causes them to
throw out side shoots, and upon these the best fruit is borne.
They also intertwine together, forming a sort of hedge, and
thus are able to stand without stakes. If well-pruned and
headed back, all the varieties, except the Early Wilson, can
stand without support. This variety has much of the slender
trailing habit of the running blackberry, and needs staking.
But cutting it back will greatly increase its stockiness. It may
be well perhaps to stake all varieties the second 3'ear, for until
the plants become established, the young canes are weak and
slender. The regular pruning and cutting out of the old wood
can be left till after the buds swell in spring, making one hibor
of it. At this time it can be seen which parts are alive, and which
have been killed by the frost ; shorten in the side shoots one-half
or two-thirds, and more and better fruit will be obtained. When
the bushes are left to grow very large and bear all the fruit that

69

i
forms upon them, the hemes do not mature, especially it it is I

dry, but grow hard and seedy. The pruning in spring can best i

be performed by a strong pair of shears upon two long rods which

enables one to work at a respectful distance. ;

The liability to be winter killed is more difficult to contend j
with, and in our latitude the Early Wilson is almost always de- |
stroyed, if not protected. It can generally be preserved by pin- |
ning it close to the ground by a shovel or two of earth, or by !
keeping it down by hiying bean poles upon them, and covering
with tomato vines or any coarse litter. I find that protecting
with earth is the simplest and surest way, and at the north I
should think it would pay well, for if this variety survives, it I
yields an early and enormous crop. ^

The other kinds are such stiff stocky growers that they can-
not be bent over and covered, and some winters seriously injure
those that are called hardy. Moreover varieties that are hardy ;
upon New Jersey sand will not endure winters, farther north. If j
we can get a blackberry that is as good as the Early Wilson or
Kittatinny and perfectly hardy in the high latitudes, it will be i
a great acquisition. There are several new varieties which are |
claimed to endure all temperatures, but the same was asserted
once of the kinds which we sometimes find shriveled and dead in
spring. No degree of frost ever affects the roots, but only the \
bearing canes. The best precaution in the case of the stocky
growing kinds is to head back the bushes in summer to the |
height of three or four feet, thus causing them to throw out side-
shoots low down near the ground so that the snow protects them. :
When we are favored with mild winters there is seldom any loss.
Only rarely do my vines suffer severe injury. Even to the far ^
north a few Kittatinny bushes can be protected by leaning ever
green branches upon them or covering with leaves or any coarse ,
material. They are so nearly hardy that very little protection ]
answers. But the canes of every variety that I have seen, if |
allowed to grow thick and high upon rank moist soil will almost I
invariably suffer so much with the frost as to be unprofitable. ,

70

Varieties.

For home use I would recommeud as first in value the
Kittatinny. — A very large and delicious kind that continues
long in bearing. It is a tremendously strong grower, and should be
kept well in check by destroying the suckers and heading back in
summer. It is also first class for market where late blackberries
bring good prices. Its flavor when fully ripe is most excellent.

Wilson's Early. — Quite distinct in its growth and character from
the above, for it has, especially when young, something of the trailing
habit of the running blackberry. For this reason we think it can be
grown quite far to the north, for although it is very tender, and gen-
erally killed by frost in this latitude, it can, from its slender and
willowy nature, be bent down in fall and covered with earth. In
any region where very large and early blackberries bring good
prices it will pay to do this. I cover mine completely in November
either with earth or anything that will keep the canes down close to
the ground. It is the best market berry, but unless one is willing to
give it winter protection it will not pay to raise it in this latitude.
The fruit is very large, black, oblong, quite firm but not of so rich
and good a flavor as the Kittatinny.

Snyder. — Said to be perfectly hardy and very productive. Fruit
medium in size and of good flavor.

Lawton, or New Rochelle,— This old and well-known variety
is now quite superceded by better kinds. The canes are very

71

tender and are so strong and stocky that they cannot be laid
down and covered. The fruit is not ripe when it is black, and
when fully ripe is very soft. But it is large and of very good
flavor, and tlie bushes continue long in bearing.

There are other new varieties concerning which great thingi
are asserted. I hope fuller experience will enable me to report
favorably upon tliem.

PICKING AND MARKETING FRUITS.

Packing Plants, Profits of Small Fruit Culture.

HE question often arises, after all, do small' fruits pay ?
They pay some people well, and unless location, soil, or
climate are hopelessly against you, the degree of profit will
"■9'' depend upon your skill, judgment and industry. The
raising of small fruits is like other callings in which some are get-
ting rich, more earning a fair livelihood, and not a few failing. I
do not seek to mislead any one by rose-colored pictures. It is a
business in which there is jin abundance of sharp, keen competi-
tion, and ignorance, poor judgment, and shiftless, idle ways will
be as fatal as in* the work-shop, store, or office.

Innumerable failures result from inexperience. I will give
one extreme example which mn}^ serve to illustrate the sanguine
mental condition of many who read of large returns in fruit cul-
ture. A } oung man, who had inherited a few hundred dollars,
wrote me that he could hire a. piece of land for a certain amount,
and wished to invest the balance — every cent — with me, for
plants, thus leaving himself no capital to continue operations, but
expecting that a speedy crop would lift him at once into a pros-
perous career. I wrote that under the circumstances I could not
supply him — that it would be about the same as robbery to do so,
and advised him to spend several years with a practical and suc-
cessful fruit-grower and learn the business.

Most people enter upon this calling in the form of a wedge,
but only too many commence at the blunt end, investing largely
at once in everything, and therefore soon taper down to nothing.

73

The wise begin at the point of the wedge and develop their busi-
ness naturally, healthfully, learning by experience and careful
observation, how to grow fruits profitably and which kinds pay
them best. There ought also to be considerable capital to start
with, and an absence of the crushing burden of interest money.
No fruits yield any returns before the second or third years ;
and tliere are often unfavorable seasons and glutted markets.
Nature's prizes are won by patient, persistent industry and not
by Wall street sleight of hand.

Location is very important. A fancy store, however well-
furnished, would be a ruinous investment at a country cross-road.
The fruit farm must be situated where there is quick and cheap
access to good markets.

And such markets may be near, and good cultivation produce
an abundance of fruit, and still much loss arise from not properly
placing the fruit before purchasers and consumers. This leads
to the questions, which are the best baskets, packages and meth-
ods of shipping. We will commence first with :

StraWuerrieSi — After spending considerable time in the New
York markets, I found far more difference of opinion concerning
packages than 1 expected. The verdict of the Broadway fancy
tr;ide is in f ivor of the Beecher baskets, quarts and pints, and
for choice raspberries, half pints. W. and C. Smith, the well-
known dealers at 189 Broadway, prefer crates containing o2
Beecher quarts or 4o pints. Wm. N. Ward, 13 Broad st., finds
that Beecher quarts filled with large showy fruit, take the best.
J. W. Salter, proprietor of the Central market, cor. 19th st. and
Broadway, prefers the Beecher baskets, butsa3's that quality and
|)rice of the fruit make far more difference with the purchaser
than the package. Ohnstead and Sheffield, 1266 Broadway, give
their verdict in favor of Beecher pints, well filled, as they admit
of such good ventilation, and there is not enough fruit together
to be crushed by its own w^eight. They also prefer the Beecher
quarts to the square baskets, and the Beecher half-pints for
raspberries. At the same time they would much rutlier have

74

handsome fruit in the square, than ordinary berries in the round
baskets. As fancy kinds, the Jucunda, Trioniphe, Pres't. Wilder
and Monarch, are most in favor with the above named parties.
The following cuts represent them to the eye :

VEKEEK BASKETS. STAR BASKETS.

QuAET. Pint. ^Pmr. Quart. Pi.nt.

The points in favor of the Beecher basket, are that they hold
a full quart, that their construction gives the fruit plenty of ven-
tilation, and that large, handsome fruit shows better in a round
bnsket. The adverse points are that their shape causes them to
take up more room in the crate than square baskets, and there-
fore to require larger packages for the same quantity, and that
they do not fit in the crates tighth'-, the rough handling they
often receive jarring the fruit out of the baskets and causing them
to appear partially filled and unattractive.

The veneer quarts of the ;ibove style are quoted at $35 ;
pints at $30 ; and half-pints at $26 per 1000. Star quarts at
$28; and pints- at $25 per 1000. Thirty-tw^o quart crates of
each kind at $1.55 ; forty-five pint crates at $1.40. The above
gives an idea of the prices, and for further information the reader
can address tlie Beecher Basket Co., Westville, Conn.

But when we come to the large, open market and among the
commission houses where after all our fruit must be sold, we find
opinion almost equally divided between the round, or Beecher
baskets, and the square American, or Delaware quarts. It is
said in behalf of the square quarts that they can be bought at
about half the price of the Beecher baskets, that they fit so snugly
and tightly in the crates that it is almost impossible for rougli
handling to spill the berries, and spoil the looks of the baskets
when the crates are opened, and that packages containing the
same amount are smaller and more easily handled. For shipping
long distances, (he s([uare, closely-fitting baskets seemed quite

75

decidedly preferred to any other, although it was admitted that
the round baskets would carry the fruit better on account of
superior ventilation if the crates were only handled properly ;
which, unfortunately, is seldom the case for carmen, freight-hands
and boatmen belong to the same genus as ''baggage smashers."
Moreover it is said that the square or American baskets are
more profitable to the grower than the Beecher quarts because
they do not hold quite so much, while the round hold a full quart,
and if heaped, a little more ; but, it is complained, will bring no
better prices than the square quarts. It is said that, in many in-
stances, those who buy Beecher*baskets empty them into Ameri-
can quarts, thus making the same quantity of fruit bring more
money. This feature should be changed, and a quart basket
should hold a quart. But those who complain of scant measure
should be willing to pay more for the Beecher baskets. The
only advantage however, that I could learn they had, was that,
in a ^ glut," the Beecher quarts would sell first, the fruit in each
case being equally good. There is no deception as the capacity
of each basket is well understood. Still it would be far better to
have each package just what it purports to be. It is said that
the square Delaware quarts, if well filled and rounded up, as all
baskets should be to sell well, hold a full quart. But the com-
pact, snug fitting, and good carrying qualities of the square
baskets, together with their cheapness, will always make them
favorites with very many. I find that the large growers in New
Jersey and to the southward use them very generally, and that
the retail dealers on Sixth Avenue like them as well, if not better,
than any other. Delaware baskets, both pints and quarts, can be
bought at prices varying from $15 to $20 per 1000 with a dis-
count upon large orders.

It should be said, however, that square pints and thirds are
not regarded with much favor in market. The round Whitney
veneer cup, holding a third of a quart, is very largely used both
for strawberries and raspberries. The package has the advan-
tage of cheapness, simplicity and strength, but the lack of venti-
lation will prevent it from couiing into general use. Willits &

.76

Co, 103 Mnrrny st., New York, who have had much experience,
recommend Delaware quarts and Beecher pints for strawberries
and Beecher half" pints for raspberries. lam so well satisfied
that their views are correct that I shall in the main follow theii*
advice. The advertisements of many trustworthy manufticturers
of baskets and crates can be found in the agricultural papers. I
have tried to give the reader the pros and cons concerning the two
styles most in favor, leaving to him the choice. In view of my
nearness to market, and the fact that I shall chiefly grow the fancy
varieties, I shall invest 'largely in Beecher pints. For Wilson
strawberries I would recommend as a good package, the Delaware
32 quart crate, and for large berries, the 24 quart crate.

rickingi — Having procured the baskets which suit us best,
the next thing is to fill them properly, and get them into market
looking fresh and attractive. It is just at this point that very
many wrong themselves or permit themselves to be wronged.
The time is past when all strawberries will sell as such at so
much per quart. Appearance often doubles the price, or makes
it difficult to sell the fruit at all. Soiled, muddy berries, even
though large, will bring but wretched prices, therefore the import-
ance of mulching. The fruit may be in beautiful condition upon
the vines and yet careless picking spoil it. The work is often
performed by children, or by those who have had no experience,
or from inherent shiftlessness, do ever^^thing in the worst possible
way. I have seen beautiful berries that in their brief transit
through grimy hands into the baskets, lost half their value.
Many pickers will lay hold of the soft berry itself and pinch it
as they pull it off. Then instead of dropping it into the basket,
will hold it in their hand as they pick others, and as their hand
grows fuller they will squeeze them tighter, and when at last
the half-crushed handful is dropped into the basket the berries
are almost mined for market pur|)0ses. Not for $10 per day
would I permit such a person to pick for me, fui- he not only
lakes lilty per cent from the price of the fruit, but gives my
brand a bad reputation. If j>ossibie the grower should carefully

77

select his pickers and have .them subscribe to a few plain rules
like the following.

1. The berries must be picked with the thumb ;ind fore finger
nails and not held in the hand but dropped into the baskets at
once.

2. No green, decayed or muddy berries will be received.

3. There must be no getting down upon all fours in the
beds, thus crushing both green and ripe fruit.

4. There must be no " topping off" with large berries, and the
fruit must be equally good all through the basket.

In the early pickings of Wilsons when many of the berries
are of good size, and of all the large, choice kinds, it is best to
make two grades, putting the large and small by themselves,
and keeping varieties separate. A small frame with short legs
at each corner and a handle is a convenient ar)pliance to hold six
or more baskets while picking. Give to each picker two sets of
baskets, one for the small, and one for the large berries, and pay
equally for both so that there may be no motive to thwart your
purpose ; two cents per quart is the usual price. Have two styles
of tickets, red and blue, for instance, the red having a higher
value and given to those who bring the berries to the place of pack-
ing in good order, according to rule ; let the baskets not picked
in conformity to the rules be receipted for with the blue tickets.
Receiving man}' of the latter soon becomes a kind of disgrace, and
thus you appeal to the principle of self-respect as well as self-
interest. Get rid of those who persist in careless picking as soon
as possible. Insist that the baskets be full and rounded up, and
the fruit equal in quality down to the bottom. As far as possible
let the hulls be down, out of sight, and only the fruit showing.
If you have berries that are extra fine it will pay you to pick
and pack them yourself, or have some one do it that can be
depended upon. Do not pick the fruit, if you can help it, when it
is wet with dew or rain ; still there are times when this must be
done to save it. Never let the baskets or crates stand long
m the sun and wind, as the berries so treated soon become dull

78

and faded. As soon as a crate is filled put it under cover in a
cool place till shipped to market. Insist upon careful, gentle
handling as far as possible. I wish we could unite in prosecuting
parties who spoil our fruit by tossing the crates about. That
commission men are but human is a fact that will scarcely be
disputed, and it will, perhaps, be best to try several and de.il
with those who do the best for you.

ProntSi — No certain information can be given upon this sub-
ject. They will depend upon the cost of land, manure, labor, the
number of bushels raised per acre, prices, etc. Wm. Parry says
that strawberries will pay him at six cents per quart, but I do not
think they would pay me at that price. I should think that a
large crop at ten cents would always be remunerative. A moder-
ate crop of fine berries will often pay better than a large crop of
small soft fruit. The number of berries that can be raised upon an
acre no one can state. The amounts of fruit that are produced,
differ greatly with location, soil, culture and variety. Mr. Fuller
speaks of 300 bushels per acre. Llr. Parry says that he has raised
210 bushels, but considers one-third of that number a fair crop;
while in the liglrt sandy soil of Delaware 47 bushels are regarded
as the average. - In the fruit-growing region of Ulster Co. 140
bushels are considered a good crop, and 180 bushels a large yield.
I hare raised 95 bushels on two-thirds of an .-icre. As we have
intimated before, the quantity raised does not depend so nnich
upon the number of square feet as upon the variety, soil, and
cultivation. There have been instances wlicre an acre of straw-
berries has yielded a clear profit of $1,000, but one third that
amount would be nearer the general average. I kept an account
with an acre one favorable season, and my gro.>?s sales in fruit and
plants was $1,400, about $800 of whicii was profit. Wm.
Parry, of Cinnaminson, N. J., thus records his experience. '* For
ten years past our whole crops have averaged about 2,500 quarts
per acre, and averaged 12 cents per quart in market, giving the
following results :

79

Commissiori, 10 per cent $30.00

Picking, at 2 cents 50.00

Interest on land 10.00

Manure 25.00

Use of baskets 10. 00

Cultivation, &c 30.00

Net profits 145.00

Gross proceeds, 3,500 quarts, at 12 cents §300.00

Shipping PlantSi — if they are expressed, pack them in stronir
shallow boxes, tied looselytin bundles of fifty, with the roots
down and the Lops up and exposed to the air. In cool we.ither,
a layer of damp moss over the bottom of the box, and between
each row of bundles, will preserve them. Then slats are nuiled
closely across the top of the box. If the plants are sent in hot,
dry weather, it is best to dip each one in a mud paste, that will
coat the roots, and place them very loosely in the box to prevent
heating; and then use moss, chaff, or the fine rakings of the lawn,
as before. Or in cool weather they may be packed in barrels,
first boring or cutting many holes in the sides for air. Place a
layer of moss, then a layer of plants in a circle, with the tops out
toward the sides, continue these layers till the barrel is full. Thus
a round hole down through the centre to the bottom of the barrel
is left for circulation with an opening in the cover or head over
this breathing place. When the plants are sent by mail, wrap
the roots in damp, (not wet, dripping) moss, then encase them
in oiled paper, with a neat wra])per of brown paper over this.
Leave a little of the top exposed for air, and to show what the
package contains, and tie on a card of direction. If the govern-
ment exists for tiie benefit of the people and not the people for the
sake of the government, then Congress did the country a great
injury in doubling the postage on plants, seeds, etc. In our wide
and sparsely settled land, multitudes are too distant from express
offices to find them of any service.

The same general principles that have been stated above apply
to all the other small fruits.

Raspberries — should be handled with even greater care than

LAST WORDS.

In bowing myself out from this brief interview with the reafler^
I will merely add that I have tried to make my preceding words
simple and to the point — helpful. I lay no claim whatever to
scientific and exhaustive thoroughness. It is rather as if I had
sat down and chatted with the reader for an hour, telling him
what little I knew, and answering his supposed questions. If he
had been actually ^jresent he would have asked scores that I
could not have answered. But for practical purposes I have
honestl>^ tried to be plain, accurate, and suggestive, so that even
the novice could understand what he must do to succeed with
the most delipious and wholesome fruits of the year. In just
distrust of my. own judgment and knowledge, I have read all the
preceding pages, except those treating of markets, etc., to Charles
Downing, who is rightfully considered one of the very chief
authorities upon these subjects. But where I am in fault the
errors are my own.

It is one of the hopes of the future that I may be able to
observe carefull}'- the many new varieties of fruit that are claim-
ing attention, and by reporting as accurately as possible upon
them annually, enable others to judge of their value. I also
hope to give from time to time the results of experiments, and
my own, and the experience of others in the various methods of
culture. But whether such expectations will '^ver be fulfilled is
a question that time onl}'' can answer.

If through the influence of this manual more ripe and deli-
cious fruits appear upon your daily board, you will find that you
have followed the advice of a friend.

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