JVo... Division Range Shelf. Received 18W From the collection of the 2 " m Prelinger v Ijibrary San Francisco, California 2006 THE SMALL EEUIT CULTURIST. BY ANDREW S. FULLER, • * PRACTICAL HOKTICULTURIST, RIDGEWOOD. BERGEN CO.. B. J. BEAUTIFULLY II.L.USTRATESD. NEW-YORK: ORANGE JUDD & COMPACT 245 BROADWAY. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by ORANGE JUDD & CO. At the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York. LOVEJOY & SON, BLBCTBOTYPEBS AND STEBEOTYPEBS. 15 Vandewater street N. Y. etc PREFACE. With the extended cultivation of the small fruits in the past few years, there has arisen a demand for practical in- formation, not only from the professional cultivator, but the amateur ; and, in fact, every one who owns a rod of ground in city or country, wishes to know how to cultivate small fruits, and what kinds to plant, either for home use or market. Thus far no work, devoted exclusively to this branch of horticulture, has been presented to the public. The results of the experiments and observations of culti- vators in distant localities have not heretofore been gath- ered together, and what little information has been given is scattered through a thousand volumes, utterly inaccess- ible to the great masses of the people. To meet the wants of this numerous and rapidly increasing class, this little work has been prepared. The facts herein given are, in part, the results of personal observation and experience, extending over a long period of years. All of the vari- eties recommended have been tested by myself, and it has been my aim to give whatever information I possessed re- lating to them, in language that might be understood by the novice in these matters, as well as the professional hor- ticulturist. I have not presumed to give rules or advice that may be implicitly relied upon in all sections of the country, because there are many things relating to the culture of fruits that can only be learned by personal, 3 IV PREFACE. local experience. Neither have I any apologies to make for sending forth this little work on its mission, for it has not been written to gratify any personal ambition, but to supply that which my extended correspondence for years .past has shown to be an indispensable necessity. Thous- ands of inquiries are addressed to me, orally and by letter, every year, for information relating to small fruit culture, until the tax upon my time has become so serious as to inter- fere with other duties. To meet these inquiries, and throw what little light I could upon the subject, has been my only object, and whether success has crowned my efforts, or otherwise, the public will decide. To the many gentlemen who have so kindly and gratui- tously sent me specimens of plants of the new fruits in years past, I return my sincere thanks, hoping that they will not judge too harshly if I have not thought proper to praise certain varieties as highly as they may think they deserve. It is such a difficult task to decide which are really the best, where there are so many that are good, that I have preferred to err, if at all, in not overrating the merits of particular varieties, rather than to paint in glow- ing terms those which may have appeared to me as deserv- ing of such commendation. To Chas. Downing I am parti- cularly indebted, for plants of a great number of the small fruits, both old and new, many of which it is doubtful if I could have procured elsewhere, as some had become almost obsolete. Hoping that this little work will be as kindly received by the public as it is given by the author, and that it will assist in creating a desire for more extended knowledge upon the subject, until a more able pen shall be employed upon it, is the wish of ANDREW S. FULLEB. Ridgetiood, N. «7., April 25th, 1867. C O NTENTS. INTRODUCTION 7 CHAPTER L— BARBERRY SO CHAPTER H.— STRAWBERRY 31 CHAPTER HI.— RASPBERRY 114 CHAPTER IV.— BLACKBERRY 168 CHAPTER V.— DWARF CHERRY ,...183 CHAPTER VI.— CURRANT 186 CHAPTER VH.— GOOSEBERRY 214 CHAPTER Vin.— CORNELIAN CHERRY 225 CHAPTER IX.— CRANBERRY 231 CHAPTER X.— HUCKLEBERRY 246 CHAPTER XI.-SHEPERDIA 251 CHAPTER XH.— PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT 255 INTRODUCTION. It is only within a comparatively recent period that the Small Fruits have been considered of sufficient importance to command the attention and call forth the energies of the skillful horticulturist. From all the information we can gather from history, we infer that, with the single ex- ception of the grape, very few of the small fruits common at present, were cultivated or known in ancient times. Those that are mentioned in ancient history are named only in connection with some wild legend of field or forest, rendering it apparent that their cultivation and im- provement were left for the people of a more progressive age. The earlier English and French authors have very little to say in regard to the berries, and so late as 1600 there appear to have been no improved varieties of the currant or gooseberry, and both were supposed to be only varieties of the same species. We have only to look back a very few years to ascer- tain all that has been done in cultivating and improving these fruits. In former times nature, without the assist- ance of man, supplied most of the small fruits in quanti- ties adequate to the demand, and of such a quality as to satisfy uncultivated tastes. But of late years the increase of population has been so rapid that the supply from the woods and fields has not been equal to the requirements 8 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. of the markets, while at the same time a demand for some- thing better has arisen. Hence the necessity for assisting nature in her efforts to unfold the many useful fruits which remain hidden until touched by the skillful hand of science. So soon as our horticulturists began to cultivate the small fruits, they became aware of their before unknown merits, and eagerly sought every means of developing them to the extent of their capabilities. These efforts have been immensely successful in producing new and bet- ter varieties, which, becoming known to the public, have so largely increased the demand that all attempts to fully supply the markets have been inadequate. The progress of fruit-culture in the United States is probably more apparent than in other countries, for we have only to go back to a period within the memory of horticulturists still living to ascertain nearly every fact in regard to its history ; ask any of our older horticulturists concerning the markets of forty years ago, and they will tell us that there were no Hovey or Wilson Strawberries offered for sale in those days ; no Cherry or White Grape Currants ; no Dorchester or New Rochelle Blackberries ; but that they were wholly supplied with berries from the woods and uncultivated fields. During the last ten years we have made more progress in small fruit-culture than in thirty years before, and, not- withstanding this progress, we now find that we have scarcely begun to cultivate them intelligently. The cause of our advancement is, in a great measure, due to the dissemination of information upon the subject through the horticultural and agricultural press. It is by reading these that the masses have learned where to obtain the plants they desire and how to cultivate them. Thus, by having a medium through which both parties are ben- efited, trade is augmented and progress made more certain. Originators of new varieties are stimulated to greater exertions, knowing that, if successful, they will be amply INTRODUCTION. 9 rewarded. It is true that there is a limit to progress in particular directions, but, when this point has been reach- ed, it is easy to retrace our steps and move in another channel. The facilities for procuring and distributing plants are, at the present time, far superior to those of any former period. Our railroads have penetrated to far dis- tant portions of our country, thereby affording a rapid and safe transmission for many of the more delicate plants, which, a few years since, could not safely be transported by land to any considerable distance. Added to this, are the facilities which our Post-office Department offer for sending plants, cuttings and seeds, through the mail, charging at the rate of only half a cent per ounce, and allowing packages of four pounds weight to be carried, thereby affording the settlers in the newer portions of the country as well as those located away from the lines of railroads and other commercial thoroughfares an oppor- tunity of obtaining plants and seeds, at a small cost for transportation, which, under other circumstances, could not in any way be procured. These advantages, which the horticulturists of the present day possess over those of former years, stimulate them to exertion, and hundreds of acres are now devoted to the cultivation of the small fruits where there were not fifty ten years ago; still prices average higher than formerly, and the demand in- creases more rapidly than the supply. The great amount of fruit used at present, far surpassing that of former times, cannot be attributed wholly to the increase in pop- ulation, as that has not been in proportion to the increased quantity of fruit consumed. The introduction and almost general use of fruit pre serving cans have afforded the people an opportunity of ob- taining an uninterrupted supply of choice fruits, regardless of time or season. Thousands of bushels are annually pre- served for home use by families, both in country and city. One may step into any of our restaurants — even when the 1* 10 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. snow covers the fields and with the thermometer at zero — and call for a dish of strawberries and cream, and he will be supplied as readily as in the month of June. The fruit may not "be quite so good as when first gathered from the plant, but, considering the time of year, it is quite accept- able. Not only do private families, saloons and hotels consume enormous quantities of the small fruits which fiave been preserved in these hermetically sealed cans and jars, but every steamer or sailing vessel that leaves our ports takes with it a supply for use on the voyage, and it often forms a share of the freight. We are not only called upon to produce fruits to supply the home de- mand, but other portions of the world which cannot or do not produce them, and it can readily be seen that it must be many years before anything like an adequate quantity can be produced, even with the rapid strides we are making. The field for production may appear to be a very large one, still it is far less than that of con- sumption. It is not every location or soil that is adapted to the cultivation of the small fruits, neither will every variety succeed equally well on the same place. Conse- quently the favorable regions for particular kinds must furnish the people of other locations ; thus an exchange is made beneficial to both, and to the advantage of trade. The Southern States produce fruit for home consumption and for sale at the North, and vice versa. Different sec- tions produce different fruits, but often both yield the same, and yet they become a market for each other. For instance, Strawberries ripen at the South several weeks before they do at the North — we purchase their pro- ductions so long as their supply lasts, or until our own be- gins to ripen ; we can then send fruit south where the crop has matured and gone. The same is true with many other fruits ; those from warm regions are shipped to the cool ones, and later in the season a return is made in kind or of some similar productions. INTRODUCTION. 11 With a constantly increasing demand, and no apparent prospect of our markets being fully supplied, it is, no won- der that many have turned their attention to the cultiva- tion of the small fruits. All along the lines of our railroads, canals, and naviga- ble rivers, new villages are springing up, each of which soon becomes a shipping point for produce to the larger cities and villages. Many which did not exist eight or ten years ago, are now annually sending to market a half million to a million baskets of fruits. Ten years ago a nurseryman's catalogue, made up ex- clusively of the numerous descriptions of small fruits, was a rarity ; but at the present time they are quite abundant, showing that the propagation of the plants for sale, as well as the raising of the fruit, has become quite a promi- nent feature in horticulture. It is not to be expected that every one who attempts the cultivation of the small fruits will be successful, any more than that all will succeed in any other business, still it must be admitted, that the culture of the leading vari- eties of this class offers as wide and safe a field for enter- prise as is to be found in any other branch of business pertaining to the cultivation of the soil. Some will fail because they obtained varieties unsuited to their soil or location, for it must be remembered that there is no such thing as general cultivation, when ap- plied to the whole United States. Others will attempt more than they are capable of completing. And there are those who imagine that all that is required is, to obtain the plants and see that they are planted, after which they can sit down and wait for a bountiful harvest. Such peo- ple are always disappointed, and it matters not what they undertake, they are sure to be unfortunate, and every ex- periment will end in failure until they learn to labor as well as to wait. Profitable fruit-culture cannot result from idleness or negligence. Prompt, energetic action, ap- 12 SMALL FRUIT CTJLTURIST. plied at the proper time, is far more essential with the small fruits than with the larger ones. An apple or p'ear tree will struggle long, and often successfully, against weeds, drouth, or an unsuitable soil, while a Raspberry or Strawberry plant would perish in a week under similar circumstances. There is probably nothing appertaining to the cultivation of the soil which will, if properly con- ducted, yield more pleasure or profit than the culture of our best varieties of small fruits. Still it must not be ex- pected that there are no difficulties in the way, for there will sometimes be early and late frosts; wet and dry sea- sons ; cold winters and hot summers, and insects that will destroy more rapidly than nature can restore ; therefore no one should attempt the culture of any kind of fruit, unless he has courage and perseverance sufficient to meet and overcome all the obstacles he may find in the road to success. To the inexperienced cultivator these difficulties may appear very formidable, yet they are no greater than in any other branch of business, and far less than in many. The small fruits, as a class, are less liable to be affected by disease or insects than a majority of the larger kinds, and as many of them, like the Raspberry and Blackberry, bloom late in the season and perfect their fruit early, they are seldom injured- by the late spring frosts, which are often so very destructive to the Peach, Apple, and other early bloomers. To guard against great losses it is best not to risk one's entire capital in any one kind, for if that should fail, it would be ruinous. Neither is it advisable to cultivate too great a variety, for capital, needlessly scattered, is not readily gathered. The aim of the cultivator should be : 1st — To provide against total failure. 2d — Cultivate no more of any one kind than he can properly attend to, both in cultivating and in gathering the fruit. 3d — Provide for a succession of crops, so that there shall be an uninter- rupted income, in preference to a large and fluctuating INTRODUCTION. . 13 one. Fruit-baskets, crates, etc., must be provided, and the capital invested in these should not be allowed to re main idle any longer than is absolutely necessary. If sev- eral kinds are cultivated, commencing with the Strawber- ry, and followed by Raspberries, Gooseberries, Currants, and Blackberries, the fruit-baskets may be constantly em- ployed for at least three months, when if but one kind is grown their use will scarcely extend over as many weeks. Besides this, a better class of help can be secured for gathering the fruit where steady employment for three months can be given, than when for only a few days or weeks. The chief object of those who cultivate fruit for mar- ket is that of profit, and to secure the largest return on capital invested requires a judicious selection of varieties. The best in quality are seldom the most profitable for general market purposes. Usually the highest flavored are the most delicate growers and quite unproductive. Individual tastes differ — one will choose a variety that an- other will reject. Taste, however, is changeable, and a fruit, which at one time may be quite distasteful, will, by a constant acquaintance, become very agreeable. Our markets are but an aggregation of individuals, conse- quently they often change, and a particular variety of fruit, when first introduced, will find no purchasers, though it may afterwards become exceedingly popular. A particular color will often be the cause of rejection, and it will require a constant and persistent effort on the part of the producer to introduce the variety and per- suade the masses to purchase. A case in point is that of the Brinckle's Orange Raspberry, a variety which is ac- knowledged, by connoisseurs in fruit, to be one of the very best in quality ; still, place it beside almost any ordinary red variety in any of the New York markets, and not ten baskets of it will be sold to one hundred of the latter. In other cities the results may be quite the reverse, 14 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. which would only show that the masses must become ac- quainted with a variety before they will freely purchase, especially if it differs widely in appearance from those which are well known. The public taste in this country has not as yet been sufficiently cultivated to discriminate or select the very best, and it is doubtful if the masses appreciate or care whether a fruit is fully up to any par- ticular standard of quality that scientific horticulturists have endeavored to establish ; quantity is evidently more highly prized than quality, especially if the latter is at- tended by scarcity. I do not wish in these remarks to convey the idea that the very best should not always be sought for, but when their cultivation is not remunerative, quality alone be- comes of doubtful advantage to the producer. The more familiar a people become with any particular kind of fruit, the more they will appreciate it, and should anything occur to deprive them of a supply, they will feel the loss very keenly. Small fruit-culture has already be- come quite a prominent feature in American horticulture, and every possible means should be employed, not only to keep up the supply, but to increase it, so that it shall equal the demand. Heretofore its production has been mainly local ; that is, a particular neighborhood has made a specialty of grow- ing some one or more kinds that have been found to be adapted to the location and soil. Fruit-growers in other sections, having tried the same variety or varieties, as the case may be, and not finding their culture remunerative, have discarded them. Instead of doing this, they should have tried to produce new va- rieties that would succeed; or, endeavored to procure from among the many already known, some kind that was adapted to their particular soil and location. It is well known to every experienced horticulturist that certain species, and all the varieties produced therefrom, fail in INTRODUCTION. 15 some locations and soils, while other species and their va- rieties, although of the same genus, will succeed most ad- mirably. These peculiarities of species have given rise to much discussion among fruit-growers. One will assert, for instance, that the Raspberry is a total failure in his section, and that it cannot be grown, which may be true in regard to a particular kind or class, but no farther. There is probably no soil in our whole country, unless it be under water or totally barren, in which some one or more kinds of small fruits may not be profitably grown. The great desideratum is, to determine which they are, and the people are looking to experimenters to furnish the required information. This is being given through various mediums that are accessible to all, and the rapidly extending culture of this class of fruits shows very clearly that the knowledge gained is put to practical use. The dissemination of sim- ple facts, which are frequently conveyed in a single word or line, is often of more value than a learned and elabo- rate essay. We sometimes observe in nurserymen's catalogues, re- ferring to a particular variety, a simple remark like this : " succeeds admirably with me in a light sandy, clayey, or loamy soil," as the case may be, thereby giving a key to the secret of his success and the failure of others. There was a time in the history of horticulture when secrets were a merchantable commodity, and the particular methods of propagation and culture were transferred from one gardener to another for a consideration. But those days are past, for the true horticulturist of the present day keeps no secrets that will benefit mankind, but hast- ens to give to the world the advantages which may arise from any discovery he makes, receiving in return that which is of more lasting value than money : the thanks of his co-laborers. It is true, that occasionally a man can be found so blind to his own interest and reputation, and 16 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. BO selfishly mean, as to desire to keep to himself any process by which he thinks he can surpass his neighbors, and tax the public for his own benefit ; but such is the estimation in which these men are held by a large majority of horti- culturists, and so readily is their meanness discovered by their customers, that they are very soon obliged either to retire from business and seek some other less honorable occupation, or eke out a miserable existence supported by the patronage of a class no better than themselves. The laws of nature should be secrets to none, and he who would deny others the knowledge of any important discovery in horticultural processes, would, if he were able, have the blessed sunshine and showers shut out from every field but his. It is to the constant interchange of facts, derived from experience, that we owe much of our progress in horticulture. To know the different varieties, so that one can name them at sight, does not constitute, as some may suppose, all the knowledge requisite to en- able one to cultivate them successfully. Their adaptation to the various soils, locations, and climate ; the best mode of cultivation, propagation, prun- ing; whether the fruit is firm or fragile, rendering it more suitable for market or home use — these and many other points must be understood before one can safely go into small fruit-culture on an extensive scale. There has been much discussion as to whether a constant cultivation of the soil was necessary to produce remunerative results from growing the apple, peach, pear, and kindred fruits. There is, perhaps, some reason in particular cases for an apparent neglect, such as excessive growth, which may be checked by non-cultivation more readily than oth- erwise. But with the fruits, of which we shall treat in the following pages, there are no exceptions to the rule — the better the care, the more remunerative the results. By bestowing the best of care, we will not only obtain better returns, but they will be in an increased ratio to the amount INTRODUCTION. 17 of labor bestowed. In many instances, with an annual expenditure of twenty-five dollars per acre, a return of only one hundred is obtained, while upon the same soil and with the same variety, if fifty dollars had been ex- pended, the return would have been three or four hundred. All experiments show that extra culture is far more prof- itable than what is generally termed good culture. I do not mean by this that it is necessary to trench the soil four feet deep, and apply a thousand loads of manure per acre to a soil which is naturally deep and rich ; but that deep plowing and subsoiling should be employed, with a liberal supply of enriching materials, if the best results are to be obtained. But few of those who are called good cultivators are aware of the large increase of fruit which may be produced on an acre by giving extra cul- ture, instead of the ordinary method. Many fruit-grow- ers, for the purpose of extending their business, increase the number of acres, when, if they would double the depth of that which they already possess, they would ob- tain the same increase in product without going to the expense of purchasing more land, besides incurring the extra trouble of cultivating two acres, when one might, with proper care, produce the same results. Deepening the soil is not wholly for the purpose of furnishing more plant food, nor to facilitate the downward growth of roots, but it is principally for the purpose of disintegra- tion, and making it of such a consistency that it will be capable of retaining a sufficient amount of moisture at all times to nourish and supply the plants growing therein, but not enough to be detrimental. Rain water, as is well known, contains gases that are beneficial to plants, and if the soil is in a condition to allow it to pass through it, a large portion of these gases will be retained, but if the surface is hard, the water either runs off or remains until it evaporates. Again, a soil that is loose and friable admits air, and 18 SMALL FEUIT CULTURIST. with it moisture. To prove this fact, we have only to take a piece of glass or polished steel, or any similar sub- stance, and place it in an ice-house where it will become cold ; then carry it into the open air, and in a moment it will be covered with water condensed from the atmos- phere. Now, we know that this moisture did not exude from the glass, therefore it must have come from the air. By stirring the soil, and placing that which has become heat- ed underneath to warm the roots, and bringing the cooler portions to the top to condense the moisture, two objects are obtained : besides loosening the earth that it may be the more easily penetrated by the rootlets, it at the same time admits the air charged with moisture for their nourishment. The benefit derived from frequent stirring of the surface soil in dry weather, especially if it be of a compact nature, is mainly derived from the admission of air containing moisture. Many cultivators appear to think that all that is required of them is, to keep the weeds from growing among their plants, and they never stir the soil except for this purpose ; but our best culti- vators have learned that frequent moving of the soil is very beneficial to all crops, especially in time of drouth. If any one doubts that soil can be made moist by frequent stirring, let them select a piece of ground under some open shed where no rain has reached for a year or more, break up the soil and pulverize it finely ; then stir it and turn it over every morning for a week or two, and it will become quite moist, while a similar soil in the open field, which has not been stirred, will be parched and dry. Mulching the surface with straw, leaves, or similar materi- als, is often very beneficial, especially to plants whose roots do not penetrate deeply. The mulch not only as- sists in preventing evaporation, but insures condensation of moisture from the air, which passes freely through it to the soil. It is not my purpose to enter into any elaborate discus- INTRODUCTION. . 19 eions of particular theories relative to growth, structure, food of plants, or any of the various points in vegetable physiology which are considered debatable questions. But as I shall have occasion in the following pages to ad- vise deep and thoroughly pulverized soil, I have stated the foregoing simple facts, so that the reader may under- stand why they are recommended. CHAPTER I. BARBERRY. — BEKBEEIS. NATURAL FAMILY BerberidaccR. [Name derived from Berberys, the Arabic name of the fruit. The French name la Epine Dinette ; German, Berberitze ; Dutch, Berberisse ; Italian, Berbero ; Span- ish, Berberis.} GENERAL CHARACTEES. — Shrubs of medium size, with yellow inner bark and wood. Flowers in drooping ra- cemes, leaves, and fruit acid. A section of this genus is often called Mahonia ; the species belonging to it, have evergreen leaves, and are chiefly cultivated for ornament. SPECIES. Berberis Vlilgaris. — Common Barberry. — Native of Britain, but has become naturalized in the New England States. Stems with sharp spines. Leaves obovate-oblong, bristly toothed. Berries oblong, scarlet. Berberis Canadensis. — American Barberry. — Very similar to the last ; the racemes not quite so long. Berries oval. Considered by some botanists as only a variety of JB. vulgaris. Found wild on the Alleghanies and southward. Berfoeris dulcis. — Magellan Sweet Barberry. — Also called B. buxifolia and B. rotundifolia. Native of the Straits of Magellan. It is an evergreen in its native coun- try and in England, but with us it usually drops its leaves in the latter part of winter. It blooms early, and ripens its fruit in July. Berries round, black, and moderately sweet. Berberis aristata, — Nepaul Barberry. — B. Asiatica and B. Chitra of some authors. Native of Nepaul and other portions of India, where it is an evergreen. Fruit purple, covered with bloom. Highly prized in its native country. There are probably other distinct species which produce 20 BAEBBEBT. .21 edible fruit, but it is so very difficult to determine them at the present time, and as botanists are not fully agreed upon this point, I shall content myself with classifying them as merely varieties of the foregoing species. HISTORY. There is very little in the history of the Barberry that is of any particular interest to the people of the present day. Some writers suppose that Pliny had reference to this plant where he says, in his 24th Book, Chap. 13, " There is a kind of thorny bush called Appendix, for that there be red berries hanging thereto which be likewise named Apen- dices." Whether it was really the Barberry, or some simi- lar sh'rub, which he referred to we have no means of knowing. Gerarde, an English author who wrote in 1597, says that the young leaves of the Barberry bush were used as a salad in his time. PROPAGATION. BY SEEDS. — Gather the berries when fully ripe, and put into boxes until the pulp has become soft, then wash out the seeds, and either sow them or put away in sand until wanted. It is best to sow them in the fall, for, if delayed until spring, and the seeds become dry, a portion of them, at least, will not grow. In sections of the country where the weather is likely to be very hot and dry in summer, a half- shady place should be selected for the seed-bed, as there is sometimes danger of the young plants being burned off when they first appear above ground. Sow the seeds in drills, and cover them about one inch deep ; keep the weeds down, and stir the soil often. Transplant when one or two years old, and al the time of removal shorten the tap-root about one-third. Early spring is the best time to transplant the Barberry in the Northern States. 22 SMAJX FRUIT CULTURIST. BY SUCKERS. — The Barberry throws up a great quantity of suckers, chiefly from the main stem. Roots are produced on the base of these suckers. Consequently they may be separated from the eld plant whenever it is desirable to in- crease the number of plants. BY CUTTINGS. — Cuttings of the ripe wood do not grow as readily as with some other plants ; still, with a little care, • they may be made to succeed. Select one or two year old • wood in the fall, and before it has been severely frozen, and cut it into lengths of six or eight inches, cutting the lower end square across and just below a bud. Make them with a sharp knife, so that the wood shall not be crushed, but cut smoothly. After the cuttings are made, bury them in a dry place in the open ground, and cover so deeply that the frost will not reach them. They should not be tied in bundles, as is sometimes recommended for cuttings, but be placed in alternate layers of soil and cuttings. In the spring they should be taken out and planted, placing them about three inches apart in the rows, covering all but one or two inches of the upper end. Pack the soil firmly around them, and either hoe often or cover the entire sur- face of the soil with mulch. As the same general system is followed for all ripe wood cuttings which are grown in the open ground, I will here state the method which I practice not only with the Barberry, but with the Currant, Gooseberry, and all similar plants, that I shall have oc- casion to mention in future chapters. When the cuttings are prepared, select a dry place, and dig a trench one spade deep, in shape like a letter Y ; place a layer of cuttings on one side, then throw enough soil from the other side to cover them about an inch deep. Then place another layer of cuttings against this soil, keeping the trench in the same shape as it was when begun, cover the next layer in the same manner, and so on until the cuttings are all in ; then bank over with earth and smooth the surface so that the water will readily run oif. BARBERRY. 23 In the spring, prepare a bed for the cuttings by digging or plowing deeply, and enriching with well rotted manure. Harrow or rake the surface level and smooth ; then draw a line across the bed, and dig a trench by placing the back of the spade against the line, pressing it down perpendicu- larly ; then throw out the soil to one side, making a trench of the shape shown in figure I. Place the cuttings against the perpendicular side of the trench, two to four inches apart, and the upper end an inch or two above the surface of the soil. Draw in a little soil, and press it down firmly with the foot, or with an in- Fig. 1.— CUTTING TRENCH. strument made from a piece of two inch plank, as shown in figure 2. After the earth has been packed firmly about the base of the cutting, the trench may be filled up level with the surrounding soil. With many kinds of plants the packing of the soil around the lower end of the cuttings is a very essential point, and often the whole secret of success. This is particularly so with those kinds that produce roots mainly from the lower end, where the wood is exposed to the soil. The distance between the rows will depend entirely upon the manner in which they are to be culti- vated. If a cultivator is to be used, then they should be two and a half or three feet apart ; but where they are to be cultivated with the hoe one and a half to two feet will be sufficient. In some soils and locations the plants raised from cuttings may be left in the ground where Fig* 2' they are grown until the following spring, and then trans- planted ; but the safest plan is to take them up in the fall, be- cause in some soils they will be thrown out by the frost, un- less they have a larger quantity of roots than is usual. 24 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. BY GREEN WOOD CUTTINGS. — This mode of propagating the Barberry can only be practiced to advantage by those who have propagating houses. The plants should be taken up in the fall and potted, giving each plant sufficient soil and room to insure a healthy growth. They may be placed directly in the house or in trames or cellar until wanted. When they are first potted the soil should be watered so that it will settle about the roots and fill all interstices between them. When the plants have been placed in the house, and have made a growth of two or three inches, the cuttings may be taken off by severing the new-growing wood close to the main stem ; place the cuttings in pots filled with pure sand, fifteen to twenty in a six inch pot, after which give water to settle the sand about the cuttings; then cover with a bell glass, or place in frames within the house, as usual with other green wood cuttings. Every experienced propagator will understand and know how to treat the cuttings when they become rooted, and those who are novices in these matters would do well to practice a while upon plants less difficult to propagate, be- fore trying the Barberry. BY BUDDING AND GRAFTING. — The rare varieties are sometimes worked upon the more common kinds, usually by budding. The operation is performed just as soon as the buds are fully developed on the young growth of the sea- son, and in the same manner as upon the apple and similar trees. Grafting is also performed in the usual manner, but the cion should be inserted in the stock below the surface so that all but the upper bud will be covered by the soil. BY LAYERS. — The usual manner of making layers of othe* woody plants is applicable to the Barberry, but they will seldom become well rooted the first season. Still they may be severed from the parent plant in the autumn or early spring ; the upper portions of the stems are cut oft and then they are treated the same as cuttings. BARBERRY. 25 The layers may be made in early spring, of the previous season's growth, or later, when new wood is formed of suf- ficient length for the purpose. Layers put down in the autumn will become well rooted by the end of the next season. CULTURE. The Barberry, when left to itself, forms a dense shrub, with many stems, but when cultivated for its fruit a portion of the shoots should be annually removed to allow the sun and air to more readily reach all parts of the plant, and assist in developing the fruit buds. It may also be trained to a single stem, and when treated in this manner, some of the varieties will form shrubs ten to fifteen feet in hight. The fruit will also be larger and more abundant than when the plant is allowed to grow in the natural manner and without pruning. Each plant should be given plenty of room and not crowded, especially when fruit is the object of cultivation. Six to eight feet apart will be sufficient in ordinary soil. As before remarked, the Barberry will grow in dry and almost barren soil ; still, as no plant will produce the best results in such situations, it is best to give a good, deep and moderately rich soil even to plants that will grow in a poor one. VARIETIES AND USES. Berberis VUlgaris. — This species and some of its varie- ties are probably better known in this country than any others. The most common is the original species, which is found growing wild in many places in the New England States. It is also quite common in gardens. The fruit is oblong, about half an inch in length and one-eighth across, of a bright scarlet color, very acid, but of agreeable flavor. Figure 3 shows a small branch, with fruit and flowers of natural siz^ and figure 4 gives a magnified single flower. There is a peculiarity about the stamens worthy of notice, 2 SMAIX, FRUIT CULTUKIST. as they are endowed with a remarkable irritability. When the flower opens, the stamens all lay back against the Fig. 3. — BARBERRY FLOWER AND FRUIT. petals, but when touched by an insect they spring up against the pistil, where they discharge their pollen. This motion may be pro- duced by touching the sta- mens near the base with a pin or other point. The Fig. 4. stamens discharge their pollen in a rather unusual manner. In most stamens the anther, or pollen- BAKBEBKY. - 27 bearing portion, opens by slits, but in the Barberry a pair of little doors, or traps, lift up to allow the pollen to fall out. Figure 5 shows two enlarged stamens — one closed and the other open. The fruit and flowers are not produced at the same time upon the plant, but as a matter of convenience they are both shown on the same branch in the engraving. The fruit is much used for preserves, pickles, jams, &c. The thorny character of the plant, with its upright, com- pact growth, makes it a very desirable hedge plant. The inner bark of the stem and roots is used in some countries for making a yellow dye. It is also used in Po- land and other portions of the East for tanning purposes. The best known varieties of this species are as follows : B, VUlgariS alba, — White fruited. — Not very productive, and not so vigorous a grower as the original. B. Vlllgaris aspcrma* — A variety which produces fruit without seeds. It is not, however, constant, and plants propagated from it will often produce fruit with seeds. This variety has been known and cultivated in England -for more than two hundred years, according to Parkinson, Gerarde and other old authors. B, Ylllgaris dulcis, — Sweet fruited. — Very similar to the species. The fruit is a little larger and not quite so acid, and leaves bright green and shining. This variety should'not be confounded with the before mentioned species, JBerberis dulcis, as the latter has black fruit of the size of a large currant, which is solitary, while that of the former is produced in racemes. B. Vlllgaris purpurea, — Purple leaved. — Leaves dark purple. On this account it is very ornamental. B, Vlllgaris glauca, — Leaves pale green and glaucous; not shining. B, Vlllgaris longifolia* — Leaves longer than in the spe- cies ; otherwise the same. 28 SMALL FBUIT CULTUKIST. Bi VTllgaris lutca. — Tellow fruited. — A variety with small yellow fruit ; not very productive. B. VUlgaris mitis. — Thorns small and not as rigid as in other varieties. B. VUlgariS nigra. — Black fruited. — Tournefort found his variety on the banks of the Euphrates, about one hun- dred and fifty years ago. He says that the fruit is of a sweet and delicious flavor. I am not aware of its being cultivated in America. B. VUlgaris purpurea. — Purple fruited. — Fruit dark red or purple. Leaves narrow, with few prickles. B. VUlgaris violacea, — Violet fruited. — Fruit violet colored. There are probably many other varieties of this species, as the seedlings usually vary considerably, especially when the seeds are taken from kinds that are quite distinct from the original species. Seedlings grown from the purple-leaved variety will show a great diversity of foliage. Some will have purple leaves like the parent, while others will be margined with purple or red, or be wholly green. Berberis Sibirica. — Siberian Barberry. — Native of Si- beria, where it is found growing among rocks on hill sides and mountains. The plant seldom grows more than two feet high. Fruit oval, red, solitary, peduncle shorter than the leaves. The following, which may be distinct species, or only varieties, possess no particular merit as regards their fruit, out may interest the botanist or those who wish to make iheir collections as complete as possible : B. Iberica. — Iberian Barberry. — Berries deep purple. B. SinensiS. — Chinese Barberry. — Berries dull red. B. Cretica. — Cretan Barberry. — Berries oval, black, very astringent. BARBERRY. The Barberry is susceptible of great improvement, and might, if a proper amount of care were bestowed upon it, become a fruit of much importance ; whereas, at the pres- ent time, it is seldom admitted to the fruit garden, being mainly planted for ornamental purposes. DISEASES AND INSECTS. The Barberry is seldom injured to any considerable ex- tent by disease or insects. The leaves are sometimes in- jured by a species of fungus called ^Ecidium Herberidis. It usually makes its appearance on the upper end of the leaves (fig. 6), then becomes scattered over the surface, and extends to the fruit. To the eye it appears like fine reddish dust. When these rust-like spots are examined with a lens, they appear as in figure 7, and when more highly magnified the whole is found to consist of cup-like cells, as in figure 8. These cups are at first covered with a thin, light colored film, which, when the fungus be- comes mature, bursts and leaves the edges of the cup with the uneven margin shown in figure 8. When this covering bursts, the cups discharge their spores or reproductive dust, which is scattered over the leaves and fruit. This fungus or mildew has keen suPPose(l to cause the blight in wheat, and it is an old belief that the Barberry would cause the grain near which it grew to Fig. a blast. This belief has generally been treated as a superstition by scientific men, but recent researches show that it may have a foundation in fact. Many of these minute fungi have in different generations very unlike forms. Thus, the spores of A will produce Fig. 6. Fig. 7. 30 SMALL FRUIT CULTTJKIST. B. so unlike A. that it has been taken for a different fungus, and B. will again reproduce A. There la a strong probability that the rust of the Barberry and the smut in wheat are both forms of the same fungus. The injury which it causes to the Barberry is very slight, but it may become so prevalent as to be worthy of particu- lar attention. Ashes or slacked lime scattered over th, leaves in the morning, when the dew is on them, woulc probably destroy it or check its progress. Another bligbi which affects the leaves later in the season, known as M\ crosphceria Berber idis, is shown highly magnified in figure 9. It appears in very minute spots, with fine, rib-like ap- pendages radiating from the center, like the spokes of s wheel, the ends of each be- ing divided into several small branches, as in figure 10. This species of blight attacks the leaves so late in Fig. 9. Fig. 10. the season that it causes but little if any injury. The illustrations of these and the other minute fungi given in subsequent pages, are taken from a work called "Rust, Smut and Mildew," by M. C. Cook, London. This charming little work is beautifully illus- trated, and as it describes many fungi common to both this country and England, we call the attention of our readers to it, as the most available source of information concerning these humble, but, to the fruit grower, import- ant forms of vegetation. I am not aware of any insect that is injurious to the Barberry. The peculiar (and rather agreeable than other- wise) fragrance of the flowers attracts numerous insects to the plant when in bloom, and their presence is probably for the purpose of gathering food, while they aid at the same time in fertilizing the flowers by irritating the stamens. CHAPTER II. THE STRAWBERRY.— FRAGARIA NATURAL FAMILY Rosacey merely sowing seeds new varieties, greatly differing from the parent, were readily produced, it began to attract the attention of fruit growers, and received the care it deserved. It is the most fragrant of all known species, possessing a delightful, aromatic perfume, not surpassed by any other fruit. It is a robust and vigorous grower, withstanding the severe cold of our northern winters, as well as the burning sun of summer. It assumes very distinct charac- ters in different locations, those of the Western States varying considerably from those of the Eastern, so much so that the varieties grown from them usually retain their peculiar characteristics through an almost indefinite num- ber of generations. Among the varieties in cultivation at the present time we can recognize many whose parentage can be traced to the western plants, while others are unmistakably from those of the Eastern States. I will name a few of each class, ancj those who are acquainted with them will more readily recognize their peculiar characters than they could from any descriptions which I might give — only premising that the western class, as a rule, produce the largest, soft- est, and most acid fruit. The best known of the western type are : Austin, Iowa, Downer's Prolific, Green Prolific, General Scott, and Victory. Of the eastern type, Early Scarlet, Jenny Lind, Scott'g Seedling, Boston Pine, Brighton Pine, &c. The various forms observed in the F. Virginiana in dif ferent portions of the country, have given rise to much dis- STRAW HERE Y. 37 cussion as to whether all these variations should be classed as one species, or separated into different ones. Dr. Asy Gray classes them all as one species, and he is un- doubtedly correct. A few would-be authorities will not acknowledge that a species can possibly be variable, and still be the same. Consequently we often see long essays from such men, in which the F. Virginiana is divided into numerous species, such as F. Illinoiensis, F. lowaensis, &c. We might with as much propriety separate our American chestnut into innumerable species, for there is as great difference in the nuts and growth of the tree as is to be found in the com- mon Strawberry. Free discussion in scientific matters is to a certain extent beneficial; but it is doubtful whether the present or fu- ture generations will be benefited by such dissertations as frequently appear in some of our rural periodicals or in our agricultural reports, purporting to come from intelli- gent men, while the fact is apparent to every one who has the least knowledge on the subject of which they treat, that said articles are a mass of errors, and the authors write for other purposes than those of giving information to the people. For a number of years the Virginia Strawberry had no successful rival in English gardens, though it was never so highly appreciated in Britain as here, from the fact that it is more acid and not so highly flavored in the moist cool climate of that country as in our own. The introduction of the South American species (F. grandiflora) gave a new impetus to Strawberry culture in Europe. The fruit is naturally much larger and sweeter than any of the other species, consequently it does not require so much heat to develop its saccharine qualities. That pe- 3uliar aromatic sprightliness, which is such a prominent 38 SMALL FRUIT (!TJLTUEIST. feature in the F. Virginiana, is, however, almost entirely wanting in other species. The same dissecting process has been applied to the South American species as to our northern one, and it is sometimes called F. Chiliensis, F. JBonariensis, &c. — the name usually indicating the place from which the supposed distinct species was derived. That the different varieties discovered in the various portions of the country are quite distinct, every one who is acquainted with them will admit. Yet these variations are no greater than have already been mentioned in those of other species. The first account we have of the South American Straw- berry is in 1716, when M. Frezier, in his voyage to the South Sea, found it at the foot of the Cordillera Mountains, near Quito, and carried it home to Marseilles, in France. It was at that tune called the Chili Strawberry, and the Spaniards said that they had previously brought it from Mexico. We do not learn from any of the old French works that any new varieties were raised from the Chili Strawberry for at least fifty years after its introduction. Duchesne, in 1766, says " that Miller considered its cultivation as aban- doned in England on account of its sterility." The impor- tations from other portions of South America appear to have met with better success, and about fifty years ago new varieties of the F. grandiflora, as well as of the Vir- giniana, became quite abundant in England and on the Continent. At the present time the varieties of F. grandrflora appear to be valued more highly in Europe than any other — at least we judge so from the fact that almost all of the new varie- ties imported of late years show more of the characteristics ol this species than of others. This may account for the failure of so many of the new foreign varieties in the Northern States. The severe cold of our winters, and our STRAWBERRY. 39 dry, hot summers, are two extremes that they cannot with- stand. Occasionally we receive a variety which, by extra care and protection in winter, will produce a large crop ; but, as a whole, it is doubtful whether the Strawberry growers in the United States have been permanently benefited by the introduction of any of the new varieties raised from the grandiflora. They may have awakened a taste for more thorough experiments in Strawberry culture, and by hybridizing them with our more hardy kinds produced new ones of real value. SEXUALITY OF THE STRAWBERRY. Naturally the Strawberry flower possesses stamens and pistils ; it is therefore perfect, as both of these organs are necessary for the production of fruit. Every botanist, from Linnaeus down to the present time, has described the Strawberry flower as perfect or bi-sexual. Therefore, to assume that this is not the normal charac- ter (as a few writers of late have done) is to controvert all of our botanical authorities, and charge them with over- looking that which the most casual observer could have seen. When plants are taken from their native habitats and placed under cultivation, they very often assume forms ^uite different from their natural ones. Sometimes a par- ticular organ is suppressed, while others are enlarged ; thus we have the pistillate Strawberry and the double rose. Occasionally the seeds of domesticated plants are carried by birds or animals to woods and fields quite distant from the garden in which they are cultivated, and if per- chance they are deposited under favorable conditions they will produce fruit similar to that from which they ori- ginated. If we find a pistillate Strawberry or double rose growing wild, does it prove that these are the normal char- acters of the genus ? Far from it ; but it only shows that 40 SMALL FRUIT CTJLTURIST; plants are susceptible of change under certain circumstances, and especially when these are not perfectly natural. The Strawberry be- longs to the same great natural family as the rose, but when placed under those artificial circum- stances to which it is subjected when cultivat- ed, instead of becoming double, (although semi- double varieties are occa- sionally produced,) the stamens are sometimes suppressed, and varieties arc produced with flowers con- taining pistils only. --PERFECT FLOWEK. Fig. 12. — PERFECT FLOWER ENLARGED. Figure 11 shows what is termed a perfect or bi-sexual flower. The pistils are in the center, while around them STRAWBERRY. 41 are some twenty or more organs, which are called stamens. These are quite different in appearance from the pistils, be- ing longer, and each one is terminated by a small knob, which is called the anther. The anthers contain pollen, a . 13. — SECTION OF PERFECT FLOWER. substance that is necessary for the production of seed. In figure 12 is shown the same flower as in figure 11, but, be- ing considerably enlarged, the stamens are more readily seen. The same flower is shown in figure 13, divided longi- tudinally tp show the parts still more distinctly, and their relative positions. Every so-called seed of the Strawberry has one pistil situated on its apex ; consequently it is a very important organ, inasmuch as it is through this channel that the influence of £5 the pollen reaches the ovule or seed vessel. The stamens are situated on the calyx, and they may be artificially removed or suppressed by nature, in which case we have a pistillate flower which will produce fruit, if the pistils are fertilized from another flower. It is not important whether a flower produces its own pol- len or is supplied from another source. Figure 14 shows a pistillate flower of the usual size, and in figure 15 the same enlarged. By com- paring these with the two preceding the difference may readily be observed. Fig. 14. — PISTIL- LATE FLOWERS. 43 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. The size of these is also variable ; sometimes they are Fig. 15. — PISTILLATE FLOWER ENLARGED. considerably larger than those shown as of natural size. The flowers of Fragaria grand (flora are larger than those of other species, and sometimes they have seven pe- tals, as shown in figure 16, while five is the usual number. Another variation from the natural form, although very rarely seen, is that of flowers without any pistils. These-, of course, produce no fruit, and they are nothing more nor less than degenerated or de- formed specimens, and are not worthy of notice further than to show the peculiar changes F that sometimes occur in cultivated plants. The foregoing are the principal forms noticed in both STRAWBERRY. 43 wild and cultivated varieties, but there are various grada- tions from each of these ; for, while the natural flower gen- erally contains about twenty stamens, some cultivated varieties have less than half that number, while others, as I have shown, possess none. Consequently, if a variety is produced which has flowers destitute of stamens, it will be dependent upon others for fertilization. Many such have from time to time been produced and disseminated in the last fifty years. That some seedlings produced perfect flowers, while others have those that are imperfect, was ob- served in Europe at least a hundred years ago. This pecu- liarity was first observed in the seedlings of the Hautbois, but afterwards in the seedlings of other species, although it does not appear to be of so common occurrence in Eu- rope as in the United States. The reasi. n for this -I am not able to state, unless it be because the Fragaria Virginiana, from which the greater portion of our varieties is produced, is more subject to the change than other species. It may be that our climate has something to do with it, but whatever may be the cause, the effect is apparent in many pistillate varieties of Strawberries in cultivation. Keen reported his observations upon this variation in the sexes of the Strawberry, in 1809, to the London Horticul- tural Society. This called the attention of growers in this country to the subject, but very little was said or written in relation to it until Mr. Hovey produced his seedling Strawberry in 1834. This being a pistillate, and the largest and best variety that had been as yet produced in this country, it gave rise to an immense amount of discussion upon the sexuality of the Strawberry. There appear to be a few men who are always ready to ride any new hobby, whether it has one leg or more. Consequently there were a few who imme- diately started the theory that the botanists had made a great mistake, and that the Strawberry was naturally di- 44 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST ceceous, i. e., one plant bearing staminate flowers and the other pistillate ones. Considerable excitement was created in consequence, and communications innumerable upon the subject were poured into our horticultural journals, each writer claiming to have discovered something new in regard this, to them, wonderful phenomenon. One writer has for the past ten years or more, almost annually, given the public a grand diagnosis of the case, asserting that the pistillate varieties were the only ones to be depended upon for a large crop, and that they were naturally the most productive, while the facts are that there are hundreds of perfect flowering kinds in cultivation that are fully equal, if not superior, to the most productive pis- tillates. That we have many very excellent varieties among this latter class no one will deny, but that, as a whole, they are any better than the others cannot be sub- stantiated by facts. There is but one serious objection to the pistillate varie- ties, and that is, two kinds must be grown to insure a crop from one, or a perfect flowering variety must be grown near a pistillate to fertilize its flowers, or no fruit will be produced. This is imperatively necessary ; consequently the close proximity of the two kinds has led to much con- fusion, inasmuch as the runners of the two are very liable to intermingle, unless great care is exercised to prevent it. I have usually found it more difficult to get pure plants of the pistillate varieties than of the others, and the excuse given by the grower for the mixture was that the variety grown for the purpose of fertilizing them had become in- termingled. If this is the only reason, it is certainly a very lame one, as there is no necessity for the plants be- ing mixed, because setting the two kinds in adjacent beds will answer every purpose. But without presuming to advance a theory on the sub- ject, I would suggest whether it is not possible that varia- STRAWBERRY. 45 tions may have been made on growing plants by the influ- ence of the pollen from different varieties. It is generally supposed that no effect is produced except on the seeds, but as it is most conclusively proved in animal physiology that the female retains the effect of the first impregnation in her system for years, may not the same be true of plants, and the admixture or deterioration of one, and the improve- ment of another kind growing in close proximity, be caused by the absorption of qualities each from the other? If the effect of the pollen reaches no further than the seeds, why is not the fruit (receptacle) produced without them. But we find that wherever the pistils are not fer- tilized the receptacle also fails, or if a portion only is sup- plied with pollen then the receptacle is deformed in pro- portion. Remove one, two, or more pistils before they are fertilized, and the berry, just at that point, fails to en- large or come to maturity. No seeds, no berry, is the rule. If the Strawberry seed was large enough to be readily examined, we should probably see a difference in color and form just as we notice in mixed varieties of corn. In the latter we can see that the influence of cross fertilization extends further than the seed, because its receptacle (cob) is often changed beneath the kernel to a color similar to that of the variety which produced the pollen. It is often asserted that the Hovey is better when fertil- ized with one kind than with another, and may not this be true further than that of being fully supplied with pollen ? Strawberry culture would probably have been just as far advanced if we had never had a pistillate variety in cultivation, and much confusion would have been avoided. Had not Mr. Hovey produced so good a pistillate variety as he did, it is very likely that such kinds would have never been tolerated by fruit growers anywhere. But the advent of this variety gave a new impetus to Strawberry culture, and at the present time it is considered in some sections as a standard market fruit. 46 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. Another important consideration in cultivating pistillate varieties is to grow as a fertilizer a kind that produces an abundance of pollen ; besides that the two should blooin at the same time. STRUCTURE OF THE PLANTS. All the varieties and species of the Strawberry have a family resemblance ; still there is considerable difference in the form and structure. Some produce large stools, while others naturally divide into individual plants. One of the prominent features of the Strawberry is to multiply by runners ; yet among the Alpine or Wood species we have varieties which produce none or very sparingly. There- fore it is apparent that the different forms will require dif- ferent treatment. Some have long, slender, wiry roots, while others have very short, fleshy ones, each of which require a soil suited to their growth, if the very highest development is obtained. Our native varieties, particularly those grown from the F. Virginiana, have longer and more wiry roots than those grown from the F. grandiflora. Consequently they are better suited to field cultivation, and where the soil is not frequently stirred, or upon light soil, the roots will spread further in search of food and they are not so readily affected by drouth. There is another peculiarity in the form of the roots which is worthy of attention. The native Strawberry produces stools, but the crowns, instead of adhering to- gether, often separate as they become old, each producing roots for self-support. To show more fully the peculiar form usually observed in the varieties of the F. Virginiana and F. grand/flora^ I have inserted the two following illustrations taken from the Strawberry Culturist. Figure 17 is an exact representation, half size, of a plant of the Boston Pine that is three years old. While it STRAWBERRY. 47 Fig. 17.— OLD PLAIN T OF BOSTON PINE. 43 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. shows a number of crowns, there are not more than two united on one stem. Varieties of this class naturally di- vide, and do not form large or very compact stools ; con- sequently the crowns remain more nearly on the level of the surface than when they are united, as seen is figure 18, which represents a plant of Triomphe de Gand of the same age as the other. A, C and D represent the side crowns, and B the cen- tral one ; E, the old fruit stalk of the present season ; F, F, new roots starting from the base of the side crowns above the soil. In this variety the crowns are produced almost on the top of the old ones ; consequently the plants are continually becoming higher, until, at last, the new roots cannot reach the soil, and the plant languishes and dies. Although the Strawberry root is perennial, still one new root is of more importance to the plant than a dozen old ones. The difference in the structure of the two plants suggests the need of a peculiar cultivation for each, and by experience we have learned that many of our native varieties will remain productive for many yo;irs, even when allowed to grow without cultivation, while very few of the varieties of F. grandiflora will succeed under similar treatment. To keep a succession of new roots and continued vigor for a number of years, those varieties with roots similar to the Triomphe should be grown in rows or hills, so that fresh soil may be drawn up to the plants when required. I do not wish to be understood as advocating the cultiva- tion of plants for a long time without removal, but throw out these hints for the purpose of showing that frequent re- movals are more necessary with some than with others. PROPAGATION. There are three modes of propagating the Strawberry in use at the present time, viz. : seeds, runners and divi- sions of the roots. STRAWBERRY. 49 Fig. 18. — OLD PLANT OF TKIOMPHE DE GAND. 50 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. BY SEED. — To obtain seeds, the fruit should be gath- ered when fully ripe, spread out and dried, thus preserving it in the pulp ; or the fruit may be crushed in water and the seeds washed out cleanly. The good seeds will sink and the pulp will remain on the surface, from which it can be readily removed. The seeds may be sown immediately, or kept until the next spring. The plan which I have usually adopted in raising seed- lings is as follows : Gather the largest berries of the very best varieties to be obtained, then mix them with dry sand, crushing the fruit, and so thoroughly manipulating the mass that no two seeds will remain together. Then sow the sand contain- ing the seed, either in some half shady situation in the open ground, or in pots or boxes. The soil in which they are sown should be light and friable, and the seeds not covered more than one-quarter of «in inch deep. Keep the soil moist, and the plants will usually begin to appear in four to six weeks after sowing. When they have formed four or five leaves they may be transplanted into the open ground — if they have been started in pots or boxes. When sown in the open ground, it is best to let them remain in the seed-bed until the following spring, protecting them with straw, leaves or other similar ma- terial in winter. Transplant into rows at least two feet apart, and the same distance in the row ; keep off all run- icrs the first season and hoe often. Occasionally a seedling will produce fruit the second season — that is, plants started in the autumn will fruit the next spring ; but they will not be strong enough to bear fruit that will be a reliable indication of their future value. It is best to protect the plants the first and second winters, if no longer, so that they will have nothing to obstruct their full development. The third season, look over the plants very carefully when in bloom, and mark the sex of STRAWBERRY. 51 each, so that it shall be known when the fruit is ripe whether the flowers are pistillate or perfect. When a variety has been produced that promises well, it should be carefully taken up and planted by itself, that its runners ma*' have an opportunity of taking root without inter- mingling with others. The plant may be removed just so soon as the character of the fruit is determined upon, always choosing a wet day if convenient ; if not, give the soil about the plant a good soaking, and then remove it with as much soil ad- hering as possible. Shade it a few days after removal to prevent its wilting. I would caution the novice not to be too sanguine about the value of new seedlings, because they will very often appear much better the first season than ever after. A few years since I raised a large number of seedlings, and when ripe, a committee of six very competent gentle- men was appointed by the Farmers' Club of the Ameri- can Institute to examine and report upon them. Seventy varieties were marked and described as very promising and worthy of further trial. Seventy beds were very thoroughly prepared, and each original plant carefully placed in the center of one of these beds. About a dozen runners were allowed to grow from each plant, and all others removed. The next season the same committee examined them again, and they reduced the number to seven. These were given more room and continued care until another season, when the number was reduced to three. I give this as the result of only one experiment ; others might be given with similar results. It is a very easy matter to originate new varieties, but to get one that shall be superior, or even equal, to the best now in cultivation, is not so readily accomplished as some may suppose. I would advise every one to try, because there is a chance of producing one that will be better adapted to 52 SMALL FKUIT CULTUKIST. the grower's soil or location than any that could be pro- duced elsewhere. PROPAGATION BY RUNNERS. The varieties mainly cultivated in this country are propagated from the runners. The first produced are usually the strongest and best for early planting, but those that are formed later in the season are equally as good when they arrive at the same age or size. A few theorists have maintained that the first plants formed near the parent stool were the only ones that should be used, and that they were far superior to the others, and would al- ways be more prolific. This assertion is not supported by facts ; consequently is not worthy of a moment's thought. To insure the rooting of runners, the surface of the soil should be kept loose and open, and if the weather is very dry at the time they are forming, it is well to go over the beds and cover the new roots as they are produced. When only a few very large and strong plants are wanted, it is well to pinch off the runner just beyond the first plant, that this may become strong and vigorous. A good plan to insure the safe removal of runners after they are rooted, is to sink a pot filled with soil under each joint of the runner and let the roots strike into it. In two or three weeks the pot may be lifted, and the runner separated from the parent plant. This is a tedious and expensive mode and seldom necessary. It often occurs when taking up plants in the fall that many of the small ones are not well rooted, and, if the variety is scarce and valuable, they may be worth saving. If so, cut off the runner close to the plant, and then dib- ble them close together either in the open ground or in a frame, shade them, and give plenty of water until they are rooted. If they do not produce sufficient roots before cold weather, then protect them, and they will usually form roots before wanted for planting in the spring. STRAWBERRY. 53 The richer and better the soil, the more rapid will be the production of roots, whether in frames or the open ground. I have found it to be a good plan to cover the entire surface of the soil with fine compost of pure manure be- fore the runners start in spring. The runners draw their sustenance from the parent plant until they have formed roots sufficient for self-support, [t is therefore important that their roots shall find some- thing to feed upon soon after they are emitted. If water can be liberally applied to the beds it will insure the emis- sion of roots very rapidly. PROPAGATION BY ROOT DIVISIONS. This mode is seldom practiced except with the bush Alpine Strawberries, which produce few or no runners. The best time to divide these is in the early spring, tak- ing up the stools and dividing them, leaving only one crown to the plant. If the old root is very long, it is best to cut off the lower end, and plant as deep as can be done with- out covering the leaves. SOIL AND SITUATION. There is probably no one kind of soil that is equally well adapted to every variety. A deep, rich, sandy loam has been more generally recommended than any other, and is perhaps the best, all things considered, that could be named. Still a light sand or heavy clay may be, with a very little expense, brought into a condition to produce abundant crops of very fine Strawberries. Some varieties seem to thrive best on a soil in which clay predominates, while others do best in a light rich sand. A deep soil, whether it be naturally light or heavy, is one of the requisites imperatively demanded by the Straw- berry. If the soil is naturally very wet it may require un- derdraining ; but there are few farms on which a situation 54 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. may not be found where deep plowing will not render the soil suitable for a Strawberry bed. Thorough preparation of the soil is the very foundation of success, therefore no slovenly system — such as once plowing and harrowing — should be tolerated ; but the ground should not only be plowed, but cross-plowed, and if not naturally deep and friable it should be subsoiled at least sixteen inches deep. If the cultivator will only bear in mind that one acre pre- pared in the best manner will produce more fruit than three or four acres fitted as is usually done, he will under- stand the importance of doing it well. I do not believe that there is one acre of Strawberries in a thousand, cultivated in this country, that yields over one half that it would if the ground was properly pre- pared before planting. It is the same with Strawberries as with many other fruits — too many acres and too little care. The situation should be open and airy, because in such there is less danger of the blossoms being injured by late spring frosts. To secure the early ripening of the fruit, a southern exposure is of course preferable, and for -a late crop a northern one. By planting the very earliest varieties in a warm situation, and the latest in a cool one, the season may be considerably lengthened. MANURES. The Strawberry is not very particular as to the kind of manure it receives, provided it is in sufficient quantities. To tell a man who cultivates the Strawberry on the rich prairie soil of the West that he must apply manure to his soil before planting, would be considered a very foolish recommendation ; but to undertake to grow them on al- most any of our eastern lands without it would be equally absurd. In fact, most of our fruit growers in the Eastern States determine their profits in advance, simply by the STRAWBERRY. 55 amount of manure applied to the soil — the more abundant the application the greater the profits. All plants require food, and it is evident that if it is not in the soil it must be placed there, or no satisfactory re- sults will be obtained. In .the Eastern States we gather fruit in proportion to the amount of plant-food which we place in the soil. Old and thoroughly decomposed barn-yard manure is scarcely to be excelled for the Strawberry. But it is often the case that a sufficient quantity of this cannot be ob- tained, and if so, then the next best thing to be done is to make a compost of barn-yard manure and muck, leaves or sods, using one load of manure and two of either of the others. Mix them together, and let them remain in a heap for three months or more, not forgetting to turn it over at least once a month. In heavy soils fresh manure may be used without injury, and if a liberal application of peat or light friable muck is given it will be very beneficial. In sandy soils a compost of muck and manure is one of the best fertilizers that can be applied. In fact, pure muck from the swamps, placed where it can be frequently stirred, will become in one season suitable to be applied directly to the roots of al- most any plant. If lime, ashes, spent hops from the breweries, castor pomace or any similar materials be added, even in small quantities, it will assist very much in its decomposition and fitting it for the use of plants. There are thousands of acres of land in the Eastern States that are now pro- ducing nothing, not even weeds, because manure cannot be obtained in sufficient quantities to make them fertile, and yet in many instances these very acres are bordered with muck-beds which are nothing more or less than inex- haustible deposits of manure. The time is probably not far distant when these mines 56 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. of wealth will be worked to an extent not dreamed of at the present time. Concentrated manures — such as bone, guano, poudrette^ &c. — are sometimes used upon the Strawberry with good results. It requires some care in their application, or the plants are liable to be injured thereby. Ashes are also valuable, particularly on sandy soils. They may be applied by scattering upon the surface at the rate of from ten to twenty bushels per acre. A far more preferable mode is to compost them with muck or leaf mold from the woods, but they should never be mixed with manure, for they will cause it to give off, in the form of gases, the very materials which should be re* tained. Lime is said to be injurious to the Strawberry, particu- larly when applied directly or alone. I have had no per- sonal experience with it upon the Strawberry, but have known several instances of failure, the cause of which was attributed to the use of lime. TIME TO PLANT. Spring and fall are the two seasons in which the Straw- berry is usually transplanted. Although with the requisite care the operation may be performed at any time during the summer, the spring seems to be the more natural and preferable one of the two. The plants are then just starting into growth after their long rest. The small amount of foliage which has sur- vived the winter is fully matured ; consequently it calls for very little nutriment from the roots. The warm spring rains supply the plants with moisture, and the very atmos- phere of this season appears to be full of life. Fall planting is usually performed in August and Sep- tember in the Northern States. This season has one advantage, and that is : if the plants can be set so early that they will become firmly STRAWBERRY. 57 rooted before cold weather, they will sometimes produce a partial crop the ensuing season, as well as make a stronger growth, than if the operation is deferred until spring. When one has the plants so near at hand that they can be removed without having their roots exposed to the air for a few moments even, besides having an opportunity of selecting rainy or cloudy weather for the operation, then it may be done in the autumn with success. But when the plants are to be brought from a distance, and when, as it will often occur, they arrive in a time of drouth, fall planting becomes a doubtful advantage. I do not wish to discourage fall trade in Strawberry plants ; yet from an experience extending over many years in both buying and selling-plants, I conclude that fall planting is far more un- certain than spring. PREPARATION OF PLANTS. When plants are taken up in spring there will be more or less dead leaves upon them ; these should all be re- moved, leaving only those that appear fresh and green. Some roots will be broken, and the sound ones, if long, cannot readily be placed in the ground again without be- ing crowded or otherwise thrown out of their natural position. To avoid any difficulty on this point, I always shorten them to at least one half their length. Figure 19 shows the position of the roots on a medium or small plant before removal, A, being the runner con- necting it with the parent plant ; B, a new runner on which other plants would have been formed, provided tho penson had been favorable for their growth; C, D, tho cross line showing where the roots should be cut after the plant is taken up. This shortening causes them to throw out a new set of fibrous roots from the cut ends. It also causes roots to be emitted more abundantly from near the crown than would have been the case if the roots 3* 58 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. had not been shortened. Figure 20 shows the same plant as it will appear after having been planted a few weeks. It is not necessary to trim each plant separately, but a handful may be pruned at one cut of the knife. Plants thus pruned are more readily planted, and the roots are Fig. 19. — WHERE TO PRUNE ROOTS. easily spread out at the time, which is quite important, because each root can produce rootlets without being en- tangled with others. In transplanting in the autumn it is unnecessary to shorten the roots, unless they are so long that they cannot be conveniently planted entire. The roots of the Straw- berry continue to grow from the extreme ends until cold weather, and when moved in fall or summer the roots STBAWBEKKY. 59 should be taken up entire, and carefully spread out when again placed in the soil. If the plants have been out of the ground long enough to cause the roots to have changed color and become dark and wilted, then they should be treated the same as those removed in spring. Fig. 20. — GROWTH OP PRUNED ROOTS. All of the largest leaves should be cut off from plants when removed, leaving but two or three of the center leaves, as a plant is far more likely to live if only this number is allowed to remain on it than if none are re- moved. We are now supposing that the plants are taken up without any soil adhering to the roots. If each plant is 60 SMALL PKUIT CULTUKIST. moved with a ball of earth, then there will be no necessity for reducing the number of leaves, because the connection between the root and soil will not be broken, or, at least, not entirely separated ; consequently they can continue to absorb moisture and nutriment for the support of all he leaves. Sometimes it may be advisable to " puddle " the roots, ^8 it is called, before planting. This operation is per- formed by mixing water with soil until it is of the consis- tency of thin mortar ; then dip the roots into it, coating them with the mixture, which excludes the air and pre- vents wilting so long as it remains moist. A tenacious clay makes the best puddle, but it will sometimes adhere so closely to the roots as to become injurious. It is well to puddle, before packing, the roots of plants that are to be transported a long distance, and consequently be a long time on the journey. But the puddling should be washed off and the roots trimmed before planting again. Roots that have been entirely excluded from the air for any considerable time are likely to become soured, and it is best to clean and refresh them with pure wate* before again placing them in the ground. PLANTING AND CULTIVATION. There is no one operation of more importance to the future success of a Strawberry bed than careful planting. Some cultivators plant with a dibble, making a small hole in which the roots are thrust, all crowded together in a mass. Plants may live under such treatment, but certainly cannot thrive so well as though their roots were carefully spread out in a natural position. A common garden trowel should always be used, and a hole made in the soil large enough to admit the roots without crowding. Set the plants just so deep that all of the roots will be covered, and no deeper ; for if the crown is buried it is very liable to decay, particularly in a STRAWBERRY. 61 heavy soil. If a handful of very fine compost or manure is mixed with the soil around them at the time of plant- ing it will very materially assist in their future growth. It is always best to select a cloudy day for planting, if possible, but when only a few are to be set out they may be watered and shaded, and their growth insured without any regard to the weather. The distance between the plants will depend upon what kind of cultivation is to be given them. The oldest method of field culture in this country, and the one practiced upon thousands of acres in the Eastern States at the present time, is to plant in rows from two and a half to three feet apart, placing the plants about a foot distant in the rows. The beds are hoed during the early part of summer, or until the runners cover the ground, after which no atten- tion is paid to them until next spring. Then paths about a foot wide, and at a distance of four feet from each other, are made, thus forming beds with narrow paths, in which the pickers are expected to stand when gathering the fruit. Two or three crops are gathered from these beds before any change is made or cultivation is given, except that of hoeing or plowing out the paths each season before pick- ing time. When the beds have become so much crowded with weeds and plants that the fruit is likely to entirely fail, a plow is run through the center of each bed, forming a new path, the runners being allowed to take root and fill up the old ones. Another crop or two is taken, and then the paths are again changed. Sometimes the beds are burned over in the fall after the weeds have died down and become dry ; or a heavy harrow is drawn over them soon after the crop is gathered, tearing up the weeds and a greater part of the plants ; while at the same time it breaks up the soil so that the few remaining plants will grow with more vigor, and there will be room for the new 62 SMALL FKUIT CULTURIST. runners to take root. In this manner the same beds are cropped for ten or fifteen years. It is not the fancy improved varieties that are treated in this manner, but the older kinds, which are but a slight improvement upon the common wild berry. The forego- ing method of cultivation is certainly not to be recom- mended, but I have mentioned it because there are proba- bly as many acres of Strawberries grown and treated in this manner as are grown under any other system. Our eastern cities, particularly New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, have been supplied almost entirely, until with- in a very few years past, from these half cultivated fields. We must conclude that such a method of cultivation is profitable; if not, it would have been abandoned long ago, although it is apparent that those who follow this system are not afflicted with the spirit of progress. BIENNIAL SYSTEM. Another method which has of late years become very popular is that of planting in beds, say two or three rows in each, placing the plants about eighteen inches apart each way, and then leave paths of about two feet. The plants are hoed and all weeds destroyed as they appear. The runners are all allowed to grow, and the entire sur- face is covered with plants, except a path of about two feet in width between the beds. These beds are allowed to produce two crops, and then the plants are plowed under and some other crop grown on the land for one or two seasons, when it is again planted with Strawberries, if de- sirable. This is probably one of the very best systems in vogue. The first crop is sometimes the best, but usually the second is considered as the main one. It is much less trouble to plant a new bed than to clean the weeds out of an old one ; besides, a first rate crop can- STKAWBEKRY. 63 not be expected from a bed where the plants have be- come old and crowded. A few Strawberry growers renew their beds by plowing up all but a small strip of about a foot wide, leaving one of these every four feet. Then, by passing a cultivator or harrow between these rows, the ground is leveled so that the new runners can readily take root. ANNUAL SYSTEM. This is one of the neatest systems in use, as weeds have no chance for getting a foothold, unless the cultivator is very negligent. The plants are put out in rows two to three feet apart, and about a foot apart in the row. They are carefully cultivated the first season, a crop taken the second, and then plowed under. To insure a full crop the soil must be made very rich, and the planting done in the fall or early spring, and in the most careful manner. PLANTING IN ROWS OR HILLS. There are but few varieties that succeed so well when restricted to hills for a number of years as* when allowed to produce runners. The varieties of F. grandiflora are better adapted to this system than others, because they naturally produce large, compact plants. The usual method is to plant in rows three feet apart, with plants a foot apart in the row. All runners are cut oif as soon as they appear, and the beds frequently hoed, or kept clean with a cultivator. In the fall the entire sur- face is covered with a mulching of leaves, straw or coarse bog grass. The plants are covered as well as the ground between them. In spring the covering should be removed from the crowns of the plants, but left on between them, for the purpose of keeping the fruit clean and the ground moist. After the fruit has been gathered, sufficient mulch- mg may be applied to keep down all weeds, or all of it 64 SMALL FRUIT CULTTJRIST. may be removed, and a plow passed between the rows to break up the soil, which will have become quite compact from being frequently traveled over in gathering the fruit. New plants may be allowed to take root in the rows between the old stools, thus bringing them the second season into what is termed row culture. Some varieties will remain productive for several years under this treat- ment, but usually three or four years will be as long as they can be relied upon for a remunerative crop. I have practiced this system with many varieties, and believe that more fruit per acre can be produced (particularly with the foreign kinds) than by any other system. One strong stool, with plenty of room for its roots, and with the sur- face of the soil covered with mulching, will give more and larger fruit than twenty plants that are crowded, and upon an unprotected soil. For general field culture, and with most of our native varieties, the biennial or annual system would probably be less troublesome and equally as profitable. When pistillate varieties are grown they should be kept in separate beds, and every alternate one should be n per- fect flowering variety, and one that blooms at the same time with the pistillate. This bed need not be more than half the width of the others. GARDEN CULTURE. The same systems recommended for field culture are equally applicable to the garden, but usually greater care will be given to a small bed than to a large one. Water may be applied so that the plants shall neve* suffer for the want of it. Liquid manure should be ap- plied, if very large fruit is desired, in addition to mak- ing the soil rich. Different varieties may also be planted ; for it is not the most profitable market fruit that is always of the best STRAWBERRY. 65 quality. In fact, a very hard, firm berry, such as we would select for market purposes, is seldom so highly fla- vored as those which are more delicate. By giving an abundance of water, with liquid manure, a second crop is often produced upon many of our com- mon varieties. To insure a late crop, the first one must not be allowed to mature, but the flowers should be re- moved so soon as they appear in spring. Then keep off all new runners, and give plenty of water, and a fine crop in August or September is almost certain. The Boston Pine I have found to be one of the best varieties for producing a late crop when treated in this manner. The monthly Alpines are excellent varieties for garden culture, although they do not produce very large fruit. Give them plenty of moisture and a rich soil, and thert. will bo but few days from May to winter in which a dish of Strawberries may not be gathered from a bed of mod- erate size. The Bush Alpines are less troublesome than those that produce runners. This class of Strawberries vary but little when grown from seed, except that the fruit produced on the seedlings will be considerably larger for the first two or three crops than ever afterwards. This peculiarity of the Alpines is well known in Europe, and the growers of these kinds always renew their beds with seedlings, and never depend upon the runners of old ones for making new beds or plantations. It is no uncom- mon thing to find berries an inch in diameter on young seedling plants of Alpines, while on old beds they will scarcely average more than one-half of this size. The seeds may be saved and sown in the same manner as recommended for other kinds. The amateur who only cultivates a few Strawberry plants in his garden will appreciate the fruit he grows in 66 SMAI^L FKUIT CULTTJRIST. his own grounds far above any market value ; therefore the cost of production is of very little importance, pro- vided the results are satisfactory. It is not- to be expected that a man in moderate cir- cumstances will continue to grow fruit which costs more than it is worth ; still there is a pleasure in producing ex- tra fine fruit, even if there is no great profit in the opera- tion. Besides, I am not quite sure that extra care and cultivation will not, as a rule, prove to be as profitable as that which is generally called good culture. I have made several experiments for the purpose of thoroughly testing extra cultivation, most of which have been quite satisfactory. A few years since I prepared a sixteenth of an acre by trenching it two feet deep, applying twelve large two horse loads of pure, well-rotted cow manure, thorough!) incorporating it with the soil to the depth of one foot. I then planted this bed with the Triomphe de Gand Strawberry, placing the plants about two feet apart each way. A few runners were allowed to take root between the plants in the rows, but I removed all others. The ground was hoed often, and in winter the plants were protected with a coat of salt hay two inches in depth. The whole expense of preparing the bed-planting, hoeing and mulch- ing up to the time of picking the first crop was fifty dol- lars. The bed yielded a little over four hundred quarts, which, at the low price of twenty-five cents per quart, would have given a fair profit. The next crrp was fully equal to the first, and the expense incurred to produce it but very little in comparison to the first. This bed con tinued in* bearing for five years, and even then the land was in good condition for any other crop. There are prob- ably many soils that are naturally as rich as this bed was after being prepared, but in this instance it was impera- tively necessary to enrich the ground to get even a mod- erate crop. STRAWBERRY. 67 An abundance of moisture is one of the requisites for producing large fruit, and the amateur should not fail to see that his plants receive it, particularly at the time when the fruit is ripening. Mulching the beds is a sure method of keeping the soil moist, besides it prevents the fruit from getting splashed during violent showers. The short mowings of grass from a lawn make an excellent mulch, besides it looks very neat — much more so than straw or leaves. In Europe a tile is sometimes used for the purpose of keeping the fruit clean, as well as for covering the soil and keeping it moist. These tiles are about an inch and a half thick, and twelve inches square, and in two parts, as shown in figure 21. The hole in the center is about four inches in diameter. The plants are placed a foot apart in the rows, and be- fore the fruit begins to ripen the tile is placed about them. If the rows are only a foot apart, Fig. 21. -STRAWBERRY then the whole surface will be TILE. covered, the soil will be kept moist, and the fruit clean. If water is required during the time of ripening, it can be applied directly to the plant by passing to the soil througli the hole in the tile. These tiles could probably be obtained at any pottery or brickyard if ordered a few months in advance of the time they were wanted for use. It would be necessary to remove the tile after the fruiting season was over, and the soil should be worked over among the plants; if not it would become heavy and soured from being excluded from the air. A newly patented article, answering a similar purpose, has just made its appearance in this country. It is called H. A. Fuller & Co.'s Patent Strawberry Yase, and is manufactured by the above-named firm at Norwich, Conn. 68 SMALL FRUIT CULTUKIST. Figure 22 shows the form of the vase, with a plant grow- ing within it. Not having tested this vase, I cannot re- commend it from experience ; yet it appears to be a good thing for the purpose designed. The manufacturers claim that it protects the fruit from dirt and the vines from weeds, and that, by using it, double the amount of fruit will be produced on a given space than when the vines are cultivated in the ordinary method. Fi^ ^.-STRAWBERRY VASE. The runners are kept trimmed close to the edge of the vase, thereby concentrating the strength of the plant, and larger and better fruit will necessarily be the result. The flower stems will also grow much longer by being inclosed in the neck of the vase, while at the same time they will be supported by it, and the fruit will rest or hang over its upper part. The peculiar form of this vase will not only insure the reception by the plant cf a greater part of the water that falls in the form of rain, but will make a direct application more convenient when applied artificially. When this vase is to be used the plants should be set one foot apart each way, leaving a path every four rows. The vases will touch each other, and shade the ground, with the exception of the paths, which may be covered with a mulch of saw-dust, tan or other material. The present price, I am informed, for small quantities is twelve dollars per hundred ; consequently they will scarcely be used by those who grow Strawberries for profit, unless the yield of fruit is increased in proportion to the outlay. Nevertheless, all these peculiar contrivances are of in- terest to the amateur, besides, it was by improved methods of cultivation and extra care that our largest and best varieties were first produced. STRAWBERRY. 69 Those old and long celebrated English varieties, Keen's Seedling and British Queen, were not produced from seeds gathered from neglected plants, but from those which had been stimulated by extra culture. And if we expect to keep on improving we must stimulate our plants into a vigorous growth — not only the ones from which we gather the seeds, but the seedlings themselves. To produce large and extra fine specimens, only a few berries should be allowed to mature upon the plant When there are several fruit stems, select three or four of the strongest, and destroy the others; also remove all ex- cept two or three berries from each. Large Strawberries are quite the fashion at the present time, and the amateur cultivator generally takes the lead, merely because he applies the requisite means for produc- ing the results. A few years since an amateur Strawberry grower brought some monstrous fruit to an exhibition held in one of our eastern cities, and they were so much larger than anything that had heretofore been shown, that he was offered and accepted a very large price for the entire stock of this variety. The purchaser sent his gardener for them soon after, and when he took up the plants he found the beds so filled with offal from a slaughter-house that the operation of removing the plants was anything but a pleasant one. Here were cause and effect but little separated. This is but one instance among the -many that might be given to show that great results in fruit growing of any kind are only derived by direct effort on the part of the producer. Old plants seldom produce as large berries as young ones, and a fresh stock should always be provided, either by allowing a few plants in the fruiting beds to throw out runners, or by setting a few in separate beds every year for that particular purpose. Plants that have been highly stimulated will seldom 70 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. last more than two or three years, and they will frequently fail after producing one large crop. The safest plan is not to expect more than two crops, and to make the beds upon fresh soil, where no Strawberries have been grown for at least two seasons. FORCING STRAWBERRIES. The term forcing is generally used to indicate that a fruit is made to ripen at other than its season. In Europe the forcing of Strawberries has been extensively practiced for a long time, but in thiu country very little attention has been paid to this system of cultivation until within the past few years. There are few plants that will grow more readily, or produce more fruit in proportion to the expense incurred, than the Strawberry when grown under glass. When only a few plants are to be forced, and the object is merely to obtain fruit a few weeks in advance of the usual time, then a common hot bed may be used for the purpose. The plants, however, should be prepared the season previous, and stored where they can be had when wanted in early spring. An ordinary green-house, such as is used for tender exotic plants, will answer the purpose. But one which has a roof so low down that the plants will be within two or three feet of the glass is better than one that is consider- ably higher ; besides, it will take much less fire to heat a low house than a high one. The soil in which the plants are to be grown should be exceedingly rich. A compost made of three-fourths old sods or turfy loam, and one-fourth barn-yard manure, will be found excellent for this purpose, and if there is consid- srable cow manure among the latter so much the better. Mix these materials together, and let them become thoroughly decomposed before using. The mor e frequently STRAWBERRY. 71 the compost is turned over, the less time it will require for its decomposition. Leaf mold from the woods or friable muck, with a little addition of pure sand, will answer in the place of sods. PREPARATION OF PLANTS. When the first runners appear upon plants in the open ground, fill as many three inch pots with the compost as you desire, and set them near the old plants from which you wish to take those for forcing, placing the top of the pot just level with the surface of the soil. When the young plants on the runners begin to show roots, place one on the soil in each pot, and lay a stone or a little soil on the runner to keep it in its place. The end of the runner should be pinched off just beyond the plant, so that it will receive all the nutriment furnished by the parent. When the young plant has become rooted in the pot, it should be taken up and the runner cut off close to the plant ; then set the pots away in an open and airy place for a few weeks, being careful not to let them suffer for the want of water. Set them on flat stones, bricks or boards, so that no worms can have access to the pots through the hole in the bottom. When the plants have remained in the pots a few weeks, they should be shifted into larger ones. Some prefer to place them in five-inch pots, and afterwards shift into six or eight-inch pots, in which they are to be fruited, while others make but one shift from the small pots. It will make but little difference, as either plan will work well if carefully done. The ball of earth containing the roots should not be broken when re-potting, but preserved whole. A few pieces of broken pots or brick should be placed in the bottom of these large pots for drainage. There are a few gardeners who assume that drainage is of no importance, but from my own experience of several 72 SMALL FKTTTT CULTUEIST. years with a great variety of plants, I cannot indorse this new theory of no drainage, particularly when the plants grown in pots naturally succeed best in a soil that is deep and moderately dry. With the small pots, drainage is of little importance, but with those of larger size all surplus moisture should be allowed to pass through, leav- ing only what will usually be retained by the soil. The plants, after they have been placed in the large pots, may be set close together, or plunged up to the rim of the pot in the open ground until wanted, care being given to keep them growing vigorously until within a few weeks of the time they are to be placed in the forcing-house. Water should be gradually withheld, so that the plants may ripen. It is not advisable to withhold water en- tirely, but give only enough to keep the plants from actually suffering for the want of it, and allow them a short period of rest before starting them again into growth. If runners should appear they must be pinched off. Those wanted for an early crop may be placed in the house the first of November, as it will be ten to four- teen weeks from the time the plants are placed in the forcing-house before the fruit will be ripe. If a succession of crops is desired, then only a portion of the plants should be placed in the house at one time. The pots may be set on shelves or plunged in soil — the latter method is preferable, as there is less danger of the plants being affected by careless watering or change of temperature. The plants should now be watered regularly, just enough to keep the soil moist, but not wet — the temperature of the house raised to 65 or 75 degrees in the day, and 50 to 60 at night, slightly increasing as the flower stems appear. The plants should be frequently, say every alternate day, syringed or sprinkled overhead until they bloom, then omit it until the fruit is set, after which it may be continued, but not quite so often as before. While the STRAWBERRY. 73 plants are in bloom, as much air should be admitted as possible without lowering the temperature or allowing a direct current to strike upon the plants. In clear weather the plants will generally require water once a day, and sometimes twice. Care should be observed not to let the leaves wilt, but do not give so much water that the soil shall become sodden and heavy. A few applications of liquid manure may be beneficial, provided the compost used is not sufficiently rich. When the fruit is set and swelling, is a good time to apply it, but withhold it after the fruit begins to ripen. The reserved plants should be stored where they will not be frozen. A light, warm cellar or walled pit, covered with glass, will answer the purpose — a place where they will receive light, and not be frozen, yet so cool that they will not be excited into growth. Sometimes plants a year old are taken up in the fall and potted, and used for forcing, but those prepared as de- scribed are preferable. Forcing houses are sometimes so arranged that the plants are set directly in the ground without pots. A more vigorous growth of plant is se- cured by this method, but it is doubtful if the crop of fruit is increased. Plants that have been once used for forcing should be discarded and not used for the same purpose again. It may be advisable, in cases of scarcity, to plant them out in the open ground in spring, for they will occasionally produce a moderate crop late in the season. All the different operations may be varied to suit the circumstances of the case, as in open air culture ; and I have only endeavored to give a general plan, omit- ting minute details, which the grower will readily supply while the operation is in progress. At every step caution and a due amount of thought are requisite — such as preventing cold currents of air striking the plants 4 74 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. when in bloom, or chilling the roots by applying very cold water. Forcing Strawberries for market is not a common prac- tice, except near our larger cities ; but it will probably be- come more general in a few years than at present, partic- ularly if two to three dollars per quart can be obtained for the fruit, as has been done in New York for several years past. FORCING HOUSES. Few, if any, structures have been built in this country expressly for the purpose of forcing Strawberries. The common loan-to or span-roof houses are principally used for forcing all kinds of fruits, and perhaps they. Fig. 23. — FORCING HOUSE. answer as well as any other. In Europe many different styles are in use, among which there is probably none more unique or better adapted to forcing the Strawberry than the one shown in the accompanying engraving, fig- ure 23. This is a lean-to house, but instead of the usual form of roof it is made up of a series of short frames, one above the other, like a flight of stairs. These frames rest STEAWBEEEY. 75 upon cast iron brackets, fixed against the wall or upon standards erected for the purpose. Where the brackets are fastened directly upon the wall, access is had to the plants by lifting the frames from the front. But the one shown is wide enough to allow a passage behind the frames. The idea is a good one, which our own gardeners will not fail to take advantage of. The plants in the frames are brought close to the glass, and there is no ex- tra or waste space, which requires just as much heat as that which is occupied by plants. This style of house is said to have originated with the firm of Weeks & Co., Chelsea, England. Three different plans of these Eng- lish houses were given in the Gardeners' Monthly, in June, 1865. They may be heated with hot water, steam, or any of the other modes usually employed. VARIETIES FOR FORCING. Comparatively few experiments have been made in this country in forcing Strawberries; it is, therefore, not known which are the best varieties for that purpose. None but those with bi-sexual flowers can be used advan- tageously, inasmuch as in the still atmosphere of a house the pistillate varieties would be imperfectly fertilized, even if abundant perfect flowering kinds were grown among them. Forced fruit is not generally as highly flavored as that which ripens in the open air ; consequently only that of the best quality should be used, provided flavor is an object. Trollope's Victoria is a fine show fruit, and produces well when forced, but it is usually insipid. Austin or Shaker, is equal if not superior to the last, but with the same defect, although not to such an extent. Its fine color and large size are very much in its favor, and it usually commands a large price in market. The British Queen is the most popular variety in Eng- 76 SMALL PKUIT CULTUBIST. land for forcing, and it would probably be worthy of trial here, although it does not succeed very well in the open air. Among our native varieties we have probably no better variety for forcing, taking flavor and productiveness into consideration, than the Boston Pine. The monthly Al- pines do exceedingly well, and the fruit is usually con- siderably larger than when grown in the open ground. THINNING THE FRUIT. It is sometimes necessary to take off a portion of the fruit from forced plants. This should be done as soon as it has set, thereby giving that which remains a better chance for full development. Numbers do not always in- dicate quantity, arid, with ten to fifteen berries upon each plant, as many quarts will usually be obtained from a given space as with twice as many to each. Plants that are not over-cropped at first, may often be made to produce a second crop by giving stimulating manure soon after the first is gathered. One crop, however, is all that is usually expected with those which do not produce any more naturally. HYBRIDIZING AND CROSSING. The Strawberry may be hybridized or crossed as readily as other fruits, but this having already been done to such an extent between the F. Virginiana and F. grandiflora, the results of special effort in the same direction will be very uncertain, especially if we use the varieties under cultivation for that purpose. These being in many instances a mixture of two species, it becomes a diificult matter to determine whether the cause which produced certain results originated with us, or was the effect of some previous operation which had just made itself apparent in the seedlings. STRAWBERRY. 77 In other words, hybridizing hybrids is only the mixing together of two compounds — the exact proportions of neither being known. The pistillate varieties are always fertilized by other kinds ; their seeds are impregnated by whatever kind produces the pollen ; consequently the plants grown from them are natural crosses between the two or more, as the case be. It is very doubtful if any dependence -can be placed upon the results of artificial crossing between any of the varieties of the two species named ; still, it may be worthy of trial. All that is required is to fertilize the pistils of one variety with the pollen from another. For instance, if we select the Wilson's Albany for the parent from which we wish to procure seeds, when the flowers first open, we take a pair of small scissors and cut off the stamens, being careful to remove every one. It is best to do this early in the morning before the petals have fully expanded ; then set a bell-glass or a fine wire screen over the entire plant, so that insects, which go from flower to flower with pollen adhering to them, shall not fertilize the plant upon which we are operating and thereby defeat our object. In three or four hours after the stamens have been removed, the pistils will probably be sufliciently developed to receive the pollen, at which time cut a fully expanded flower from the variety that has been selected for the other parent, and apply its stamens to the pistils of the Wilson's Albany. The stamens may be cut off and allowed to drop on to the pistils or merely brushed over them. Three or four flowers are sufficient, and all that it is safe to undertake to operate upon on a single plant ; all others should be removed before they open. Each flower must have its stamens removed and its pis- tils fertilized in the same manner; and as they will proba- bly not all open in one day, they must be attended to suc- cessively as they bloom. 78 SMALL PKUIT CULTURIST. Mark the plants, and keep the screen or bell-glass over them for two or three days. When the seeds are ripe, save and plant as I have already directed. There are a few Strawberry growers who place great reliance upon their particular efforts in crossing, and when- ever they produce a new variety it is always (if we believe their assertions) a cross or hybrid between some two re- markable varieties or species. But to show how exceed- ingly difficult it is to know positively whether a seedling is a cross between the two varieties upon which we have experimented, or the result of some previous one, let us suppose a case. For instance, we will take Hovey's Seedling and fertil- ize it with the Wilson, and from the seed of the former raise a variety that shall resemble the latter more than it does the Hovey — would this be positive proof that the seedling was the result of our especial effort ? Not at all, because similar varieties may be and are produced from the Hovey without artificially fertilizing its flowers from the Wilson or any similar variety. And further, the Wilson is probably a seedling' of the Hovey, and it possesses naturally the same inherent char- acteristics which only require an opportunity, which seed- lings afford, to show themselves. Direct efforts to improve are commendable, but the causes of results are not always what are supposed, and assertions are not to be implicitly relied upon. The in- fluence that one variety has upon another by fertilizing is generally supposed to affect the seeds only, but from many experiments which I have made, I am quite certain that it extends further. Every Strawberry grower is aware of the fact that whenever a portion of the pistils are not fertilized, the berries will be proportionately deformed. If there are no seeds, then the receptacle, which we call the fruit, is abor- tive. But if we are to suppose that the influence of the STKAWBERKY. 79 pollen extends no further than the seeds, why does not the fruit enlarge and come to maturity without seeds, as we see in other fruits, particularly those which produce their seeds within a fleshy receptacle, as the grape, ap- ple, &c. With corn, we can see the effects of cross-fertilization in the color of the grains the first season, also upon the receptacle (cob) ; thus, in this instance, showing con- clusively that the effect is apparent the first season upon the seed as well as beyond. It is quite probable that impregnation affects the whole plant, but not to an extent worthy of any particular at- tention. Still, from personal observations upon this point, I am well satisfied that principles similar to those which govern the animal kingdom are potent in the vegetable. Because they are not so readily observed is no reason for disputing their effect. The most careful experimenter or observer is generally less positive in his assertions than the more careless, be- cause by thorough study he learns that although cause and effect are linked together, the connecting chain is of- ten not only hidden, but has so many ramifications that each cannot be traced with any degree of certainty. In giving names to new varieties errors are occasionally made — sometimes purposely, and with intent to deceive, but let us hope more often carelessly or through ignorance. Many of my readers may remember the advent of Peabody's Hautbois Strawberry. The originator claimed that it was a cross between the Ross and Phoenix and the wild Strawberry of AlabaniM, neither of which belong to the Hautbois species ; conse- quently it was a deception to call the new seedling a Hautbois, although the originator had, according to cus- tom, a right to give it whatever name he pleased. Many other so-called Hautbois Strawberries have been as far from what their name implies as the Peabody, and 80 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. may have been applied through ignorance or design. It is very doubtful if there have ever been any true hybrids produced between the Hautbois, or the Alpine, and other species. Some fifty years ago, a Mr. Williams, of Pitmas- ton, in England, claimed to have produced a hybrid be- tween the Hautbois and Alpine, which gave fruit without seed, but nothing more was heard of it beyond the an- nouncement of its production. Whether hybrids between the Alpines and Hautbois, or these and other species, have ever been produced is un- certain ; yet I think it possible and worthy of trial. WINTER PROTECTION. In many portions of the country a winter protection to Strawberry plants is very beneficial, if not positively ne- cessary. Some of our most successful growers in the Northern States never fail to protect their plants, and without doubt they are amply repaid for the expense in- curred. For my own part I never have had a full crop without giving protection, and never expect one. There can scarcely be a doubt that the great success of some cultivators, with particular kinds, is owing, in a great measure, if not entirely, to the winter protection of the plants. The embryo fruit buds are formed within the crown of the plant in autumn, and therefore it must be apparent that sudden transition from heat to severe cold will very .nuch weaken if not wholly destroy them. In sections of the country where the plants are covered with snow during the entire winter, other protection is not so important as where there is little snow, but continued freezing and thawing. It is not expected nor is it desira- ble to protect the plants so that they shall not be frozen, but merely to shade them, and prevent their being affect- ed by every little change in the weather. A covering of straw, hay, leaves, or any similar mate- STRAWBERRY. 81 rial, to the depth of one or two inches will usually be sufficient. Every one ought to know, if he does not, tliat frozen plants thawed out in the shade are less injured by frost than when fully exposed to the light ; and this is another reason why Strawberry plants should be covered in win- ter, because, if the weather should be very changeable, they will be less liable to injury than when fully exposed to light. Protection is sometimes objected to, because it is said to retard the blooming of the plants, and the crop will be later in ripening. This may be true to a certain extent, but I have always thought that protected plants came for- ward more rapidly, when they did start, than the unpro- tected ones. The lost time may not be fully made up, but there will be but a very slight difference. In some sections of the country, retarding the time of blooming would be very advantageous, as by this means the injury from late spring frosts would be avoided. The benefit of having late blooming kinds was quite apparent the past season, (1866), when a late frost was very de- structive through a great portion of the Northern and Middle States ; and the reports of the Strawberry crop furnished some amusing illustrations of the careless man- mer in which some cultivators arrive at conclusions. The early blooming varieties came in for all the censure, while the late bloomers, which escaped the frost, received all the praise ; and still, with this very potent fact before him, scarcely a fruit grower, in making up his report of success or failure, alluded to the time of the blooming of the variety cultivated. The varieties of F. grandiflora in particular, require winter protection to insure a full crop. The large, prominent crowns of these varieties are more liable to injury than the smaller and more compact ones of those of other species. When the plants are grown in beds, then a portion of the material used for protection 4* 82 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. should be removed in spring, leaving about half an inch in depth, allowing the plants to grow through it, thereby affording a mulching that will- keep the fruit clean as well as shading the ground. Saw-dust and tan-bark are sometimes used for mulching, but there is usually so much fine dust among them that the fruit will become more or less splashed during heavy rains. Spent hops from a brewery is a most excellent material for mulching the Strawberry ; besides, few insects will attack the plants or fruit where it is used. The young runners strike root very readily in spent hops, showing that it is an excellent fertilizer. Fallen pine leaves are found to be very good, as they keep the fruit clean, while at the same time they will have decayed so much as to interfere but very little with the growth of the plants. Some have suggested that the peculiar flavor of the Pine varieties is imparted to others by the use of this kind of mulching, but this is probably more in imagina- tion than in reality. Salt meadow and bog hay are excellent for a mulch, as also is straw or corn stalks cut fine. When the plants are cultivated in rows, the mulching should only be removed from the crowns of the plants, and the entire amount allowed to remain on the ground between the rows. Another method of protecting the plants is to cover them 'with soil. This is done by passing the plow along each side of the row, turning the soil on the plants in the fall, and then removing it again in the spring. This plan might answer in light soils, but then a mulching would be still needed in summer to keep the fruit clean. This method has been practiced in a few places, but with what success I am unable to state. STRAWBERRY. 83 DISEASES AND INSECTS. The Strawberry is peculiarly exempt from disease, there being none which affects it to any considerable extent. Sometimes a sudden change of weather will cause the flowers to blight, and no fruit will be produced ; but this cannot be classed as a disease, but merely as an accidental cause of failure. In warm, wet weather, the fruit and leaf-stalks will be affected by mildew, and the leaves at- tacked by a kind of rust which is called in Europe Straw- berry brand (Aregma obtusatum). Mr. Cooke, in his late work on Microscopic Fungi, has given a description and highly magnified illustration of this species, which we quote, figure 24. The spores are produced in clusters on the upper side of the leaves, and appear like minute yellow spots to the naked eye, but under a magnifying lens they have the form shown Fig. 24.-STBAWBEBBT BRAND. m ^ ^^ illustration. As this fungus makes its appearance late in the season it causes but very little injury. Insects are more injurious to the Strawberry than any disease that has yet appeared. The most destructive of these is probably the larva of the common May Beetle, formerly called Melolontha, but now placed in the genus Lachnosterna. The grub (larva), when fully grown, is about an inch and a half long, and three-eighths thick, nearly white, with a brown head, and commonly called the White Grub. These grubs are usually more numerous in old dry pastures and meadows than elsewhere, because their prin- cipal food is the roots of different kinds of grass. The old sods afford protection against the birds and animals which ? 84 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. devour them ; consequently they often become very abun- dant in such places. If these grass lands are plowed and planted with the Strawberry, the grubs will attack the roots, and, if numerous, will destroy every plant almost as soon as it is put in the ground. In some sections of the country the white grub has very materially checked the cultivation of the Strawberry. The only remedy with which I am acquainted is, to occupy the ground with some crop which requires considerable hoeing and cultivation, for two or three years before planting with the Strawberry. The grub is said to be three or four years in attaining its growth, and by continually manipulating the soil they are exposed to the attacks of birds, and many are de- stroyed by crushing ; besides this, the Beetles will seldom deposit their eggs in freshly disturbed soil. A few years since I experienced considerable difficulty in planting a Strawberry bed upon a piece of land that had been an old pasture. The grubs were almost victorious the first two seasons ; but the third year they entirely dis- appeared, and I had no trouble from them thereafter. Mr. Harris, in his " Insects Injurious to Vegetation," says " that this white grub is the larva of the May Beetle, which is so often seen flying about in the evening." Figure 25 shows one of the beetles of natural size. " It is of a chestnut- brown color, smooth, but finely punc- Fig. 25.— MAY BEETLE. tured — that is, covered with little impressed dots, as if pricked with the point of a needle, each wing-case has two or three slightly elevated, longitudinal lines ; the breast is clothed with yellowish down." The grubs are greedily devoured by birds ; the crow being exceedingly fond of them. This much abused bird will always seek them on recently plowed ground, where, I regret to say, many a crow has lost his life while devouring the White Grub; STRAWBERRY. 85 he was benefiting the cultivator, who returned this kind- ness with a death-dealing bullet. From a pretty intimate acquaintance with the habits of the crow, having kept several tame ones, I am well satisfied that they are far more beneficial than injurious to the farmer. A crow will eat a hundred white grubs in a day, after he has had a breakfast of an equal number of rose bugs. I do nol. state this as an imaginary case, but as a simple fact that I have proved many times. From experience, I firmly believe that the crow is one of the most useful birds that we possess, although he does a little mischief now and then in the way of pulling up corn. When domesticated he forgets those tricks of his wild nature, and, not being a timid bird, he is not frightened by hoe or spade, but when the earth is turned over he is gen- erally there to see and do his duty. The wire worm (lulus), which belongs to the Myriapoda or many-footed worms, sometimes attacks the roots of the Strawberry, but I have no accounts which show that they have as yet been very destructive. Frequent plowing and thorough cultivation are the most effective means of destroying them. A few years since my Strawberry beds were attacked by a small, greenish-colored worm, somewhat similar in ap- pearance to the Rose Slug (Selandria rosea, of Harris), but their habits were quite different ; inasmuch as they were always curled up when feeding, the lower extremity of the body hanging down under the leaves, while with their fore feet they fastened themselves to the edge of the eaf or the hole they had made through it. Sometimes a dozen would be found upon a single leaf, each one curled up in the form of a snail shell. When the worms were extended to full length they were about half an inch long, and sixteenth of an inch in diameter; color greenish- white, with a brown head. They were very numerous the first season, and remained some five or six 86 SMALL FEUIT CULTUKIST. weeks, and in that time they scarcely left an entire leaf on a half acre bed which they attacked. The next season I saw but few, and since that time I have never met with any. I have been informed that this worm, or one very similar, has lately made its appearance in Central New York. The scientific name of this worm I have been un- able to determine ; although I sent many specimens to a noted Entomologist, I have received no information in return. The snail or slug which is so abundant and destructive to the Strawberry and other garden products in Europe, has found its way to this country, and is now quite plenti- ful in some gardens near New York. These snails are great gourmands, and will destroy the Strawberry fruit in quantities if they become very plentiful. Hand picking, or destroying them with lime, is a pretty sure way of getting rid of this pest. The Plant Louse (Aphis), or Green Fly, as it is usually called, sometimes becomes quite numerous upon the roots of the Strawberry, particularly when the soil is quite loose and open, so as to admit them readily to the roots. Upon these they congregate in immense numbers, sucking the juices of the plant, and thereby effectually checking its growth. A liberal application of dry ashes or refuse from a tobacco factory will usually destroy them. The Aphis also attacks the plants when grown under glass, but they are more readily destroyed than the Red Spider (Telaris), which insect is very destructive when numerous. The best preventive to the ravages of the Red Spider is a moist atmosphere, but when this cannot be allowed, flour of sulphur should be freely scattered among the plants or upon the soil near them. The fumes of melted sulphur will make quick work with them, but it requires great care in its application, for should the sulphur take fire and burn, the fumes will destroy the plants as well. Birds are, in some portions of the country, very de- STRAWEEKKY. 87 structive to the Strawberry, but I forbear to suggest a remedy, because there are already too many effectual ones in use. VARIETIES. In the following catalogue I have endeavored to give the names, with a concise description, of all the varieties now in cultivation, which are worthy of it. To give a full description of all known varieties would require quite a volume by itself, and it is very doubtful if, when such a list was made, any one would take the trouble to peruse it. It is such an easy matter to raise new varieties, that a few men seem to have gone into the business, not for the purpose of improvement, but mainly to see how many varieties they can produce, and so they name each new seedling, and give it a glowing description, whether it is worthy of cultivation or not. Now, while I would not suppress any information that would benefit the public, I do not feel called upon to re- commend or give the names of all the varieties that have appeared in the catalogues of some few of our Strawberry growers, particularly when a single one contains about sixty remarkable varieties claimed to have been produced by the proprietor of one establishment. Our enterprising fruit growers are supposed to know and procure the best varieties, and when one has been before the public for from five to ten years, and then it is not found in general cultivation, it may be safe to conclude that the fruit grower lacks confidence in the originator, and consequently does not purchase it, or that it haa been tried and discarded. The reader, if he has followed me through the preceding pages, will have noticed that I recognize among cultivated varieties but two sexes, viz : Perfect or Bi-sexual, and the Pistillate varieties. The latter kinds are marked pistillate ; all not so designat- ed will bear fruit without the aid of others. 88 SMALL FKUIT CULTTJKIST. DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. The following are varieties of F. grandiflora and F. Virginiana. Some of them show more of the peculiar characteristics of one species than of the other, while with a few it would be difhcult to tell to which they were related, and it is very probable that they are a mixture of both. They were all produced in this country, and are called native varieties : Agriculturist* — Very large, irregular, conical, with long neck, large specimens often flattened or coxcomb shaped ; color light red- dish crimson ; flesh deep red, moder- ately firm, sweet, rich and good ; plant a very strong grower ; leaves large, thick, dark green, with reddish petiole ; hardy and productive, and succeeds remarkably well on light sandy soils, as well as on those that are heavy. A valuable variety. Fig. 26 shows a fruit of medium size in ordinary field culture. Originat- iu. 26.-AGKICULTURIST. cd with Seth Boyden, Newark, 1ST. J. Austin or Shaker* — Large, roundish, slightly conical, extra large specimens often triangular or flattened, usually hollow; color light pale scarlet; seeds deeply imbedded; flesh nearly white, soft, acid, rot rich, with considerable perfume ; third rate in quality ; leaves large, pale green ; petioles and fruit stalk covered with long whitish hairs ; a vigorous grower, hardy and productive. Originated among the Shakers at Watervliet, N. Y. Albion White,— See Lennig's White. Boston Pine, (Bartlett.) — Medium to large, obtuse- conical ; color light crimson ; flesh but slightly colored, firm, sweet, most excellent ; fruit stalks very long ; plant STRAWBEEEY. vigorous and 'productive ; a fine market variety ; ripens early ; succeeds in both light and heavy soils, and is very hardy. Originated with C. M. Hovey, Boston, Mass. IS right OH Pine * — Medium to large, roundish-conical, with short neck; color light crimson; flesh rather soft, sweet and juicy ; plant strong, vigorous, and moderately productive ; early. Originated with Mr. T. Scott, of Brighton, Mass. Burr's New I* inc. — Medium, regular, roundish-conical; color deep scarlet in the sun, but pale in the shade ; flesh soft, very juicy, sweet, and highly perfumed ; very early, but too soft to bear handling ; pistillate. Very little cul- tivated at the present time. Originated with Mr. Burr, Columbus, Ohio. Buffalo* — See McAvoy's Superior. Brooklyn Scarlet.— Medium to large, regular, conical, writh neck ; color bright scarlet ; flesh rather soft, sweet and rich ; quality best ; plant a dwarf grower, producing very large stools, hardy, vigorous and pro- ductive; one of the best for home use. Figure 27 shows a berry of average size when the plants are grown in good soil. Originated with A. S. Fuller, in 1859, from seed of Peabody Seedling. One of the three NQW York Tribune prize varieties. Brook's Prolific, — See Iowa. Baltimore Scarlet, — See Scotch Runner. Chorlton'S Prolific, — Said to be a seedling of the Iowa, but the difference is so slight, if there is any, that I have not been able to detect it. Early. Fig. 27. — BROOKLYN SCARLET. 90 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. Col. Ellsworth. — Very large, irregular, conical, with long neck ; color dark scarlet, fading to a dull crimson ; flesh firm and rather dry, but sweet, not rich ; the fruit stalks longer than the leaves, very large and stout ; plant a moderate grower, and very productive. It has not proved as valuable as it was at first supposed that it would. The plants appear not to be sufficiently robust* and burn on warm soils. Early. Originated in my igrounds at Brooklyn, N. Y. Crimson FaTOrite. — Large, obtuse-conical ; color dark shining crimson ; flesh firm, of a rich sprightly flavor. This variety I produced from the Wilson, and the fruit re- sembles its parent, but the foliage is quite distinct. It was awarded the first prize for flavor at the Great Straw- berry Exhibition, at the rooms of the American Agricul- turist in 1863. But it has proved to be so unproduc- tive with me that I hardly consider it worthy of culti- vation. Crimson Cone. (Pine Apple, Scotch Runner, &c.) — Medium, regular, conical, with long neck ; seeds deeply imbedded ; color light, bright crimson ; flesh firm, sprightly acid, with a rich flavor, and highly per- fumed. Figure 28 shows a fruit of the usual size. One of the best Strawberries in cultivation, although too small and acid to suit some people. This is one of the old market kinds, and there are probably more acres of it in cultivation, for furnishing the New Y"ork market, than of all others put together. The Fig 28 -^CRIMSON fl°wers are perfect, and not pistillate, as CONE. has often been asserted. There is, how- ever, another variety which is generally found mixed with it, and also called Scotch Runner, which has pistillate flowers. The latter variety is the true Scotch Runner, for which see description. STRAWBERRY. 91 Chilian. {Pyramidal Chilian, or JVewland.) — Me- dium, conical, bright crimson, acid, but good flavor ; plant hardy and productive; of no great value. Origin- ated in New Jersey, with Mr. Newland. Cutter's Seedling. (Bunce.) — Small to medium, coni- cal, with short neck; color bright scarlet; moderately firm, sprightly and good ; very early, but not sufficiently productive, or large enough to be of any particular value, at least while we have so many that are far better. Originated in Massachusetts, with Mr. Cutter. Durand's Seedling. — Large, oblong or oblong-conical, sometimes flattened ; seeds but slightly sunken ; color scarlet; flesh firm, solid, nearly white, of good flavor. New, not thoroughly tested, but promises to be a valua- Fig. 29.— DURAND. Fi£. 30. — DURAND. ble variety for market. Originated with Mr. Durand near Newark, 1ST. J. Figures 29 and 30 give a fair repre- sentation of two of the berries, showing its variableness in form. Downer's Prolific. — Medium to large, globular, light scarlet ; seeds deeply imbedded ; flesh rather soft, acid, not rich, but highly perfumed ; very early, hardy, and wonderfully prolific. An excellent market variety, pro- 92 SMALL FRUIT CULTTJRIST. vided the market is near by. Originated with J. S. Downer, Elkton, Kentucky. Diadem* — Large, globular, light scarlet ; seeds deeply imbedded ; flesh soft, acid, but agreeable flavor ; a strong and vigorous grower of the western type. Pistillate. Originated with W. R. Prince, Flushing, N. Y. Emily* — A new variety raised by Prof. Huntsman, Flushing, N. Y. Said to be very large, and of excellent flavor. Early Scarlet. — Medium, conical, light scarlet; flesh firm, moderately acid. An old variety, but little cultivated at the present time. Eclipse. — Small to medium, conical, light bright crim- son ; the fruit stalks very strong, erect, even when loaded with fruit ; flavor good, but not rich ; ripens early, and the fruit all matures within a few days after the first is ripe. In fact the entire crop may be gathered in two or three pickings. Pistillate. Originated with W. R. Prince. Fillmore. — Large, obtuse-conical, dark crimson, sweet, moderately rich and good. In deep, rich soils this variety produces a fair crop, but it is not generally popular among fruit growers. Pistillate. Originated with Samuel Feast, Baltimore, Md. Faulkner's King. — See Ripawam. French's Seedling. — Large, deep scarlet, slightly coni- cal, soft, sweet, but sprightly flavor, good ; leaves medi- um size, deep green ; fruit stalks with numerous light colored hairs. A productive and valuable variety, but too soft to transport a long distance. Early. Found by Mr. Lewis French growing wild in a meadow near Moores- town, New Jersey. Georgia Mammoth. — Medium or small, obtuse-conical, dark crimson when fully ripe; seeds deeply imbedded; flesh very firm, acid, not rich ; ripens very late, and this STRAWBERRY. 93 is its only valuable quality ; plant a vigorous grower, and one of the Iowa class. General McClellan. — See McAvoy's Superior. Golden Queen. — This is said to be a new variety, which originated near Rochester, N. Y. But from the appear- ance of the plants, and the testimony of some of the best horticulturists of Rochester, I do not hesitate to say that it is the Trollop e's Victoria, an old English variety long known in this country. Great Eastern. — Medium to large, long, conical, light crimson, firm, acid, not rich, moderately productive. The plants making large stools, and producing but few runners. A very good market variety. Green Prolific , ( Newark Prolific.} — Very large, round, pale crimson or deep scarlet ; seeds slightly sunken ; rather soft, very acid, without richness, and of in- ferior flavor ; fruit stalks long and stout ; leaves very large and thick ; one of the Iowa class; vigorous and productive. Originated with Seth Boyden, Newark, N". Fig. 31. — GREEN PROLIFIC. J\ Fiff. 31 shows a berry of the average size under good culture. Golden Seeded. — Medium to large, bluntly-conical, sometimes flattened, dark crimson, with prominent yellow seeds, sweet and rich, early, but does not succeed except in a few localities and soils. It is probably a seedling of a foreign variety. Originated in Fi»- SS.-GOLDEN SEEDED. Canada with Mr. Re*ad. Figure 32 shows the form and size of a medium sized specimen. 94 SMALL FKUIT CULTURIST. ( Germantown, Young 's Seedling.) — Large, conical, bright crimson, handsome, sub-acid, sprightly, good. An old and much esteemed variety, and largely cul- tivated for supplying the Boston Market. Pistillate. Originated with C. M. Hovey, of Boston, Mass., nearly forty years ago. Hooker. — Large, short, obtuse-conical, nearly globular, dark crimson, very sweet and rich; too soft and dark colored for market, but a fine variety for the amateur. The plants are a little tender, and should always be pro- tected in winter to insure a good crop. Originated with H. E. Hooker, Rochester, N. Y. Iowa* (Washington.) — Large, globular, somewhat compressed ; seeds deeply imbedded in a wide cavity, light orange scarlet, acid, inferior flavor, very early, pro- ductive and hardy. This variety was formerly extensively grown about Cincinnati, under the name of Washington. Ida. — Small, slightly conical ; color bright scarlet ; rather acid, but good; hardy and productive. Has been but little disseminated, but promises to be an excellent market variety. Pistillate. Originated with E. H. Cocklin, Shepherdstown, Pa. Ladies' Pine, — Small to medium, round, pale orange, scarlet, with a slight crimson tint in the sun ; seeds rather prominent ; flesh soft, sweet and rich, highly perfumed, probably the most delicious flavored variety known. Re- quires extra culture, and even then it is not very produc- tive ; nevertheless it is well worthy of a place in the most select collection. Pistillate. Originated in Canada, with Mr. Read. Le Baron* — Medium to large, obtuse-conical, dark red ; flesh soft, sweet, and high flavored, not very productive, but a vigorous grower, and very hardy. Raised by Mr, Prince from the old Swainstone. Pistillate. STRAWBERRY. 95 Lady Finger. — Medium, elongated, conical ; color bril- liant dark scarlet ; seeds set in a deep open cavity ; flesh very firm, sub-acid, good ; plant hardy, vigorous and pro- lific. An excellent market variety. Originated with the Fig. 33. — LADY FINGEK. Fig. G-i. — LADY FINGER. late Benjamin Prosser, Burlington, New Jersey. Figure 34 shows a berry of this variety of medium size, and figure 33 one of the largest. LongWOrth's Prolific. — Large, roundish, oval or oblate, light crimson, sprightly sub-acid, and good ; plant vigor- ous and productive. An old variety but little cultivated, although it is far superior to many new ones. Originated in the garden of the late Nicholas Longworth, of Cincin- nati, Ohio. Lennig's White. (Albion White, White Pine Apple.) — Large, obtuse-conical ; seeds prominent, and of a pink or light crimson color ; fruit almost white, but with a deli- cate blush when exposed to the sun ; flesh pure white, melting, rich and sweet ; plant a vigorous grower, and moderately productive. This is evidently a seedling of Fragaria grandiflora, but one of the most hardy and productive, and, without doubt, the best white variety known in this country. It has been disseminated under 96 SMALL FRUIT CULTUKIST. several names, either through mistake or design. I re- ceived it under the three different names, and being culti- vated in separate beds, I, like many others, thought that they were distinct, until beds were prepared in a similar soil, and the same cultivation given to each, after which no difference could be discovered. I have since learned through Mr. Meehan, editor of the Gardener's Monthly, that the supposed three varieties were all taken from the garden of the originator, Mr. Lennig, of Germantown, Pa. Metcalf's Early, — A new variety that originated at Kiles, Michigan. It has not been fruited at the East, and nothing is known of it except from the many very vague descriptions that have appeared in western papers and in nurserymen's catalogues. It is very strange that those who lavish such unlimited praise upon a new fruit do not infornt the public in what particular it differs from old and well known varieties; color, size, form, and how much earlier than other varieties, are points which have not been given by those who pretend to know all about this variety, Mead's Seedling, — Medium to large, conical, often flattened ; seeds very prominent ; light bright scar- let ; very firm, quite acid, and not high flavored ; moderately produc- tive. Pistillate. Originated with Peter B. Mead about ten years ago, but has been but little disseminated. Figure 35 shows one of the berries of average size. McAvoy'S Superior, — Large, ir- regular, roundish, the surface being uneven, with prominent projections ; color varying from light to very dark crimson ; the flesh be- ing dark red, soft, sweet, variable, in some soils rich and sprightly, in others insipid ; vigorous, and usually very Fig. 35.— MEAD'S SEED- LING. STRAWBERRY. 97 productive. Pistillate. The originator of this variety was awarded a $100 prize by the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, about fifteen years ago, and since that time it has been brought forward by others as a new seedling of their own. Francis Brill, of Newark, K. J., exhibited it at the Brooklyn Horticultural Society as a new seedling, and was awarded a premium of ten dollars for the best new one of the season. He named it General McClellan. Abner Bryant, of Buffalo, N. Y., a few years since, offered a wonderful new seedling under the name of Buffalo. It was largely disseminated; but this, like the McClellan, proved to be the old McAvoy's Superior. Monitor. — Large, roundish, conical, with long neck; color bright scarlet ; flesh very solid and firm, sub-acid, not rich, but highly perfumed ; vigorous and productive. A good market variety. One of the Tribune prize varieties. Raised from seed of the Peabody by A. S. Fuller. New Jersey Scarlet. — Medium, conical, light bright scarlet, with long neck, moderately firm, sprightly flavor, and good ; very early and productive ; the plant a strong and vigorous grower. Succeeds admirably on the light sandy soils of New Jersey. An excellent market variety. See figure 36 for size and form. Originated near Burlinsr- _ Fig. 30.— NEW JERSEY ton, New Jersey. SCARLET. Old John Brown. — Very large, broadly conic, pointed, light crimson, sweet, sprightly and good. A new and promising variety. Originated with Dr. H. Schroeder, Bloomington, Illinois. Perry's Seedling. — Medium to large, globular, with a 6 98 SMALL FBUIT CULTUlilST. slight neck ; color bright crimson ; sweet, rich and spright- ly. A new and promising variety. Raised by Geo. Perry & Sons, Georgetown, Conn. See figure 37. Ripawam. (Faulkner's King.}— Very large, coxcomb shape, light scarlet, firm, crisp flesh, sub-acid, and inferior flavor, vigorous and moderately productive. Its large size is its principal recommendation. Originated with J. W. Faulkner, Stamford, Conn. Fig. 37.— PEKRY'S SEEDLING. Russell's Prolific, — Very large, irregular, roundish- conical, with neck, deep crimson, moderately firm, sweet and perfumed ; quality good, in sandy soils very good ; the flesh is lighter colored than the skin ; leaves large, with wavy upper surface ; lobes broadly ovate. This variety and the McAvoy's Superior or Buffalo are caid to be the same by a few growers. But this is a mistake. Al- though the fruit has a general resemblance, that of the Rus- sell will average much larger ; the seeds are more scattered, and not so deeply set as in the McAvoy's. The leaves and general appearance of the plant are quite distinct. The leaves of the Russell are light colored, the upper sur- face wavy, and the lobes broad ; while the leaves of the McAvoy are darker colored, lobes longer, the upper sur- face not wavy, but shining. The Russell is also a much coarser and stronger grower, and a better berry in every respect. There is much confusion and difference of opinion in regard to these varieties, but I am quite certain that the Russell and McAvoy's Superior are very distinct in the general appearance of the plant, and much more so than many other varieties that might be named. Pistillate. Originated with H. Russell, of Seneca Falls, New York, in 1856. STRAWBERRY. 99 Scotch Runner. — Small, oval, bright scarlet, good flavor. Largely cultivated for market in New Jersey, but should have been discarded long ago, and its place filled by larger and better varieties. Pistillate. Figure 38 shows one of the berries of full size. Scott's Seedling. (Scarlet Runner.) — Medium, elongated conical, bright light scarlet, very handsome, sweet, rather dry, not high flavored, but good ; plants moderately vigorous and productive. An old variety, but little cultivated at pres- Fig. 38.— SCOTCH ent ; yet it is one of the most beautiful varieties we possess. Requires good cul- ture, and with it will yield an abundant crop. Originated about twenty years ago with J. Scott, of Brighton, Mass. Scarlet Magnate. — Large, rounded, compressed, bright scarlet, moderately firm ; flesh white, rather dry, sub-acid, not rich or high flavored ; a vigorous grower, and quite productive. Pistillate. A good market variety. Origin- ated with W. R. Prince. Stinger's Seedling* — A new variety; said to be a seed- ling of the Triomphe de Gand, and to be very promising. Originated with Wm. H. Stinger, near Gray's Ferry, Phila- delphia, Pa. Called " Union " when first exhibited. White Pine Apple.— See Lennig's White. Wilson's Albany,— Large, irregular, conical, dark crim- son, very acid, but good ; flesh firm, and bears transporta- tion well. One of the most productive varieties known. The plants will usually fail after producing one full crop, and the beds should be frequently renewed. This variety has probably done more towards advancing Strawberry culture in this country than any other variety that has ap- peared since the Hovey. Originated with John Wilson, Albany, New York. 100 SMALL FKUIT CULTURIST. ADDITIONAL LIST. There are probably a few among the following varieties that are equal in many respects to those already described But as they do not appear at the present time to have any extended reputation for excellence, we must conclude that they do not possess sufficient good qualities to make them generally popular. I have personally tested the greater portion of them, and do not consider them worthy of an extended description or recommendation ; especially when we have so many varieties which are far better. Still, I do not feel called upon to make up a rejected list of my own, because no one individual is competent to de- cide as to what varieties are best adapted to the various soils or sections of the country. The originators of some of the following kinds may feel aggrieved because their seedlings are placed in this list ; yet, as these varieties have been placed prominently before the public for many years, it is reasonable to conclude that they are wanting in good qualities, or that the fruit grow- ers have but little confidence in the assertions of the origina- tors. Be this as it may, it is not to be supposed that our wide awake and intelligent fruit growers would allow such valuable varieties, as some of the following kinds are said to be (by the originators), to remain in almost total obscurity if they did possess any considerable merit. These remarks apply only to a few of the newer varie- ties that have been brought forward in the last ten years, because there are some that have been widely disseminated and highly appreciated for a time, but were afterwards thrown out to give room for those that were better. It is quite probable that some of those that have been discarded will again be brought forward, and under new systems of cultivation prove to be worthy of greater com' mendation than they have heretofore received. STRAWBERRY. 101 I have appended a brief notice of the faults as well as of the good qualities of each kind. There are also a few new ones among them ; the merits of which are not fully known. These are noted as new. The first forty-six varieties are claimed to be seedlings grown by Wm. R. Prince, of Flushing, N. Y. About forty of them have been offered to the public for the past six to fifteen years. I give their names without comment. Those marked P. are pistillate varieties : Adonis, P. Ariadne, P. Berenice, P. Cornucopia, P. Diadem, P. Estelle, Excelsa, P. Eureka, P. Florence, P. Fortunatus, P. Fragrant Scarlet, Globose Scarlet, P. Heroine, Imperial Scarlet, P. Iphigene, Lawrencia, P. Le Baron, P. Ladies' Favorite, Ladies' Aromatic, P. Large Climax, P. Minerva, P. Melanie, P. Ophelia, Perfumed Pine, Priscilla, Paulinus, P. Primate, P. Prince's Late Globose, P. Prince's Scarlet Climax, P. Prince's Excelsior, P. Scarlet Prolific, Sirius, Superlative, P. Suprema, P. Supreme Staminate, Sapho, Seraphine, P. Scarlet Prize, P. Trevirann, P. Triumph, Triumvirate, Valencia, Victorine, Waverly, Welcome. Nathalie, American Queen, (Huntsman.) — Large, bright scarlet Pistillate. Byberrji — New ; but little known. 102 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. Boyden's Mammoth, (Seth Hoyden.) — Very similar to, if not identical with Trollope's Victoria. Baltimore Scarlet or Scarlet Runner,— Pistillate. Brook's Prolific is the old Iowa or Washington. Barnes9 Seedling. — New. Very large and handsome. Promises to be a valuable market variety. Clinton* — A new variety. Originated near Newark, New Jersey. Dale's Seedling, — New ; but little known. Fragaria lucida, — From California. Beautiful foliage, but unproductive. Faulkner's King. — See Ripawam in .preceding list. General Scott, (Burgess.) — Large, soft ; of the Iowa class. Garibaldi, (Burgess.) — Large, crimson, excellent fla- vor, poor grower. Genesee, — Large, scarlet, rather soft, prolific. Huntsman's Monte viedo. — Large, bright scarlet, late, moderately productive. Pistillate. Jenny Lind, (Isaac Fay.) — Very early, bright scarlet, good, but too small and unproductive. Little Monitor, (Burgess.) — Small, excellent flavor; but appears not to possess sufficient merit to attract much attention. Leeds' Prolific, — Medium, light scarlet. Not fully tested. Philadelphia, — New. Much extolled by growers near Philadelphia, b'ut it is scarcely known elsewhere. Starr's Seedling, — New ; but little known*. Trembly's Union. — Trollope's Victoria re-named, and awarded a premium as a new variety at a Strawberry show in New York. STRAWBERRY. 103 Victory.— Sent out by Wm. S. Carpenter, of New York. Large, light scarlet, soft and insipid. Ward's Favorite, (Dr. Ward.) — Medium, round, dark crimson, excellent flavor, but not sufficiently productive. Pistillate. Walker. (Samuel Walker.) — Small to medium, conical, dark crimson, excellent flavor, not productive. FOREIGN VARIETIES. Evary year catalogues containing the names and de- scriptions of new Strawberries are sent us from Europe, and we are invited to purchase, being promised in return for our money something better than any heretofore known. If a hundredth part of the improvement claimed had been realized from year to year, we would now have Strawberries so much superior to those of ten years ago, that not one of the kinds known at that time would be in cultivation. But we regret that no such improvement has been made; at least, if it was observable in the varie- ties at home, they lost it all in their journey across the Atlantic. Foreign kinds at home are, no doubt, superior to our native ones in those countries, and the same rule holds good in return ; for it must be admitted that, although an occasional foreign variety will succeed in particular locali- ties and soils, there are comparatively very few baskets of the fruit seen in our markets; consequently we must conclude that they are principally grown by amateurs or those who propagate the plants for sale. Perhaps it is owing to the want of proper cultivation that the foreign kinds, as a class, have not become as pop- ular as their siipposed merits seem to deserve ; but be this as it may, there are, no doubt, one hundred acres of native kinds in cultivation to one of the foreign. One very significant fact is perhaps worthy of notice 104 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. here, and that is, in the list of Strawberries adopted bj. the American Pomological Society, in 1858, for general cultivation, there are no foreign varieties named, and but one in the list that promises well. In the reports of 1862 and 1864 there are but five for- eign varieties in the list, and but two of these have any reputation among fruit growers who cultivate for market. In the following catalogue I have named only those of recent introduction, and a few of the older ones that have proved to be moderately wll suited to our climate. The name of the originator, when known, is given in parenthe- ses. The varieties are principally from Belgium, Holland, France and England. All are bi-sexual or perfect flower- ing kinds : Ambrosia. (Nicholson.} — Large, roundish, dark red, sweet and very good, moderately vigorous and productive. Admiral Duudas. ( Myatt.) — Very large, irregular, of- ten flattened, pale scarlet, very juicy, and brisk flavored. Baron Beman de Linnick. (Makoy.)—Very large, oblate or flat- tened cone, light scarlet ; seeds prominent; flesh pink, solid, sweet and perfumed. Boule d'Or. ( Boisselot. ) — Very large, roundish, flat- tened, figure 39 ; color a bright, glossy, orange Fig. 39.— BOULE D'OR. scarlet; seeds prominent; flesh white, sweet and good; plant robust and moderately productive. Bonte de St. Julien. (Carre.) — Medium to large, coni- STRAWBERRY. 105 cal, dark crimson, sweet and good ; plant quite vigorous and very productive. Bijou. (De Jonghe.) — Fruit large, regular, bright, glossy red ; flesh very solid, sweet and crisp ; plant a very dwarf grower, and with me very unproductive. Bicolor. (De Jonghe.) — Medium, conical, light crim- son, sweet and good. A poor grower. Belle de Vibert. ( Vibert.) — Large, conical, light crim- son, sweet, but not rich ; flesh firm. A handsome berry ; succeeds poorly, except in a very few localities. Belle Artesienne, (Demay.) — Very large, conical, dark crimson, poor quality, and usually unproductive. Carnolia Magna. (De Jonghe.) — Large, oval, bright, glossy vermillion ; seeds projecting; flesh solid, pink, often hollow at the core, juicy and sweet ; productive. Deptford Pine. ( Myatt.) — Large, pale orange scarlet, almost white in the shade, very sweet ; the plant a vigor- ous grower, but unproductive. Duke de Malakoff. (Gloede.) — Very large, irregular, dark, dull red, poor flavor, and unproductive. Eliza. (Myatts)— See rejected list. Emma* (De Jonghe.) — Large, obtuse-conical, bright scarlet, sweet and good ; plant hardy and moderately productive. A new variety that promises well Elton Improved. — Raised at the royal garden at Frog- more, England. Large, conical, bright, glossy crimson; seeds prominent ; flesh solid, sweet, and good. Empress Eugenic. (Knevett.) — Very large, irregular, flattened, dull crimson, poor flavor, unproductive. Frogmore Late Pine, (Ingram.) — Very large, conical, sometimes flattened, brilliant crimson, firm flesh, and of good quality. A magnificent berry, but the plant burns badly in summer, and is unproductive. 5* 106 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. Goliath* (Kittley's.) — An old variety placed in the re- jected list by the American Pomological Society in 1858, but still praised by a few growers. It is worthless. Gwentver. (Mrs. Clements.) — Medium, roundish or flattened, bright scarlet ; flesh pink, juicy and sweet ; vigorous, moderately productive and ea»rly. Haquin. (Haquin.) — Fruit large, flattened cone, bright red ; seeds prominent ; flesh solid, white, juicy and sweet ; plant hardy, requires very high culture and a moist soil to insure even a moderate crop. Hero. (De Jonghe.) — Large, of a regular, globular shape, bright red ; flesh carmine, very sweet ; early. Hillman* — Medium to large, oval, bright scarlet. New ; from Germany ; not fully tested. J lie Hilda. (Salter.) — Large, conical, bright light crim- son or dark scarlet, excellent flavor; a good grower, but rather tender ; moderately productive. Figure 40. This variety has lately been reviv- ed under the name of Knox's 700, and it is said to be very prolific in Mr. Knox's grounds at Pittsburgh, Pa. I have cultivated it for six or seven years, but it has never proved to be any more productive than the mass of foreign kinds which I have Fig. 40.— JUCUNDA. tried. If it should prove valuable at the West, it will only be another instance among the many where the success of a variety is only local. Kate. (Mrs. Clements.) — Medium, conical, bright glossy red, solid, juicy, sweet, but sprightly; very early. STRAWBERRY. 107 Kimberley Pine, (Kimberley} — Large, irregular, oval or flattened, bright crimson ; seeds very prominent ; flesh very solid, red, juicy and brisk; productive, and late in ripening. La Constitute. (De Jonghe} — Large, regular, conical, bright crimson, fine flavor ; flesh firm ; ripens late. One of the most beautiful Strawberries known. The plant is a dwarf grower, and requires a moist, rich soil, and even under the highest culture it is not very productive. La Sultanne. (De Jonghe.} — Large, conical, bright deep scarlet, of excellent flavor, but the plant a poor grower, and unproductive. Lucida Perfecta, (G-loede.) — Said to be a cross be- tween the British Queen and the Fragaria lucida of Cal- ifornia. Large, round, bright salmon color ; flesh solid, sweet and rich. It is worthless with me, but it is said to do well in some localities. Lorenz Booth. (De Jonghe.} — Large, oval, bright glossy red ; flesh dark crimson, solid, sweet, but sprightly ; hardy. Leon de Saint Laumer, (Dupuy Jamin.) — Large, conical^ bright pale scarlet; flesh carmine, rich, juicy and sweet ; moderately prolific. Lucas, (De Jonghe} — Large, roundish, oval, glossy crimson ; flesh hard, firm and crisp ; good flavor, and a very good grower. Marguerite, (Le Breton} — Very large, long, conical, pale scarlet, sweet, but rather insipid. With extra culti vation it is quite productive, but the plant is naturally feeble. A very fine show fruit. Napoleon III. — Fruit large, of a brilliant crimson ; flesh firm, juicy ; plant vigorous. The Austin has been sent out from several establishments in this country under this name. 108 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. Oscar. (Bradley.) — Large, slightly conical, dark crim- son, sweet, rich and good. A very handsome variety, re- quiring extra culture. Prince's Frederick William, (Niv'm.) — Large, round- ish, often flattened, light crimson, sweet, of fair quality, early, moderate- ly productive; plant quite tender. Souvenir de Kieff. (De Jonghe.) — Very large, flat cone ; seeds very pro- minent ; bright glossy crimson ; flesh solid, pale red, juicy and good. Sabreur, (Mrs. Clements.) — Medi- um, conical (see fig. 41) ; color bright orange scarlet ; seeds very prominent ; flesh solid, white, sweet, and of high flavor; productive. Topsy, (De Jonghe.) — Medium, elongated, conical, (see figure 42,) bright light scarlet, sweet, sprightly and good; plant moderately vigorous and productive. Fig. 41.— SABKEUR. Fig. 42. — TOPSY. Fig. 43. — TKIOMPHE DE GAND. Triomphe de Gand. — Very large, irregular, conical, STRAWBERRY. 109 but often flattened, as in figure 43, bright crimson ; flesh firm, crisp, not rich, rather mild flavor. This variety has probably been more extensively cultivated and given bet- ter satisfaction than any other foreign variety ever intro- duced. Among the hundreds I have tried, this has pleased inc most, because with good culture it has never failed to give a large crop. Vicomptesse Hericart de Theury, (Jamin and Du- rand. ) — Large, irregular, conical, sometimes flattened, dark scarlet or light crimson ; flesh firm, sweet, rich and excellent ; early and productive. This variety, like the Triompbe, has been cultivated and widely disseminated, and may be placed as second to none of the foreign kinds. Vineuse de Nantes* (Boisselot.) — Medium to large, flattened, figure -44, bright glossy crimson ; seeds very prominent ; flesh red, solid and sweet, with a peculiar vin- ous flavor. iiT. 44.— VLNEUSE DE NANTES. Fig. 45. — VICTORIA. Victoria. (TroHope's.) — Figure 45. Very large, round- ish-conical, light pale scarlet ; seeds slightly imbedded, and set wide apart ; flesh nearly white, juicy, but not rich, often insipid. The productiveness of this variety is ex- tremely variable ; in some soils it is very prolific, while in others, apparently as rich, it is unproductive. It is an 110 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. old English variety, discarded by nearly every cultivator in the country, yet it has been frequently brought out un- der a new name. Trembly's Union proved to be this variety, and was so declared by several fruit growers when it was first exhibited. The Golden Queen of Rochester, N. Y., is also said to be the Victoria. I might add a hundred varieties more to this list, but it would be only increasing the number of names without ad- ding any merit, and it is very likely that before these pages are read by fruit growers there will be another list of new kinds announced. ALPINE STRAWBERRIES. Alpine Redi (American Alpine, Berancon, De Mon- treuil a Fruit Rouge, De Montreuil a Marteau, Fressant, Dent de Cheval, De Ville de Bois.) — Medium, conical; seeds projecting ; light crimson or dark scarlet, mild sub- acid, not rich, but good ; plant very hardy, and moder- ately productive. Alpine Red, monthly. (Autumnal Galande, Des Al- pes a Fruit Rouge, Des Alpes de tous les Mois a Fruit Rouge, Des Alpes de deux Saisons a Fruit Rouge, Des Alpes de quatre Saisons, Alpine Rouge, Scarlet Alpine, Prolific Alpine, Poitou Alpine Monthly, Versailles Al- pine Monthly, La Mendonaise, Glory de Nancy Alpine, &c., a small ex- cavation should be made at a point that will be under the center of the box when put in place, as shown in figure 46. This arrangement will allow any surplus moisture which may accumulate in the boxes to drain off. Early in spring, as soon as the weather and soil will permit, take out the roots and plant them in good rich soil, placing the pieces about three or four inches apart, in drills, and covering two to four inches deep, according to the nature of the soil. If it is a heavy one, two inches will be sufficient. When the plants are to be cultivated with the plow or cultivator, the drills should be three feet apart ; but the best method is to place them not more than eighteen inches or two feet apart, and cultivate entirely with the hoe or fork. In a naturally dry and porous soil, it is a good plan to cover the entire surface, at the time of plant- ing, with a liberal dressing of some coarse material as a mulch. This will insure a supply of moisture, and often save a large portion of the cuttings, if not the entire stock. Cuttings made in the fall, and placed where they will not freeze during winter, have an advantage over those made in the spring, from the fact that the peculiar process which always precedes the formation of roots, called the callus, has sufficient time for full development before actual root growth commences. The new roots are usually emitted from the ends of the cuttings where the callus appears. The callus is always produced first, roots 120 SMALL FRUIT CULTUBIST. succeed it, but what relation the callus bears to the root is not fully known ; it appears to hold the same relation to it that the cotyledons of some seeds do to the germ, i. e., it supplies the roots with the necessary food until they are able to extract it from the soil themselves. The buds from which the stems are produced are dis- tinctly adventitious, that is, they do not arise from any previously formed or latent bud, but are developed from the matter between the bark and wood. From this point the bud originates ; first, by a very minute aggregation of cells, which assumes a conical shape, pressing outward through the bark and up to the surface, where the leaves are spread out to the light and air. Sometimes several buds will be produced on a very small piece of root ; but when this occurs all will be comparatively feeble if they continue to grow. In a majority of such cases the strongest of them will take the lead and the others fail. Figure 47 shows a piece of root with two shoots, one of which has reached the surface, and the leaves expanding. Plants grown in this manner are much better than those produced in the natural manner from suckers, because they are more abundantly supplied with fibrous roots. Root cuttings of from one to three inches in length, plant- ed in good soil, will make plants one to three feet high the first season. Plants may also be taken up, and the roots made into cuttings, in the spring, and planted in the same manner as described for those made in the fall. When the variety is very scarce, then any small roots may be used for propagating, but in such cases it is best not to attempt it in the open ground, but place them in a propagating house. Cut the roots into pieces of from one- half to one inch long, mix with sand, and place in a warm situation, but not in so high a temperature as to force the formation of buds. When the callus is formed, and buds begin to show themselves upon the surface, which they should do in four to six weeks, place them in soil com- RASPBERRY. 121 posed of equal parts of leaf mold and sand, and in a posi- tion where they will receive a heat of seventy-five to ninety degrees. When the plants have made a growth of four to six inches, they may be potted singly, or planted out into the open ground, provided the weather is warm and there is no danger of their becoming checked by cold. 47. — HOOT CUTTING. Root cuttings, however, produce the very best plants, and the number that can be made from the roots of one large stool, if given proper care, is much greater than one would suppose who has never tried it. There will be occasionally a variety whose roots will develop buds very slowly with ordinary care, and they require a little forcing. With such kinds I have some- times found it beneficial to place the boxes of roots in a 6 122 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. warm cellar or room, during winter, being careful not to keep them so wet as to cause them to rot, nor so dry that they will shrivel. In a warm situation, and with proper care in keeping them just moist and no more, both buds and roots are sure to be produced by planting time in spring. LAYERS. — Layering, as a means of propagating the Raspberry or Blackberry, is seldom practiced, neither is it to be recommended, except in cases of extreme scarcity. To succeed with this mode, the layers must be put down Fig. 48 — MANNER OF GROWTH OF BLACK CAP. early in the season, so soon as the young canes are of suf- ficient size to be conveniently handled. A tongue should be made on the layer as with hard wooded plants, al- though with some varieties of the R. occidentalis, this is not necessary, as every portion of the branch that is cov- ered will readily emit roots. Most of the varieties of this species grow in the form shown in figure 48. The canes grow very strong and stocky at the base, gradually becom- ing slender, and the ends bending down to the ground and taking root as shown, thus form a natural layer. The extreme point of the cane generally, after entering the ground, turns up, forming a large bud, from which the cane for the next season is produced. KASPBEHUY. 124 SMALL FRUIT CULTUiUST. In figure 49 is shown what may be called a well-rooted plant, produced from the tip of one of the canes. When these young plants are taken up, a foot or more of the cane may be left on them for convenience in handling, but when planted again this should be cut off close to the roots, and but the one bud (A.) allowed to grow. Occasionally more than one plant will be produced upon a single cane, because after the extreme end of the main cane has taken root, one or more of the buds immediately above it will push into growth, and being but a few inches off the ground they soon reach it and become rooted, as shown in figure 50. Sometimes the roots will become so interlaced that they are separated with difficulty, although in the engraving they are shown with very few roots. If a foot or more of the cane is covered with soil, late in the summer, when the wood has become somewhat firm, roots will be emitted from every portion of it, and when taken up it may be separated, and each bud become a plant. The plants obtained in this manner are not gen- erally as good as those produced from the extreme tip of the canes. It will very often be necessary to go over the plantation and cover the tips of the" canes to insure their producing roots. If the plants are grown where the wind is constantly moving the canes about, their tips will not root, because they do not remain long enough in one place to allow the roots to penetrate the soil. All that is neces- sary is to throw a small quantity of soil on to the extreme end of each cane. A garden trowel is a good implement for this purpose, putting on just soil enough to keep the end of the cane steady in one place, and no more. The time of performing this operation will vary in dif- ferent locations and soils. In the latitude of New York City, the last of August to the middle of September is the usual time of covering or layering the canes. But care should be observed in not covering too early, as well as deferring it until too late. RASPBERRY, 125 The canes will usually show indications of becoming rooted, such as a slight enlargement near the end, a ces- Fig. 50. — END OP STEM FORMING SEVERAL PLANTS. sation of growth, &c., before it is really necessary or safe to cover them. If covered too early, and before the canes 126 SMALL FRUI1 CULTURIST. have begun to ripen, they will rot, and no plant win be produced. The roots will continue to grow until the ground freezes, and if the canes are in a proper state when covered, they will generally become well rooted in two or three weeks. It is so little trouble to cover the tips, and thereby in- sure their taking root, that it is seldom advisable to neg- lect it, if the plants are wanted. All of the tips will not be in the same condition at one tune, so that it will be necessary to go over the plants at least twice, covering a portion each time. The same theory has been advanced by some cultivators in regard to the plants produced from the ends of the canes, as that which I have mentioned in a previous chap- ter, relative to the runners of the Strawberry. And there is just as much truth in one as the other ; the only differ- ence, in fact, lies in the strength of the plants, and should the last tip reach a lump of manure or richer soil than the first one, it would become a better rooted plant than the first, and superior to it in every respect. There is another theory in regard to the production of plants of this class of Raspberry that has been accepted by many, and may be worthy of a passing remark. The theory referred to was promulgated by Mr. Doo- little, the introducer of the Jocelyn or Doolittle Black Raspberry, and is this : " The first growth from the young plants only must be used for propagation." To carry out this plan, the young plants may be allowed to take root at the ends the first season, but thereafter, no plants must be taken from them, but new plants must be put out every season for the purpose of propagation. Mr. Doolittle claims that great improvement can be, and has been, made by following this system for several years in succession, and if it is not followed, the plants degener- ate. But facts do not substantiate the theory, because we have varieties that have been as many years in culti- RASPBERRY. 127 vation as the one sent out by Mr. Doolittle, and although never subjected to this system, they have not deteriorated. And further, there is not one grower of the Black Rasp berry in a hundred \\ho attempts to follow Mr. Doolittle's plan, but they propagate from the same stools from year to year, and yet this variety appears to be just as large, pro- ductive and good as it was when first disseminated. Mr. Dool it tie's theory is contrary to the one usually ac- cepted in regard to fruit trees, for with them we generally .select wood for propagation from fully developed speci- mens, believing that by doing so we are more likely to in- sure productive and healthy plants, than by pursuing an opposite course. Young plants may sometimes produce better ones than old, because when planted on fresh soil, and the stem be- ing entirely removed, they start early, making a compara- tively small plant the first season — the ends of the branches reach the ground earlier, and become rooted before they would from older stools. Just so long as the old plants can be kept growing vigorously, and the young canes re- main healthy, they may be used for propagation without danger of deterioration. All of the varieties of the Black Raspberry are more or less subject to producing what are generally called sports, that is, the plants vary from the usual type very often without any apparent cause. Sometimes the plant will as sume a very different character from the normal one, becom- ing barren, leaves smaller, canes of a different color, &c., while in other instances these sports will be a decided im- provement upon the original, the fruit becoming larger and produced in greater quantity, or two crops will be borne in a season instead of one. These changes may be the result of neglect in culture, diseases, or from extra care, which causes a more rapid and full development than usual. 128 SMALL FEUIT CULTUBIST. BY CUTTINGS. — There are but few varieties of the Rasp- berry that can be successfully grown from ripe wood cut- tings. Some of the Black Raspberry class will succeed if the cuttings are made early in the fall, and then placed in a propagating house, but, as a rule, there is nothing gained in endeavoring to propagate them in this manner. Green wood cuttings, however, grow very readily by th(j same process used by propagators in multiplying grapes and other plants. The cuttings may be taken from plants growing in the open air, but it is better to take them up in the autumn and pot them, and place in a propagating house, an£ then take off the young growth from time to time as it appears. All the varieties and species of the Raspberry and Blackberry may be successfully propagated in this manner whenever it is desirable; although there being so many other methods of multiplying them, that it will seldom be necessary to resort to this one. Single bud cuttings may be made of the mature wood in the fall, always selecting the medium sized branches and those that have not become very hard. In making these single bud cuttings, cut off the cane about half an inch above the bud, and the same distance below, and then divide the cut- ting through the middle length- mx^iitxf wise, preserving t*he half that Fig. 51.-SINGLE BUD CUTTING. contains the bud (fig. 51). Plant them in boxes or pots, about an inch apart, covering about half an inch deep ; then place them where they will be in a temperature of from 75 to 100 degrees. This is not quite so certain a method as the others, still with some varieties very good plants can be produced by an experienced propagator. When propagating the Black, berry from single bud cuttings, the dividing of the stem lengthwise may be omitted, but with the Raspberry it is better than leaving them entire. RASPBERRY. 129 BY STICKERS. — While, as I have previously stated, there are some varieties which naturally produce suckers in abundance, there are also others that do so very sparingly ; and still these kinds do not multiply in any other way if left entirely to themselves. It is also true that those kinds which produce few suckers are more difficult to propagate from cuttings of the roots ; consequently we must find some method of forcing the roots to produce a greater number of suckers than they do naturally. This may be accomplished in the following manner : Late in autumn, or very early in spring, dig up the old stools by .cutting off with a spade all the roots within a foot of the base of the stem. In figure 52 is shown a plant of the Philadelphia Rasp- berry, the simi-circular white line showing the point where the roots are severed. The Phila- delphia, Catawissa, ?,nd similar kinds, which do not sucker freely, are often treated in this manner. If more plants are wanted than may be expected if the roots are left entire, then another incision may be made in the same way one foot outside of the first, but in making it, no soil should be thrown out, the spade being thrust down into the soil its en- tire length, to separate the roots, and then withdrawn. After the Fig. 52.— CUTTING THE ROOTS. roots have been divided, the sur- face of the soil should be harrowed over and made level. If a liberal supply of manure is applied as a top dressing, it will assist the growth of the plants very much. The roots remaining in the ground will usually throw up suckers in abundance, and make excellent plants. 6* 130 SMALL FRUIT CULTUBIST. SOIL AND LOCATIONS. For the purpose of giving a general rule (exceptions included), I will divide the Raspberries into two classes, without regard to species : CLASS 1. — The common Red and White kinds, taking the Antwerps as the foreign branch, and the wild Red as the native type. These require a deep rich moist soil, and one that is rather compact, such as a heavy loam or clay. These succeed very poorly in a sandy soil, unless it be in the extreme North. CLASS 2. — The Black Raspberry (R. occidentalis) and its varieties succeed in both light and heavy soils (although they prefer the former), and in the most Northern as well as in the Southern States. To this peculiarity of the varieties of the two classes, we owe, in a great measure, the diversity of opinion so often expressed by fruit growers from the different sections of the country. The Antwerp class, as a whole, do not succeed upon light soils south of latitude forty-one, and they sometimes fail even to the north of this. In the sandy soils of New Jersey, and farther South, their leaves burn in summer, which prevents the canes maturing; consequently they die in winter whether covered or otherwise. This has been one of the great obstacles to Raspberry culture, as this class has been the one chiefly recommended, for the very good reason that the fruit was of superior quality, although the plants were delicate. North of the latitude named, very few of the varieties cultivated are hardy, and protection in winter is required. A few of the native Red kinds will withstand the cold of winter at the North, but for some cause they have not as yet become very popular. These few kinds, which are hardy at the North, often fail at the South from the cause uamed, and the canes winter-kill even in a very mild RASPBERRY. 131 climate. The fact that one class succeeds better in a heavy soil than a light one should not be overlooked, even at the South, but taken advantage of whenever practicable. SELECTION OF PLANTS. The canes of all the varieties of Raspberries are only biennial, that is, canes are produced one year, bear fruit the next, and then die ; therefore there is no such thing as two or three year old plants, as with trees and vines, when we refer to the stems, but the roots may be several years old, as they are perennial. One year old plants are the best for transplanting in all cases. Suckers are con- sidered the best plants with those kinds which produce them, but plants grown from root cuttings, if the opera- tion is properly performed, are equally as good, and some- times they are really superior, because furnished with a larger number of fibrous roots. The same may be said of those grown from cuttings of the stems; they may be of first rate quality or otherwise. The old stools may also be taken up and divided and planted again, but such plants are not to be recommended, and should never be used if it can be avoided. With those kinds which produce plants from the tips of the canes, it is more important to select none older than one season, because the old plants produce new fibers very slowly at the best, and when transplanted they are very likely to fail, even with the best of care. PLANTING AND CULTURE. Thorough preparation of the soil before planting is jus as important with the Raspberry as with other fruits. Planting in rows and then restricting the plants to hills or stools, as it is termed, is the usual method. The rows should be four to six feet apart, according to the variety cultivated. With the Antwerp, and similar varieties, four feet each way is the usual distance, but with 132 SMALL FRUIT CULTUKIST. the stronger growing kinds the rows should DC at least six feet apart, and the plants four or five feet apart in the rows. In planting the smaller growing kinds, two plants may be set in a hill, placing them about six inches apart ; for in this way we double the chances of securing a uniform plantation, because one may die and the other live; and if both should gro\v, a large stool will be secured in less time than if the plants were placed singly. The first cost of the plant is not usually of so much importance as the loss of a crop, or of a year in time, which would be the result wherever the plants should die and have to be re- placed. Spring is the usual time in the Northern States for planting the Raspberry, and the fall for sections where the ground does not freeze very deeply. Select plants that have plenty of small fibrous roots, and set them no deeper than they were before removal. The upper tier of roots is usually about four inches below the surface, but in some instances they will be at a far greater depth. It is not advisable, however, to plant deeply, because the suckers which spring from the stem below ground, or from the lateral roots, will not come up go freely when the plants are set deep as when shallow. At the time of planting, cut the canes down close to the surface of the soil, because if they are left entire, it will require nearly, if not quite, all the strength of the root to force the buds on them into growth. These will produce a few weak shoots, and perhaps some fruit, and then the canes will die down to the root and no farther. The entire forces of the plant are required the first sea- son to produce canes, if anything like a crop of fruit is expected the next. In some sections of the country the soil is naturally very poor, and it may nlso be very difficult to obtain suf- ficient manure to enrich the whole of it before planting. Under such circumstances, the plants may be manured in RASPBERRY. 133 the hill by mixing a shovel full or more with the soil at the point marked for the plants before setting them. Afterwards manure may be applied to the surface of the soil, and worked in with plow or cultivator. If barn-yard manure, or a compost of it, and other materials cannot be obtained, then bone, poudrette, or some other kind may be applied. A plow or cultivator may be used among the plants for keeping the weeds down in summer, but keep the soil as nearly level as possible ; never bank up the plants and let them remain in this situation for any considerable time. A small plow may be used to break up the soil between the rows whenever it is necessary, but the cultivator should be passed over it soon after, to level it down again. If the variety cultivated is one that increases by suckers, allow but one or two from each root to grow the first sea- son, and not more than six to eight from one stool in any one year thereafter, unless the production of plants is more important than that of fruit. The fruiting canes will not always remain in one place, as the suckers will come up more freely upon one side than upon another, and the uniform distances between the stools will soon be lost, and some will be six feet apart while others not more than two. A little care given at the time the suckers are making their appearance in early summer, by cutting out where they are likely to be crowded, and preserving all where they are thin, will ena- ble the grower to preserve the required number of bear- ing canes in each row. It will often be necessary to use the hoe among the plants, because the plow or cultivator cannot be used to advantage, except in passing lengthwise of the rows, except for the first year or two, and not then unless great care was observed in planting, so that the rows are placed in direct lines each way. Clean cultivation is important, because if the plants be- 134 SMALL FRTJ1T CULTURIST. come choked with grass and weeds, it will check their growth, and not only the fruiting canes will suffer for moisture, but those intended for the next season's crop. With varieties which produce no suckers from lateral roots, but only from the crowns of the main root, greater uniformity can be preserved in their cultivation. The only precaution necessary is to see that too many canes do not grow ; three or four are sufficient, all others should be cut off when they first appear. PRUNING. Very little pruning is necessary with the Raspberry, and in general field culture none is given, except to go over the plantation after fruiting and cut out close to the ground all of the old canes. Some defer this operation until whi- ter or the following spring, but it is better to do it soon after the fruit is gathered, so that the young canes shall not be crowded by the old ones. Because no other pru- ning is generally practiced, it is no sufficient reason why it is not necessary, or that it would not be beneficial. The bear- ing canes should be pruned in the spring by heading back the leading shoots, and shortening the lateral ones. This operation is particularly beneficial to the Black Raspberry, Purple Cane, and others of this class, inasmuch as they produce such long slender canes that they would be broken or bent to the ground by the weight of fruit un- less severely pruned. The principal canes, as well as the lateral ones, should be shortened to about one-third their original length. When pruned in this manner the fruit will be much larger, and the plant will yield as many quarts as though the canes were left their full length. Besides, the plants will very often set more fruit when left unpruned than they can mature, and all is lost. There are a few varieties in cultivation which produce two crops in a season ; that is, the year old canes throw RASPBERRY. 135 out l.-iteral fruiting branches the same as other kinds, and the new canes of the season bear fruit on their terminal point or branches in autumn. This second crop, or what is really the first crop of the cane, is usually not a very abundant one, although highly prized by some persons, because produced at other than the usual season for such fruit. If it is desirable to increase the late crop, then the entire plants should be cut down at the time of the annual priming. This will cause the young canes to start early, and having the whole root for their support, they will come into bearing earlier in the fall, and bear more abun- dantly than if two crops were produced. TRAINING. In general field culture the usual mode is to train to stakes, but many cultivators are now dispensing with these artificial aids, and by close pruning they endeavor to make the canes sustain their fruit without assistance. I think, however, that it is questionable at least whether there is really anything saved by not using stakes, because many of the canes will be blown down by the wind, others will be broken by the weight of fruit, while the lateral branches will fall upon the ground, and the fruit become splashed with soil, thus making it unfit for use. The cost of stakes is but a trifle in comparison to the value of the fruit lost when they are not used, especially when it com- mands so large a price as it does in most of our eastern markets. Chestnut stakes five feet long and two to three inches in diameter, made from large trees, cost me less than two cents each, and my location is within twenty miles of New York City, and where timber of all kinds commands a large price. I cannot afford to grow Raspberries without staking, because every stake will save on an average ten cents worth of fruit, and in many instances three times that amount. 136 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. In the great Raspberry plantations of New York, stakes are used, and every fruiting cane is tied up, early in spring. The stakes used are four or five feet long, one being driven near each stool, and the canes tied loosely to it. After the crop has been gathered, the stakes are all taken up and put aw.-iy under cover until wanted the next season. The old canes are all removed in the fall, and all suckers not Avanted for fruiting are taken up, preparatory to giving winter protection to those that remain. WINTER PROTECTION. Until within a very few years, the varieties principally cultivated for market were those of foreign origin. Oc- casionally one would be introduced that was quite hardy Fig. 53.— LAYING DOWN THE CANES. even in the Northern States, but as a whole they required protection to insure a full crop. Many different methods for protecting the plants in winter have been suggested and tried, but there is probably none so simple or cheap as that of laying down the plants a:id covering with soil. To perform this operation rapidly,it requires two men, one to bend down the plants while the other throws a shovel full of soil upon them, or just enough to keep them in place. The canes should be bent down lengthwise of the row, as shown in figure 53. When the plants have all been laid down, a plow is passed along on each side of the row, turning the soil upon them. In this manner an acre RASPBERRY. 137 may be covered at a cost not exceeding fifteen dollars. The plants should not be covered until the approach of cold weather, usually deferring the operation as long as it can be with safety. If the canes are covered while the weather is warm, or before they are fully ripe, they will decay. In the spring, after all danger of severe freezing is past, take up the canes by passing a fork under them, gently lifting and shaking oft' the soil. Drive doAvn the stakes and tie the canes to them as before. Cut off all dead and broken canes, and shorten all others. When the canes are very tall, a foot or more may be pruned off with benefit to that which remains. All side or lateral branches should be shortened at least one-half, and sometimes if two-thirds of their length were cut away, it would be still better. GARDEN CULTURE. The same general systems adapted to field culture are also applicable to the garden, but usually more care will be bestowed upon a few plants than upon a larger number. When only a few are grown, they may be watered, or the ground covered with a mulch, either of which operations will assist very much in the full development of the fruit. The plants may also be allowed to bear the first season, if fruit is very desirable, for by giving extra care, new canes for the next year may be produced from the same root, besides supporting the fruiting cane. It is, however, the safest plan to set three or four plants in a hill, and cut one or two of them down to the ground, and leave the others with canes about two feet long. Sometimes quite a large crop will be produced on plants set in spring, and though it usually prevents the root throwing up suckers strong enough to bear the ensuing year, still, with plants that cost but a few cents each, there is nothing lost even if they die outright after fruiting. With those who are just commencing a garden, it is sometimes quite an object to 138 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. have fruit the first season, even if there is no profit in the op- eration. A different system of training may also be adopted, and instead of stakes, a simple and cheap trellis may be made by setting strong stakes about twenty feet apart along the rows, and then stretch a wire from one to the other, and Fhj. 54.— RASPBERRY TRELLIS. to this tie the fruiting canes, as shown in figure 54. If the variety cultivated is tender, then bend down and cover the canes with soil in winter, using a spade or shovel in- stead of the plow. Fig. 55. — TRAINING TO STAKES. Another method is shown in figure 55. In this the stakes are driven on opposite sides of the stools and about two feet distant, the bearing canes are lent over and tied in the manner shown. The young shoots of the season will not always grow up in the center as represented in the engraving, but that is the place where it would be desira- ble to have them grow to enable us to carry out this RASPBERRY. 139 somewhat ideal system. The bearing canes are cut away after the fruit is gathered, and the next spring the four young canes shown in an upright position, are bent down in the same manner as those of the previous year. Training within a hoop is a very pretty plan for small gardens. This is done by driving two stakes, one on each side of the stool, and about a foot from it ; then take a common barrel hoop and nail it to the stakes, as in figure 56. The canes are trained up within the hoop and tied to it at regular distances apart, thereby sup- porting the canes and preventing theni from being blown about by the winds and injuring the fruit. There are many other very neat and convenient systems of training Fig< 56.— HOOP TRAIN- the Raspberry in use among amateur ING- cultivators, but those already named will give the reader a very good idea of their general scope, besides suggesting other modes, such as training upon walls, fences, along the sides of walks or as a kind of a hedge, also planting and training in a half shady situation, with a northern exposure for a late crop, and in one of an opposite character for an early one. So various are the changes that can be made in every department of fruit-cultur'e, that to give them all in detail would require one or more large volumes for each species in cultivation. DURATION OF PLANTS. The duration of a Raspberry plantation will depend very much upon the variety cultivated, as well as upon the nature of the soil and care given the plants. Ten to four- teen years is about the average under good culture, but sometimes they will remain productive for twenty years. 140 SMAXL FRUIT CTTLTURIST. No rule or set time should be heeded in this matter, but so soon as the plants fail to produce remunerative crops, plow them up and plant some other crop upon the soil, for two or three years, after which it may again be planted with Raspberries if it is desirable. DISEASES AND INSECTS. The Raspberry is seldom affected, to any considerable extent, by disease. Occasionally the leaves and stems will be affected with rust, in wet seasons, when cultivated upon soils of a compact nature. The Raspberry plantations in Orange, Ulster, and adjacent counties in New York, have been for several years past affected more or less with a kind of rust, which seems to prevent the canes from ripen- ing, and the result is, that they decay in winter, although carefully protected. The nature or cause of this rust or disease I have not been able to ascertain, but it is very probable that thorough under-draining and replanting upon fresh soil would check, if not entirely eradicate it. The Red Antwerp Raspberry has been extensively grown in these counties for the past thirty or forty years, and it would indeed be very strange if disease or insects did not make their appearance after so long a time, and particularly where one variety is grown so extensively as in the region named. It is quite probable that a few unfavorable seasons, or the want of proper cultivation has been the cause of this? disease, and that it will not become known away from the locality where it originated. Leaf blight or rust is very common upon the wild Rasp- berry and Blackberry, and sometimes upon the cultivated, particularly upon old and feeble plants. The general ap- pearance of this rust, or Raspberry brand, as it is called in England, is like that desciibed under the Strawberry, p. 83, but it shows a different form under the micro scope. KASPBEKRY. 141 The number of insects that infest the Raspberry and Blackberry is very few indeed, and none have as yet be- come very common or destructive. The Blackberry bush borer, fig. 57, is occasionally found eating out the pith of the young canes of the Raspberry -sw s* and Blackberry, but it is not common. The YV// beetle, which is the parent of the borer, is pM^ about a half inch long, black, rusty yellow /•A on the breast, and on the top of the thorax. /9f V -^ lavs ^8 e»?s early m August on the stems Fig 57 -BLACK- °f t^ie Blackberry and Raspberry, generally BERRY BUSH at the base of a leaf. The grub penetrates BORER. ^e stem, eating out the pith, causing the young canes to wither. A few of my Blackberry bushes were attacked by this insect the past season. The infested canes should be pruned off in the fall and buried. In Europe there is a beetle (Byturustomentosvs), which deposits its eggs in the flower of the Raspberry, which produce small white maggots by the time the fruit is ripe. A similar worm is quite common upon our Wild Red Raspberry, but whether it is the same as the European species, or one of the Ortalidians, (some of which are known to deposit their eggs in the Raspberry), I am unable to say, as they are seldom seen upon the cultivated varieties. DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. CLASS I. — NATIVE SPECIES AKD VARIETIES. (Rubus occidentalism) American Black, (Black Raspberries -, Black Cap Raspberry, Thimble Berry]. — Fruit medium, slightly oval, black with bloom, sweet pleasant flavor ; there is but little juice, a greater portion of the berry being seeds. The plant roots from the ends of the young canes. In its wild state one of the most variable species known. Com- mon in all parts of the United States. 142 SMALL FKUIT CtJLTUBIST. American White Cap. ( Yellow Gap, Golden Cap.)— Fruit, one-half to five-eighths of an inch broad ; slightly oval ; grains larger than in the preceding variety ; pale or deep yellow, covered with a white bloom ; sweet, juicy, rather musky, but agreeable ; canes light yellow, slightly glaucous, very strong, stocky, with a few short spines ; only moderately productive. This variety is also found wild from Maine to the Mississippi River, and probably farther west. I have received it from nearly all the Northern States, and from the southern portion of the State of Delaware. It is seldom found in any great number, and this is probably one reason why so many people have supposed they had discovered something new, when they have accidentally found one of these plants growing wild. Nearly every season I receive letters from different parts of the country, describing a new and remarkable wild variety of white Raspberry, but when the plants are received they have in- variably proved to be this variety. The White Cap Raspberry possesses some good qualities, and there is no doubt but what seedlings from it might be produced that would be really valuable and worthy of general cultivation. The habit of the plant is as good as could be desired, pro- ducing no suckers, but propagating from the tips of the young canes. American Improved. (DoolitiMs Black Gap, Improved, Improved Slack Cap Raspberry). — Large, black, with slight bloom, sweet, juicy, of the same flavo* as the Wild Black Raspberry, canes very vigorous, with numerous, strong-hooked prickles. The extremely thorny character of the plant is its greatest fault, as it is equally as disagreeable a subject to work among as the Blackberry. Very productive and hardy. Found growing wild, about twenty-five years ago, by Leander Jo sly n, of Phelps, On- tario County, N". Y. Of late years this variety has been extensively cultivated for market. RASPBERRY. 143 Doolittle's Red-flavored Black Raspberry.— This is a new variety, just announced by Mr. H. H. Doolittle, of Oaks Comers, N. Y. Described as a large, dark red or brown colored berry, with a decided Red Raspberry flavor. It is to be hoped that if this variety should prove to be worthy of cultivation, a different name will be given it. Davison'S Thornless. (Thornless Blackcap^ — About the same size and shape as the American Improved, but a week or ten days earlier. Canes strong and quite stocky, smooth, except a very few small straight spines near the base and an occasional one on the leaf-stalk. The thornless character of the plant is certainly a decided improvement upon those which produce them in such abundance as some others do. Originated in the garden of Mrs. Mercy Davi- son, in the Village of Gowanda, N. Y. ; introduced to the public in 1866, by Joseph Sinton, Angola, Erie County, N. Y. Elsie. — A new seedling, raised from the Surprise, by Samuel Miller, of Avon, Lebanon County, Pa. I have not yet fruited this variety, but Mr. Miller describes it as very large, of excellent quality, and productive. Miami Black Cap. — Very large, dark brown, almost black ; sweet, juicy and good. A little later than the Am- erican Improved, and the spines not so numerous. Hardy, productive and valuable. From the Miami Valley, Ohio. Ohio Everbearing. (Monthly Black Gap.) — Large, black, sweet, and moderately juicy; canes strong and rather more upright than some others; spines strong, hooked and numerous, very productive. The young canes produce a moderate crop in autumn. Cultivated among the Qua- kers in Ohio, and introduced to public notice many years ago, by N". Long worth, of Cincinnati. Seneca Black Cap. — This is another new variety, an- nounced by Mr. Doolittle ; said to be a larger berry than the American Improved, more firm, and equal to it in pro- ductiveness, but eight to ten days later. 144 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. Summit YellOW Cap, — Medium size, pale pink or nearly white in the shade, rather dry, but very sweet ; ripens a Little later than the Common Black Cap ; cranes strong and vigorous, pale orange yellow, with considerable bloom ; spines short, slightly hooked and rather numerous. A new variety from Summit Township, Crawford County, Pa. It is supposed to have originated from* seed in soil excavated from a canal, at the depth of ten feet. The original plant was found and transplanted by Mr. Daniel Supher. I am indebted to Mr. O. T. Hobbs, of Randolph, Pa., for plants of this variety and its history. Surprise. — Very similar to the American Improved, but the berries are larger, more conical, and covered with a thick bloom ; sweet, sprightly and good ; a valuable vari- ety. Found growing wild in Missouri. I am indebted to Mr. Samuel Miller for plants of this very excellent fruit. Woodside, — Very large, globular, bluck, with little bloom ; sweet, juicy and good. Produces a second crop in autumn. Figure 58 is an exact representation of a cluster cut from a plant in November last. Canes light crimson or dark scarlet ; spines few and very scattering. Not fully tested as to productiveness., Originated in the garden of one of my neighbors, from seeds sown by the former owner of the place. CLASS II. — PURPLE CANE FAMILY. A portion at least of the following kinds are supposed to belong to the same species as the common Black Cap Raspberry (fi. occidentalis). But as they have a few characteristics in common, which are not found in the wild black Raspberry, nor in any other species, I have placed them in a list by themselves. This separation is not claimed to be a strictly scientific one, but as a matter of convenience. KASl'BERRY. 145 Fig. 58.— WOODSIDE RASPBERRY. 146 SMALL FRUIT CULTUBIST. The old Purple Cane Raspberry is so well known that I have selected it as the type or representative of this class. The principal difference between the varieties of the Black Cap and the Purple Cane is in the fruit. The first, as is well known, have rather dry, tough fruit, with a pe- culiar flavor. Its grains numerous, and very irregular in size. The fruit of the Purple Cane, as a rule, is rather soft, juicy, often very brittle, the grains separating very readily. Color, varying from light red to dark brownish-purple, but never black ; the flavor mild and agreeable, but en- tirely distinct from those of the true Black Raspberry. Catawissa, — Medium, round, dark reddish-purple, rather brittle and soft, juicy, moderately good, canes strong, very branching, dark brown bark, and few hooked spines. Pro- duces a second crop in autumn. If the whole stool is cut down in spring, the young canes of the season will come into fruit early, and continue bearing until winter. The fruit is borne principally on the ends of the shoots of those which do not bend down and take root. Suckers are also produced very sparingly, but if the stools are taken up, and the roots left in the ground, a greater number will grow than otherwise. The plant is quite tender in the Northern States, and even in the locality where it was discovered, it is sometimes winter-killed. I have cultivated this variety about ten years, and have never as yet had a plant survive the winter unless protected. It is of no particular value unless for the purpose of producing a late crop, and to in- sure this the entire plant must be cut down early in spring. This variety was found in a grave yard, in the Village of Catawissa, Columbia County, Pa. Ellisdale. — Large, roundish-oval, grains medium to large, quite regular in size; color, light crimson or dark scarlet ; rather firm and of good flavor ; canes very strong, light red, smooth, with a few straight spines near the base, and an occasional hooked one on the upper portion. The RASPBERRY. 147 plant produces no suckers from its lateral roots, but propa- gates from the tips of the canes, the same as the Purple Cane. New, not thoroughly tested at the East, but con- sidered as a very valuable variety in the locality where it originated. Found in 1856, by Mr. J. E. Johnson, growing on the Ellisdale farm, in Pottawatomie County, Iowa. The stock was placed in the hands of H. A. Terry, of Cres- cent City, Iowa, for propagation and dissemination. Gardiner. — A new variety, said to be intermediate be- tween the Purple Cane and Black Cap. Received from S. Miller. Origin at present unknown. Purple Cane. (American Red Cane.) — Medium, or small, roundish, dark dull red, with bloom ; grains large, soft, sweet, very good ; canes very strong ; growing eight to twelve feet long, smooth, with a few straight spines at the base, and a few hooked spines above ; vigorous and pro- ductive, fruit good for home use, but too soft for market. This variety has been in cultivation in the vicinity of New York for at least fifty years. Propagates from the tips of the young canes, and produces no suckers. Philadelphia. — Medium to large, globular, dark red, scarcely any bloom, moderately firm, sub-acid, not rich, nor very juicy; grains large, adhere together more firmly than the Purple Cane ; canes erect, strong and stocky, dark red or purple, branching ; spines very small, straight and scattering, almost spineless ; leaves large, dark green above, lighter beneath, very thick and tough, have a peculiar wavy appearance on the upper side, finely serrated. Figure 59 shows the general form of the leaf, and figure 60, a cluster of fruit of the average size under common field culture. The canes do not bend over and root from the tips, like the Purple Cane, but produce suckers, although rather sparing- ly; very hardy and wonderfully productive. Found growing within the present limits of the City of Philadel- ohia, some thirty or more years ago. It has lately become 148 SMALL FRUIT CULTUKIST. Fig. 59. — LEAF OF PHILADELPHIA RASPBERRY. RASPBERRY. 149 very popular as a market variety, and for some soils and locations is unexcelled. This is particularly the case in the sandy soils of New Jersey, where all of the finest foreign varieties fail, and no amount of care will enable the growers to secure a remunerative crop. It has been Fig'. 00. — PHILADELPHIA. widely disseminated in the past five years, and very favorable reports are being received from all parts of the country in regard to its hardiness and productiveness. CLASS 3. — VARIETIES OF RUBUS STRIGOSUS. ( Wild Red Raspberry.} The common Wild Red Raspberry of our country possesses many valuable qualities, even in its normal state. But to produce new and improved varieties from it has 150 SMALL FRUIT CTJLTURIST. seldom been attempted, because foreign kinds were at hand that apparently possessed qualities superior to our own ; consequently we have very few native kinds worthy of cultivation. This is certainly to be regretted ; inas- much as the foreign va- rieties are usually ten- der, while our native kinds are quite hardy, and there can scarcely be a doubt that if the same persistent efforts had been put forth to improve them, as have been expended upon the foreign sorts, we would now have varieties of the native species far superior to any that we have obtained from abroad. The variableness of the JRubus strigosus is worthy of being particu- larly noticed by those who may attempt its im- Fig. 61.— STEM OF WILD RED. provemcut. Some of the wild varieties produce an immense number of suckers, others but very few. Some have very smooth canes, others are covered with close set spines or bristly hairs, as shown in figure 61. The fruit is also variable in color, from a dark red to a light bright crimson ; globular or conical in shape, and of medium size. Figure 62 shows a fruit of about the average size when grown in good soil. Figure 63 shows a fruit branch when coming into bloom, and figure 64, a leaf, both somewhat reduced in size. The RASPBERRY. 151 leaves are bright green and whitish-downy underneath, but not so much so as in some of the foreign varieties. Allen's Red Prolific, — Medium, globular, light crim- son, separates freely from the core, juicy, but mild flavor ; canes strong, erect, reddish purple when mature ; Fig. 62.— FRUIT OF WILD RED. spines white, long, slender, very few and scattering ; leaves thin, oblong, pointed, evenly serrated, not toothed. Not very prolific, and produces suckers rather freely, but not so abundant as the next. Allen's Antwerp, — Similar in size, shape, color and 152 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. quality to the last, the leaves deeply serrated or toothed, and of more substance ; spines very numerous, and of a Fig. 63.— FLOWERING STEM OF WILD RED. reddish-purple color. Botli this and the preceding variety were sent out by L. F. Allen, Black Rock, N. Y., about RASPBERRY. 153 ten years ago, but they have been placed on the rejected Fig. 64.— LEAF OF WILD RED. list by the American Poraological Society, and almost uni- 154 SMALL FKUIT CULTUKIST. versally discarded by fruit growers. They \vere not claimed to be seedlings by Mr. Allen, but merely acci- dental varieties of the wild Red Raspberry of his locality. I have been more particular in giving them a description, because it is very probable that they will again be brought forward by other parties as new and valuable varieties. Kirtland. — Medium, nearly round, light bright crimson, separates freely from the receptacle, moderately firm, sweet, of the same flavor as the wild Red ; canes very erect, nearly smooth, pale red at maturity ; produces a large number of suckers, quite productive, and the earliest of the class. The canes are also quite hardy. One of the best of the native varieties. Originated with J. P. Kirtland, Cleve- land, Ohio. Pearl Raspberry. — Medium, round, light bright scar- let, sweet, juicy, moderately firm, with an agreeable flavor ; plant a very short, stocky grower ; the cane seldom over three feet high ; spines numerous, long, slender, light col- ored, slightly tinged with purple ; suckers very numerous, and must be kept down, or but little fruit will be produced ; moderately productive and hardy. Origin unknown. Cul- tivated considerably about Philadelphia. Stoever, — Large, roundish-conical, bright crimson, sprightly, with strong wild flavor ; canes very vigorous, nearly smooth, reddish brown when ripe ; very unproduc- tive. Not worth cultivating. Found growing wild in Vermont, by J. T. Stoever, and removed to his garden in Philadelphia, in 1859. Scarlet. — This variety has been highly extolled by Wm. S. Carpenter, of New York City, in a late advertise- ment in the Gardener's Monthly. The following extract from a letter just received will probably enable the reader to make a very close guess as to what class this variety belongs : RASPBERRY. 155 UNION, UNION COUNTY, N. J., March 7, 1867. * * * u j purchased one hundred of the Allen Rasp- berry about eight years ago, and found among them four or five plants that appeared to be a distinct variety from the Allen, and whether it is a new or old variety I cannot tell. I found it hardy, and much more productive than the Allen. The berries being perfect, of a bright rethe Red Dutch. Knight's Early Hied, — Same as the last, and no earlier. Knight's Sweet Sled, — Large, very dark red ; bunch long, tapering; similar in quality to the Red Dutch, but apparently not quite so acid ; growth vigorous, upright ; leaves dark green, of medium size, thick anji coarsely ser- rate. The general appearance of the plant distinct from the Red Dutch. Moderately productive. This may have been received under the wrong name, and perhaps it is the Knight's Large Red, which, Rivers says, is a valuable variety. La Hatiye, (La Hatwe de Bertin, La Fertile.) — I am not certain which of the above names should be placed first, although the varieties received under each have all proved to be the same. Evidently nearly related to the Cherry Currant, as the general appearance of the plant resembles it very much, but of a less vigorous growth. Color of fruit and form of bunch same as Cherry, but only about two-thirds the size ; ripens a few days earlier, and is not quite so acid, yet too much so to be called good ; productive. Prince Alhert, — Large, light red, sometimes slightly striped with dark red; bunch medium, tapering; rather acid, firm, of inferior quality, moderately vigorous, up- right ; leaves small ; lobes long, pointed, sharply serrate very productive. Red Dutch, (Large Red Dutch, New Red Dutch, Long Bunched Red, Morgan? s Red, G-rossellier Rouge a Grosse Fruit.) — Large, deep red; bunches long, tapering, rich, juicy, good. One of the best. A vigorous, erect grower, and very productive. Well known. 208 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. Red Grape. — Large, dark red ; bunch compact, long, slightly tapering; foliage medium, not shining, as with Red Dutch ; moderately vigorous, and of a rather stocky growth. Red Provence. — Small, dark red ; bunches long; very acid, liable to rot before ripening, qufte late, altogether inferior ; the young shoots red. A very ram- pant, coarse grower. Striped Fruited. ( Grosse Weiss- und Rothgestreifte JoJiannisbeere.} — An old variety, with fruit same as Gloire des Sablons, but the plant a short, stocky grower ; the termi- nal buds on the young shoots quite conspicuous. Of no value. Transparent White. — Claimed to be a seedling of White Grape, but, if so, it has assumed all the characteristics of its parent, and I am unable to see any difference. Versailles, — See page 205. Victoria, — (May's Victoria, Houghion Castle, Raby Castle, Goliath, Wilmotfs Red Grape, and Red Grape of some nurseries.) — Large, light, bright red ; buncli (figure 90) very long, often six or seven inches, tapering ; ' sprightly acid, good flavor ; leaves medium, rather thin ; lobes long ; serratures rounded, or with a short point ; young branches rather slender, although rigorous, spread- ing ; very productive. A valuable variety for homo use. Fig. 90. — VICTORIA. CURRANT. 209 White Grape, (White Antwerp, White Transparent.} — Large, yellowish-white, transparent \ bunch medium, slightly tapering (fig. 91f; juicy, sweet, rich; the best White Currant; moderately vigorous, slender, spreading habit ; leaves medium size, sharply serrate, with a grayish green color, not shining ; very productive. White Dutch. ( White Clin- ton, New White Dutch, Clarke's /Sweet. White Crystal, Jteeves* White, Morgan's White, White Leghorn, White Transparent, White Holland, White Pearl) — Large, yellowish-white, but quite transparent; bunches a little shorter than the Red Dutch, and berries larger, sweet, rich and good ; .a vigorous, upright grower, and very productive. White Provence, — Very large, yellowish-white ; bunch rather short, tapering. About Fig. QI.-WHITE GRAPE. the same in quality as the White Dutch, but not quite equal to White Grape. The most vigorous of all the White varieties, evidently of the White Dutch class. Leaves large, thick, more or less edged with white, as shown in figure 92 ; productive, but not equally so with the White Grape. BLACK CURRANTS. (Hibes nigrum.) Black English, ( Common Black, Bang-up Black^ Cassis a fruit noir.) — Large, black, but few in a cluster. 210 SMALL FRUIT CULTUEIST. Well known, and but little cultivated at the present time, having been superseded by the following : Black Naples. ( Cassis Royal of Naples.) — Very large, often three-fourths of an inch in diameter, black, sweet, but of musky flavor ; clusters are medium, tapering,«loose ; v — ;^ Fig. 92. — LEAF OP WHITE PROVENCE. very vigorous grower, and productive, when the plants have attained considerable age and size ; leaves, stems and fruit have a rank and musky scent, which is very disa- greeable to many, but to others delightful. Black Grape, (Ogderfs Black Grape.) — Fruit same CURBAOT. 211 as Black Naples, but the bush is more stocky, and not so tall a grower. A marked difference may be observed in the hight of the plants when growing in adjoining rows. Brown Fruited, (Green Fruited^ Russian Green.) — A variety of the Black Englisb, with greenish-brown fruit; berries hard, dry, and rank flavored. Not worth cultivating. There are several new varieties lately introduced from France, but they have not been sufficiently tested in this country to determine whether they possess any superior merits, or are different from those we have already tested. PROFITS OF CULTURE, USES, &c. Currants are not, as a general thing, consumed in as large quantities as some other kinds of our small fruits. Still there is scarcely a garden, however small, in city or country, in which a few Currant bushes are not cultivated. The extreme acidity of our more common varieties is probably one reason why larger quantities of them are not used in their natural state. Currant jelly is one of the in- dispensable conserves of which no good housekeeper neg- lects to lay by a store at the proper time, but it has not been known as an article of commerce until within a very recent period. Our markets, as a general rule, have been very well sup- plied, and often the price obtained for Currants has been far below a profitable point. But of late years, since our great fruit-preserving establishments have been started, the demand has increased, and the supply is falling behind. Here let me mention a fact which, I fear, some of our fruit growers, as well as others, do not fully understand, and it may also explain why the prices of certain kinds of fruit appear to increase in exact ratio to the supply. It is this : When the proprietors of one of these large es- tablishments can go into market and purchase fifty thous- and baskets of Strawberries, Raspberries, or other similar 212 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. fruits, he can afford to make a specialty of that one kind for one, two or more days, engaging the entire apparatus and force of his establishment upon it ; but, if only a few hundred baskets can be obtained at any one time, then it will not pay him to attempt to preserve any. Thus it will be seen that we may supply or glut a market with a few hundred baskets or pounds of a particular kind; when, if the supply was thousands of baskets, or tons in- stead, there would soon be a scarcity. Just as soon as it is known that any good kind of fruit can be had in abun- dance, there will be means found for disposing of it, and usually at a better price than when there is a compara- tive scarcity. Capital is usually drawn into channels where it can be employed continuously as well as profita- bly. Gail Borden's process for condensing milk has been successfully applied to the juice of the Currant, and a similar substance to the common jelly manufactured with- out sugar, and at less than half the cost. In the con- densed form, Currant juice may be transported to any por- tion of the globe, and become an article of commerce. When water is added, it again becomes a liquid — valuable for medicinal purposes, as well as a luxury. Vessels start- ing upon long voyages would do well to lay in a supply of this article, for there are many diseases whicli are more or less prevalent on ship-board, particularly when in tropi- cal climates, in which a free use of Currant juice would be, at least, beneficial to the patient, if not a curative. The red Currants are more generally used for making jellies than the white, but why, it would be difficult to tell. Perhaps it is like many other anomalies we observe in market, the cause of which can only be attributed to a more general acquaintance with the kind, or to an attrac- tive color. The white Currants, as a class, are of a richer flavor and less acid than the Red. The Black Currants are not so acid as the red and white varieties, but their strong musky flavor is not, as a CURKANT. 213 rule, agreeable to the American taste ; yet, like many other fruits of strong flavor, it gradually becomes less ob- jectionable, until at last, through familiarity, a taste for it is acquired^ and then it is appreciated and valued as highly as any other. Every year there appears to be an increas- ing demand for the Black Currants, and the time will soon come, if it has not already arrived, when they will com- mand full prices and be sold in large quantities. Currant wine made from the different kinds is a well known article but whether its manufacture should be encouraged, or otherwise, I will leave to the temperance societies to de- cide. The price of Currants in our eastern markets varies from four to fifteen cents per pound ; usually the largest and best varieties will bring ten cents at wholesale. At the last named price, four to six hundred dollars per acre can be obtained. In planting the common red and white kinds, four feet each way is sufficient, thus giving 2,722 plants per acre. If we estimate our crop at two pounds per plant, which is not one-half the amount they should produce when fully grown, we will get 5,444 pounds per acre, or over two tons and a half, and at two hundred dollars per ton it amounts to over five hundred dollars. Then we have the gathering} shipping, cultivation, and other incidental ex- penses to deduct therefrom. But even then it can be seen that it will be a very profitable crop. In case of great abundance the prices might be somewhat reduced, but by good cultivation the crop may be double the estimate given above. The Currant possesses many good qualities to recom- mend it ; among which are its perfect hardiness, early cul- ture, great productiveness, and almost the certainty of a full crop every year. CHAPTER VII. GOOSEBEBRY, NATURAL FAMILY GROSSULACE^E. [Ribes Grossularia, of Botanists ; Ribes Uva Crispa, of Linnaeus ; Grosseiller, of the French ; StacMbeere-strauch, German ; Uva-spina, Italian ; Grossetta, Spanish ; Kruisbes, of the Datch.] GENERAL CHARACTER. Low, deciduous shrubs ; stems mostly bearing thorns at the base of the leaf-stalks, in some the spines or prickles scattered, usually more abundant at the base of the stems than above ; leaves alternate, palmately lobed ; fruit a one-celled berry, produced in small clusters, smooth or prickly. SPECIES. The following are indigenous to the United States, ac- cording to Dr. Gray and Chapman. Ribes Cynosbati.— Wild Gooseberry. — Leaves pubes- cent; peduncles slender, two to three flowered; spines strong ; berry large, armed with long prickles, like a burr, rarely smooth. R, hirtellum. — Smooth. Gooseberry. — Leaves somewhat pubescent beneath ; peduncles very short, one to two GOOSEBERRY. 215 flowered ; stems either smooth or prickly, and with very short thorns. Common in all the Northern States. The well known Houghton's Seedling, of the nurseries, belongs to this species. R, rotund ifolium. — Leaves nearly smooth, rounded, with very short and blunt lobes; peduncles slender, one, to three flowered ; fruit smooth, pleasant flavored. R. lacustre. — Swamp Gooseberry. — Young stems with bristly prickles and weak thorns ; leaves heart-shaped, three to five-pointed, with lobes deeply cut ; fruit bristly. Cold woods and swamps from New England to the West and northward. R. gracile. — Axillary spine very short; leaves on a slender petiole, pubescent on both sides ; the lobes acute, incised and acutely toothed ; peduncles long, one to two flowered. Mountains of Tennessee ; (Chapman in Flora of the Southern States.) There are several other species, or those described as such, but as we have no cultivated varieties of them, it is hardly necessary to give a full description. The following are but a portion of those known : R. oxycanthoides. — Native of Canada and Newfound- land, and to the northward. R, divaricatum* — Branches divaricate, bristly or naked ; berries black, smooth. Native of Northwest coast of America. R. microphyllum. — Small Leaved Gooseberry. — Native of the mountains of Mexico. Flowers red. R. cuneifolium. — Berry pale red, resembles the JR. Vva Crispa. Native of Peru, on the Andes. FOREIGN SPECIES. R, Grossulariat ( Uva Crispa, L.) — Leaves three to five-lobed, rather villous; prickles two or three under each bud ; branches otherwise smooth, spreading or erect ; 216 SMALL FRUIT CTJLTUEIST. berries smooth or covered with prickles, red, green or yel- low. Native of the whole of Northern Europe, and in the woods of Britain. This species is the parent of all the noted varieties of the English gardens. Other species are known, but not possessing merits superior to the above, no attempt has been made to im- prove them. The native species of America are really superior to the R. Grossularia in its normal state. But in England great attention has been paid to the cultivation and improvement of this fruit, consequently varieties of great size, beauty and excellence have been the result. HISTORY. The Gooseberry has no separate history from the Cur- rant. It was, as we have before stated, not known as a cultivated fruit until within the last two or three hundred years. Parkinson, in 1640, mentions eight varieties, but the varieties increased so rapidly in the next hundred years, that Miller, in 1731, said that it was needless to un- dertake to enumerate them. If this was true in the days of Miller, it is certainly so at the present time, because varieties have been constantly increasing ever since, until some of the English nursery- men enumerate three hundred kinds in their catalogues. In this country very little attention has been paid to the Gooseberry, and the list of kinds grown from native species is very small, which is very much to be regretted, inasmuch as the European sorts do not, as a general thing, succeed in America. PROPAGATION. The same methods recommended for the Currant, with one or two exceptions, are equally applicable to the Gooseberry. GOOSEBEBRY. 217 As a general thing, it does not ripen its wood so early in the season as the Currant, and the planting of the cut- tings may be deferred until spring. They are, however, more certain, if made in the fall after the leaves have fallen, or when the young wood is fully mature, than if the operation is deferred until spring. The cuttings may be buried either in the open ground or cellar, being careful not to allow them to become dry and shrivelled or too wet. Growing from seed cannot be too highly recommended at the present time, because we are in great want of varieties suited to our climate, and it is scarcely to be expected that we shall obtain them in any other way than by growing seedlings from our native species. We have plenty of varieties which were produced from the seeds of foreign kinds, but they are neither superior in quality or size, nor any better suited to our climate than the originals. Native varieties from native species is the field in which to labor for making permanent progress, and the general success of the few varieties that have been produced, shows the truth of this assertion. PRUNING AND TRAINING. The single stem system is probably the best one for training the Gooseberry. The fruit is produced on short 8pur,s on the two and three years old wood, as well as on that of the preceding year, and the directions given for the Currant are applicable to the Gooseberry. If but little fruit is desired, and that of large size, then prune close, and leave but few branches, and the opposite course may be followed for a large crop. The Gooseberry should be train- ed with a very open head, more so than the Currant, be- cause if the air does not have free access to every portion of the plant, mildew is almost certain to destroy not only the fruit, but the inside branches, if not the whole plant. 10 218 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. A proper distribution of the branches should be observ- ed, and be so arranged that they shall be at regular dis- tances from each other. Then all little side shoots, that may appear in summer, should be pruned off. The young shoots should be annually shortened, but to what extent will depend somewhat upon the amount of growth the plants have made, as well as upon the quantity and quality of fruit desired. Summer pruning, except to take out small weak shoots or to check the rampant growth of a particular branch which is attracting too much of the strength of the plant, is not beneficial, inasmuch as it of- ten causes young, weak, lateral shoots to be produced, which often fail to come to maturity. The Gooseberry may be trained as espaliers, or with a single stem and side spurs, or in almost any manner that; one's fancy may suggest. The regular annual pruning may be performed at any time after the wood is fully matured in the fall, until the buds swell in the spring. SOIL AND CULTURE. The Gooseberry likes a good, deep, moist soil, but one that is not really wet. A rich soil is also essential, be- cause it is only by keeping up a vigorous growth that large fruit and abundant crops can be secured. An open, airy situation is better than one that is confined, and in many sections of the country the north side of a hill would be far preferable to a southern exposure. The ex- treme heat of our summer has been the greatest impedi- ment to the successful cultivation of the English Goose- berries, and to counteract this, the coolest available situa- tion should be selected. Also, in enriching the ground, use no fermenting manure ; apply none but that which is old and well rotted. Cow manure is far better than horse manure, particularly on light, warm soils. Mulching the plants in summer is very beneficial, and if tan bark or GOOSEBEEKY. 219 spent hops from a brewery can be obtained, they should be used in preference to hay or straw. Good culture is required to produce good crops, the same as with other fruits. MILDEW. — This is the one great enemy to the Goose- berry in the United States. It not only attacks the fruit, but often extends over the whole plant, effectually check- ing its growth. So prevalent has this disease become, that the foreign varieties are almost universally discarded, as there are few locations where they will succeed. There are many remedies which have been from time to time recommended, and they often appear to be effectual, while in other instances they are of no use whatever. The following remedies against mildew are worth try- ing, although they cannot be called radical cures : Scatter flour of sulphur over the bushes soon after the berries have set, and repeat the application occasion- ally until the fruit is ripe. Water the plants with strong soap-suds, or dissolve one pound of potash in a barrel of water, and then sprinkle the plants once a week with it. Soak fresh mown or dry hay in brine for twelve hours ; then cover the entire surface of the soil about the plants with this, as a mulch. If hops, tan bark, or other mulch has previously been applied, then sprinkle it with salt ; a single handful to each plant will be sufficient. All of these remedies will often fail, but still they are worth trying. Old plants are more liable to suffer from mildew than young ones, therefore it is best to keep a supply of fresh plants always on hand; in fact, so long as you can keep the plant growing vigorously, there is but little danger from mildew. I have often seen the foreign varieties doing splendidly in a half shady situation, such as the north side of a wall or fence, or in the shade of trees ; but such a situation 220 feMALL FRUIT v'.ULTUKIST. cannot be recommended as the best, because mildew does destroy plants under just such circumstances. No effec- tual remedy can be given, nor the best location pointed out, because the experiences of different cultivators are so con- flicting, that the one which appears to be the best in one location, would seem to be the very poorest for another. Wherever the foreign kinds will grow without being at- tacked by mildew, they are certainly far preferable to any of our native ones; but my own remedy against mildew is, to cultivate none but the native varieties, for with these I have never experienced the least trouble, nor as yet had a berry affected by disease of any kind. INSECTS. The Gooseberry and Currant are so nearly related, that many of the injurious insects are common to both. The Currant-moth, (Abraxis,) is equally destructive to the Gooseberry, while the Currant-borer seldom, if ever, at- tacks it. Harris, Fitch, and other entomologists, describe quite a number of insects that are occasionally found upon the Gooseberry, but thus far their ravages in this country have not been very extensive. The following are occa- sionally met, and if they should become numerous, would, at the same time, become very injurious: Lecanium Cynosbati.— Gooseberry Bark-louse. — (Fitch.) — Attacking the stalks of the wild Gooseberry; a hemispheric, smooth, shining resin-brown reale, commonly freckled with dull yellow dots, and with a dull yellow stripe along its middle. Remedy, close pruning, and an application of potash dissolved in water ; one pound to eight gallons of water. Paeciloptera pruinosa — Mealy Flata — (Say.) — A small four-winged fly, of a dark bluish color, covered with a mealy white powder, which attacks the leaves late in the season, puncturing the leaves and young shoots, sucking the juices of the plant. GOOSEBERRY. 221 Probably, dusting the plants with ashes or lime would destroy them, or at least prevent their attacks. Cecidomyia Grossulariae — Gooseberry Midge — (Fitch.) — "The berries turning red prematurely and becoming putrid, having in them small, bright yellow maggots, of an oblong-oval form, and slightly divided into segments by fine impressed transverse lines ; changing to pupae in the berries, and in the latter part of July giving out a small two-winged fly, resembling a musquito, of beeswax yellow color." The berries should be gathered so soon as they show signs of premature ripening, and fed to hogs, or otherwise destroyed. Gooseberry-moth. — Mr. E. Graves, Jr., of Ashfield, Mass., reported to the Country Gentleman, in the summer of 1856, that his Houghton Gooseberry was a total failure, in consequence of being attacked by a slender, greenish worm, about one-half inch long. Dr. Fitch mentioned this insect, under the name of a Gooseberry-moth, in his Third Report, 1856, to the N. Y. State Agricultural Soci- ety, but without giving it a scientific name, as he says that he had not as yet obtained it in a perfect state. The worm eats out the center of the berry, leaving only a hol- low shell, attacking the fruit when about half grown. Many other insects might be added to this list, but the foregoing will be sufficient to show that the Gooseberry has enemies as well as other cultivated fruits. PROFITS OF CULTUKE. There is far less demand for the Gooseberry than almost any other of our small fruits. It is generally gathered before it is ripe, and sold for making pies, tarts, etc., con- sequently, the demand for it is not so great as for other fruits, which are used for a greater variety of purposes. In the New York markets, the price varies from one to three, or four dollars per bushel. But whether the de- 222 SMALL FRUIT CTTLTURIST. mand would warrant a very extended culture, is uncertain, at least. Each cultivator will have to be his own judge in the matter, and if he can be sure of obtaining two dollars per bushel, he can make Gooseberry culture profitable, at least with the native varieties. Two to four hundred bushels per acre can be grown of these kinds, and the cost of culture, gathering, marketing, etc., ought not to be over fifty cents per bushel. I have grown the Houghton Seedling, (which I do not consider the best or most profitable,) and sold the fruit for one dollar and fifty cents per bushel, and believe it was a profitable transac- tion. NATIVE VARIETIES. Cluster. — (American Red, Dutch Joe, Pale Red, St. Clair, Roberts' Sweet Water, etc.] — Small, oval, about three-fourths of an inch long; reddish purple; sweet, juicy, and good. Bush, a strong, slender grower; leaves light, bright green ; very productive. Cluster Seedling. — Similar to its parent, but slightly more upright in growth, and the leaves of a pale grayish- green. Downing. — Medium to large, oval, about f of an inch long ; greenish-white ; excellent flavor. Plant, an upright grower ; leaves deep shining green ; very productive ; probably the best native variety. Originated with Charles Downing, New burgh, N. T. Hoilghton's Seedling. — Fruit small to medium, round- ish-oval, pale red, sweet, tender, and very good ; leaves deep shining green. The young plants upright in growth, but as they become old they assume a spreading, almost weeping habit. A vigorous and productive variety, and is seldom affected by mildew. Originated with Abel Houghton, Lynn, Mass. Mountain Seedling. — Large, roundish-oval, pale red ; skin rather tough and thick, but of fair quality. The GOOSEBERRY. 228 largest of the native varieties ; often over an inch in length. Plant a coarse, spreading grower, with very strong spines. Productive and valuable. Originated with the Shakers, at Lebanon, Pa. FOREIGN VARIETIES. To attempt to give a list of the best foreign varieties, would be the hight of folly on my part, inasmuch as there is no dozen or more sorts upon which any two of the most experienced English growers would agree. The number of really first class varieties known in England is almost innumerable, and a host of new ones are brought forward every season. To give some idea of the attention which is paid to the culture of this fruit in England, I will state that the Annual Gooseberry Grow- ers' Register, for 1863, is a volume of over 200 pages, and gives reports of one hundred and fifty-five Gooseberry shows. When the horticulturists of the United States will sup- port as mnny exhibitions for the purpose of showing any one or all the small fruits combined, then we shall have no need of looking to other countries for new varieties. Among the old varieties which have been known in this country for twenty to forty years, and are still esteemed as good as any, I will name the following : RED. — Ironmonger, Warrington, Red Champagne, Red Walnut. GREEN. — Green Walnut, Green Globe, Green Gage, White Smith. YELLOW. — Golden Drop, Sulphur, Conqueror, Yellow Champagne, Hunt's, Tawny, Royal Sovereign. WHITE.— Large Crystal, Royal George, White Dutch, White Walnut. 224 SMALL FRUIT CULTUKIST. Among the very newest and largest varieties which have taken premiums at the great Gooseberry shows in England, I give the following twelve as the heaviest nam- ed in this record : RED. — Leicester's Smoker, Brotherton's Foreman, Pilk- inton's Farmer. GREEN. — Prophet's Diadem, Becket's Bravo, Brother- ton's Birchen Lane. YELLOW. — Wilkinson's Oyster Girl, Eardlay's Hannah. WHITE. — Shingler's Edna, Miss Soars, Walton's Annie. The heaviest berry weighed 29 dwt. 12 grs. ; and the lightest 16 dwt. 2 grs. But to produce berries of the weights given requires extra care, more than probably any of our cultivators would be likely to give to the Gooseberry, even if our climate was as suitable to its culture as that of England. CHAPTER VIII. CORNELIAN CHERRY.— (CORNUS.) NATURAL FAMILY CORNACEJE.— (Dogwood or Cornel.) [Name derived from Cornu, a horn, alluding to the hardness of the wood. In L'rench, CornouiOer ; Dutch, K&rnoelje ; German, Kornd Kirscte ; Italian, Cory- m>lo; Spanish, Oorngo.] GENERAL CHARACTERS. The species constituting this genus are mainly deciduous shrubs or small trees. Flowers small, inconspicuous, but in some species they are surrounded by a large and showy involucre, which is sometimes called the flower, as in one of our native species, ( Cornus floridd]. There is but one known species which produces fruit worthy of our atten- tion. CornilS inascula. — Cornelian Cherry.— Shrubs growing ten to twenty feet high, with smooth branches; leaves oval, acuminate, of a dull green color; flowers small, yel- low, in clusters, produced early in spring, before the leaves ; fruit oblong, about one inch in length and half an inch in diameter ; color bright reddish-scarlet ; flesh firm, slightly juicy when ripe, acid, not particularly agreeable in its raw state ; fruit ripens in September, but remains a long time on the bush, which makes it exceedingly ornamental. 10* 225 226 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. A variety of this species produces fruit of a bright yel- low color. The fruit is a little larger than the red, and not quite so acid. HISTORY. The Cornel, as it is generally called in our older works on gardening, is a native of the South of Europe and Fig. 93.— CORNELIAN CHERRY. Eastern Asia. It is mentioned by nearly all of the ancient writers. Sometimes the frnit is named, while others praise the quality of the wood, which is very hard. That it was formerly used for arrows and javelins, we infer from the COENELlAN CHERRY. 227 frequent allusions made to it in connection with imple- ments of war. Homer, in the Odyssey, Book XIY, says : " His cornel spear, ( Ulysses waved to rouse the savage war." It is also mentioned in a similar connection in Virgil's Georgics. Theophrastus and Pliny are supposed to refer to it when speaking of some of the hard kinds of wood growing wild in Italy. But these writers are generally so vague in their descriptions, that it is difficult to determine what particular trees or plants they were endeavoring to describe. Nearly every English author, from Tusser, who, in his work written in 1557, called them Cornel Plums, down to the present tune, have mentioned the Cornel. Some eulogize the beauty as well as quality of the fruit, while others refer to it as merely an ornamental plant. The name Mascula or Mas was given it from the fact that plants grown from seed produce only staminate or male flowers for the first ten to fifteen years ; afterwards flowers of both sexes appear, followed by fruit. It appears to have derived the name of Dogwood from a wild species found in Britain, which bears a small fruit, not edible. Parkinson says this wild species was called hounds-tree, (dog-berry tree,) because the fruit was not fit for the dogs ; hence the name Dogwood, which has become the common name of the whole genus. The Cornelian Cherry is not very plentiful in the United States, although nearly every nurseryman keeps the plants for sale. The long time which it requires to bring seedling plants into bearing, has been one reason why we see so few in private gardens. In the older nurseries and gardens near our eastern cities, bearing plants are frequently seen, but they are not so common as their merits deserve. The plants live to a great age, and there are specimens in Europe, which are known to have been planted more than two hundred years. 228 SMALL FBurr CULTURIST. PROPAGATION. BY SEEDS. — Plants are more generally grown from seed than otherwise ; consequently, for reasons previously stated, they are a long time coming into bearing. The fruit should be gathered in the fall, and the seeds separated from the pulp; then mixed with earth, and buried where they will keep moist, and not be disturbed until the ensu- ing autumn. They will seldom, if ever, germinate the first season ; consequently there is no use of sowing them where it is desirable to have them grow, and be obliged to cultivate the ground where there are no plants. When the seeds have remained one season in the rot-heap, (to use a gardener's phrase,) take them out and sow in drills, plac- ing the seeds two or three inches apart, and cover two inches deep. The seedlings produce a mass of small fibrous roots, and can be rapidly transplanted in spring or autumn. If bearing plants are at hand, from which buds or grafts can be obtained, then it is better to use the seed- lings as stock. In this case, they should be transplanted from the seed-beds into rows four feet apart, placing the plants about a foot apart in the rows. The seedlings will usually be large enough to work the third year. CUTTINGS. — These should be made of the one year old wood, and in the same manner as described in the preceding chapter for the Barberry. The cuttings do not root very freely, and to insure even moderate success, the ground should be kept very moist during the early part of the season, or until roots are produced. A deep, moist soil is requisite, and if covered with mulch, so much the better. LAYERS. — This is the most common mode of propagat- ing from bearing plants. Put down the layers in early spring, cutting them as usual with woody plants, and they will generally be sufficiently rooted to be removed from the parent plant in autumn. Layers do not usually make as handsome plants, as CORNELIAN CHEERY. 229 lings ; still they are preferable, because they will produce fruit when quite young. BUDDING. — This operation should be performed, in the usual manner, so soon as good, well developed buds are to be obtained from the young wood of the present season's growth. GRAFTING. — This should be done in the spring, just be- fore the leaves start, and upon young stocks, such as seed- lings of two to four years old ; the whip or splice graft is preferable to the wedge. CULTIVATION. There is no particular skill required in cultivating the Cornelian Cherry, as the plant is far from being a delicate one. It will grow in almost any good, garden soil. In England, it is said to prefer a calcareous one, but the larg- est and best plants, with which I am acquainted, are in a compact loam, approaching a clay. An open, but some* what sheltered situation is preferable on account of the plant blooming so very early ; the flowers are often de- stroyed by spring frosts, unless protected, or where there is just sufficient circulation of air to prevent freezing. A strong, direct current of air will often blast the flowers, when the same degree of cold would not injure them if the air was still, or only moved by a gentle breeze. VARIETIES. There are, it is said, other edible varieties besides the two which I have named, but I have no personal knowl- edge of their merits. There is a variegated leaved variety which I have cultivated for several years, but up to the present time it has produced no fruit. USES. — In former times, when better fruit was scarce, Cornels were used for various conserves and to mix with 230 SMALL FRUIT CULTUKIST. apples and pears for making cider. It is doubtful if it will ever become a popular fruit with us, unless better varieties that those we now possess are produced. Its beauty, however, commends it to the attention of every one who possesses a garden. DISEASES AND INSECTS. — None, or so few as not to be worth naming. CHAPTER IX. CRANBERRY.— VACCINIUM. ERICACEAE, or Heath Family. [Vacctnium Oxycoccus, an ancient Latin name of obscure derivation. French name is ffirette ; German, Heidelbeere ; and Mooreberrie. The Sub-family name, Oxycoccw, is derived fromoms, sharp or acid, and kokkus, a berry, in reference to the acid taste of the berries. The name Cranberry is supposed by some authors to have been given it because the fruit stem is crooked like a crane's-bill, while others state that it was because cranes were fond of the fruit.] GENERAL CHARACTERS. Low, trailing, evergreen shrubs, with very slender oranches ; fruit-bearing stems erect ; flower bell-shaped, white, or tinged with red ; berry usually four to five-cell- ed ; seeds numerous. SPECIES. Vaccinium Oxycoccus, — Small Cranberry. — Leaves ovate, acute, with revolute margins; stems very slender; berries very small, spotted when young, becoming red at maturity. Grows in peat bogs in nearly all of the North- ern States, also in Northern Europe. V, macrocarpon. — Common American Cranberry. — Leaves oblong, obtuse, glaucous underneath, with slightly revolute margins. Flower-stems erect ; fruit pale pinkish- 231 SMALL FEUIT CULTURIST. white to deep red, one half to one inch in diameter ; varia- ble in shape, from globular, ovoid, ovate-oblong, bell- shape, etc. V, erythrocarpon, — Bush Cranberry. — Leaves decidu- ous, oblong-ovate, acuminate, bristly serrate ; stems erect, flexible ; two to four feet high ; berry small, red, dry and insipid. High mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. UISTORY. The Cranberry is almost exclusively a northern plant, and was probably not known to the Romans until their conquests in the North. In Northern Europe it has been highly appreciated for centuries, and immense quantities are annually brought into the English markets from Russia and Sweden, in addition to those produced in Britain. The American Cranberry, V. macrocarpon, was intro- duced into England in 1760, and, although acknowledged to be superior to the common European species, still we have no accounts of its being cultivated there to any con- siderable extent. The first settlers in America found the Cranberry in such abundance that there was no necessity for cultivat- ing it, until the population became so numerous that the natural supply would not equal the demand. This point was reached about thirty years ago, at which time nu- merous experiments in its cultivation commenced at Cape Cod, and in a few other places. Previous to this time, however, an occasional plot had been cultivated. Kenrick, in the New American Orchard- ist, 1832, says : Capt. Henry Hall, of Barnstable, Mass., has cultivated the Cranberry for twenty years. In v the New England Farmer, Vol. IX, No. 18, is an account of a Mr. F. A. Hayden, of Lincoln, Mass., who, in 1830, sold from his farm 400 bushels of Cranberries for six hundred dollars. From these and a few other recorded instances CRAISTBERRY. 233 of Cranberry culture, we infer that there were very few who attempted its cultivation previous to 1835 or 1840. Since that time there has been a steady increase, until, at the present time, thousands of acres are devoted to the culture of this fruit. Not only have individuals turned their attention to it, but companies have been formed with abundant means to cultivate the Cranberry upon an extensive scale. In addition to the benefit derived from having our mar- kets supplied with the fruit, its culture is a source of na- tional wealth, inasmuch as the land devoted to it was previously uncultivated, neither enriching individuals by its productions, nor yielding taxes to the State. Many of our low, boggy wastes, which .formerly were sources of miasmatic diseases, have been changed into healthful locations and fruitful fields. PROPAGATION. To propagate some of our cultivated fruits successfully, requires more or less skill, but the Cranberry may be said to propagate itself. The plant, as it creeps along over the ground, throws out innumerable roots, fixing every por- tion of the prostrate stems to the soil. If these branches do not root as soon as desired, a little earth thrown over them will hasten the process. The plants may be taken up and planted whole, or be divided into small pieces, each of which will soon become a strong plant. Even the upright stems may be used for cuttings, and when planted in the spring, they will become rooted by the next fall. The small green tips of the growing branches may be taken off in summer, and rooted under a bell-glass, or in ordinary glazed frames. Cultivators seldom have recourse to seeds for extending their plantations, but they may be planted for the purpose of producing new varieties as well as multiplying old 234 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. ones. The seeds should be prepared and kept through the winter in the same manner as recommended for the Huckleberry in a suceeeding chapter. , Sow them in drills and keep free of weeds, either by ' hoeing or mulching with saw-dust, or tan-bark, if grown on dry soils, but if on low grounds, use sand instead. Transplant into fruiting-beds when one or two years old. PREPARATION OF SOIL. Naturally, the common Cranberry is a semi-aquatic plant, requiring a constant supply of water to ensure its highest state of perfection. It is usually found in low peat bogs, where it is often entirely submerged in the winter months, and the roots are in contact with water during a greater portion of the year. While this is the condition in which we usually find the wild plants, yet, occasionally, they are found upon high and dry soils. Judging, however, from the position in which we find the greatest quantities, we conclude that a wet soil is the most natural one. If we leave the normal con- dition of the plant out of the question, and base our con- clusions entirely upon the results of the many experiments which have been made in the last thirty years, we find that their cultivation in wet soils has been attended with the best success and the most remunerative results. It is not to be assumed that they cannot be grown upon soils that are naturally dry, for we have many instances of suc- cess under such circumstances, but, as a whole, the upland cultivation has not been equally profitable with the low land. It is not altogether for the purpose of supplying the plants with moisture that abundance of water is re- quired, but for other purposes, among which are the fol- lowing : First. — Covering the plants in winter, thereby affording a protection from severe cold. CRANBERRY. Second. — Preventing the frost in spring from injuring the flowers. Third. — Destroying the Cranberry-worms, which some- times attack the plants and fruit. Assuming that these precautionary measures are neces- sary to the best results, it follows that a situation should be selected where the conditions named can be secured. Another important material, used in preparing Cran- berry beds, is sand, which is spread over the surface of the soil. This not only in a great measure prevents the weeds from growing until the plants have entirely covered the beds, but keeps the fruit clean, besides making the surface always open and friable. Sometimes the low peat beds are so rich in nutritive matter, unless sand is used, that the vines would grow so luxuriant that they would be unpro- ductive. In fact, very little alluvial soil is needed, and when the deposit is a foot in depth, it will be fully equal, if not supe- rior, to a situation where it is more abundant. In some sections, they are grown in what appears to be almost pure sand, there being scarcely a trace of nutritive matter to be found, the water and the materials held in solution therein, furnishing the principal portions of food to the plants. The first step in preparing a Cranberry bed is usually that of digging a broad, deep ditch entirely around the plot, for the purpose of draining off the surface water, so that the ground may be cleaned. If the soil thrown out of the ditches is sufficiently compact, it may form the em- bankments ; if not, then other soil must be added. When the water has been removed, then clear off all trees, logs, brush, and other incumbrances ; these may be burned on the ground, and the ashes scattered over the surface, pro- vided it can be done without endangering the soil. Some- times, when the soil is very dry, there is danger of its burn- 236 SMALL PEUIT CULTUKIST. ing to considerable depth. Some cultivators remove all of the surface soil to the depth of six inches or a foot, and, in some cases, it may be beneficial for the purpose of bringing the whole bed to a lower grade, but where this is not re- quisite, and sand is abundant, it is cheaper to spread on a greater depth of sand and leave the whole depth of nat- ural soil. Again, if the peat is deep enough so that a portion can be spared, it should be carted off for manuring the adja- cent land, especially if it is of a sandy nature, for there is no more valuable manure, (barn-yard excepted,) than the top layer of these peat or muck swamps. It is always better to prepare the ground at least one season before planting, so that all weeds, brush, and roots, may be thor- oughly destroyed; because if it is not done at the start, it will be a difficult operation after the ground is covered with plants. Where the soil is sufficiently firm to admit of being plowed and harrowed, it is best to do so, as by this means a more thorough preparation can be obtained, and at less expense than when wholly performed by hand. When the soil has been made level, and otherwise prepared, it should be covered with pure sand to the depth of from four to eight inches, the depth being regulated by the nature of the soil ; if it is very loose, then apply more than when comparatively compact, as more or less will sink into the soil below. A uniform depth is quite important, and can easily be obtained, provided the surface is made level before its application. The position and texture of the soil will suggest the best mode of application, whether by teams or otherwise. There are many locations where these peat-beds are un- derlaid with sand, and if the soil is not over one or two feet deep, and can be sufficiently drained to allow of their being conveniently worked, they may be trenched, bring- CRANBERRY. 237 ing the required amount of sand to the surface, instead of hauling it from a distance. The sand should be pure, and not mixed with clay, loam, or other soil. All of these cir- cumstances should be taken into consideration when select- ing a location for Cranberry plantations. Often one set of embankments, flood-gates, etc., will an- swer for several parties, if they can agree and join together in the undertaking. The size of the bed is immaterial; it may be one acre or one hundred, provided it can be made level, so that one portion shall not be covered deeper than another, when flooded. The embankments should be at least four feet high when first made, for they will settle some ; besides, it is best to have them a foot or more above high water mark, to guard against breaks. If one is in no hurry about planting, and is disposed to wait, the embankments may be formed and the ground flooded, and kept in this condition until the weeds, bushes, etc., upon it, are killed, after which the water may be withdrawn, and the preparation of the bed continued as be- fore directed. COST OF PREPARING THE BEDS. There can be no reliable estimates given as regards cost of preparing Cranberry beds, inasmuch as no two will be situated exactly alike. It will cost as much to remove the brush, trees, and logs, etc., from one piece of land, as to fully prepare another for the reception of the plants. The estimates vary from one hundred to six bundled dollars per acre. A thorough preparation will always be found to be the cheapest in the end. PLANTING. The usual time of setting the plants is in the spring, but where the beds can be kept moist, the operation may be continued during the entire summer. Sometimes the plants 238 SMA.LL FRUIT CULTUEIST. are put out late in the fall, and covered with a sufficient depth of water to prevent the ground from freezing and throwing out the plants. The spring and early summer are, however, considered the best tune for planting. The plants should be set in rows, from eighteen inches to four feet apart, according to the quantity and quality of plants obtained. The object is to cover the entire surface of the soil with vines, so soon as possible ; consequently, the bet- ter the plants and the nearer together they are placed, the sooner will this be accomplished. When large plants are to be had, and in sufficient quantities, it is better to place them about two feet apart, each way, than farther, and if the plants do well, they will entirely cover the beds the second season. Most of our larger plantations are made with plants taken directly from the wild beds, and they are removed in large clumps or sods. If there are any weeds or grass among the plants, they should be removed before planting, as they are more readily separated from them at this time than after they are planted. Small holes are made in which the plants are set, and the soil is then pressed firmly about them. If small plants or cuttings are used, they may be planted nearer together than larger ones. SELECTION OF PLANTS. It is important that plants should be obtained from fruitful beds, as well as those which produce the largest and best fruit. There are occasional wild beds that pro- duce little or no fruit; these should be avoided. When plants cannot be obtained near by, from wild or cultivated beds, then they may be bought from those whose business is growing plants for sale. But the purchaser should en- deavor to inform himself in regard to the reliability of plant growers before ordering ; besides he should give im- perative directions that the plants should be carefully taken up and not be allowed to become dry before packing, as CRANBERRY. 230 well as that the latter operation should be performed in the best manner. A very little extra expense in packing, or in procuring plants of the best quality, will often be re- paid a hundred fold in the first crop. Cranberry planta- tions are expected to be a permanent investment which shall give annual returns for a lifetime ; it therefore be- comes very important that every precaution should be taken to make it as perfect as possible. CULTIVATION. For the first two or three seasons the beds should be carefully cultivated, and no weeds or sprouts from brush- roots be permitted to grow. The amount of labor requir- ed is usually far less than with ordinary farm crops, still a constant attention is necessary, so that the plants shall have the full benefit of the entire soil, and not be obliged to combat with weeds, grass, or other impediments. When the plants have gained possession of the whole surface, there will be very little cultivation required. An occa- sional sprout or clump of grass may appear, which it will be necessary to remove. APPLYING WATER. The water should be let on to the beds at the approach of cold weather, not until the ground begins to freeze, but before it has become frozen hard. The time will vary in different locations, and the cultivator must apply it ac- cording to circumstances, and not be guided by set rules as to time. The beds should be covered, so that the water will be deep enough to prevent freezing the plants. At the North, it should be at least two feet deep, while south of tbe latitude of New York, one foot will ordinarily answer. It should remain upon the beds until the cold weather is past in the spring, when it should be drawn off, leaving it about two inches deep over the surface, until all danger of frost is past. 240 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. Where late spring frosts are known to be frequent and severe, it is best to keep on the full depth of water until there is no longer any risk. The longer the water is kept on, the later will the plants bloom. In some locations the plants are covered for about four or five months in winter, while in others, t\vo or three will be sufficient. There is no danger of the plants being injured by the water so long as it remains cool, and the later it. is kept on, the less the danger of spring frosts injuring the flowers. Sometimes it is beneficial to flow the beds in sum HUT at time of drouth, but in such cases it is only necessary to apply sufficient to give the soil a good soaking. If tin- water is admitted into the ditches which surround the beds, (if they are not too large,) it will be sufficient to prevent injury from drouth. <; ATIIERING. Formerly the berries were gathered with an instrument called a Cranberry rake, but of late years this method has been almost entirely abandoned, and hand picking has taken its place. When gathered by hand, the fruit is not apt to be crushed, besides a far less amount of dirt ami leaves are mixed with them ; consequently hand-picked fruit will bring a much higher price than any other. Various kinds of baskets, crates, hurdles, &c., are used in gathering the fruit; the main object being to allow all foreign materials, gathered with it, to fall through when being carried in the field, or when spread out to dry. All unsound berries should be carefully picked out before the fruit is packed for market. VARIETIES. Like other fruits, the Cranberry varies considerably in its wild state ; besides, when cultivated, new variations are constantly occurring. All the var'u -ties in cultivation at CRANBERRY. 241 Fi<_r. 4. — CM KIM: Y CKAMSKUUY. the present time in this country, belong to one species, the V. tnacrocarpon. These vary in size, from a half inch up to an inch or over in diameter. Figure 94 shows a variety usually called the Cherry Cranberry, and figure 95, one of the largest of the Bell variety. Figure 96 illustrates the Bell form, and in figure 97 we give an exnct representation of some remarkably fine specimens, raised by Mr. Orrin C. Cook, of South Milford, Mass. There are many other shapes intermediate between these, but we have given the principal ones. In color, tiit. varieties vary from a greenish-yellow or white to dark, rich purple. New varieties are being pro- duced, and, doubtless, in a few years, great improvements will be made in the size, if not in the quality, of the Cran- berry. INSECTS. There appear to be two kinds of worms which infest the Cranberry. One of these attacks the young fruit, and the other the plants. The first is described as a small Fig. 95. — BUGLE CRANBERRY. worm about half an inch in length, with a black head; the other is about the same length, with a red head. Although it is said that these worms are very aestruc- 242 SMALL FRUIT CULTUB1ST. tive in some sections of the country, there appears to be no definite information as to their origin, period of life, or what kind of insect produces the eggs >^^ from which they are hatched. These / worms are more destructive in beds that J[| are not flooded than elsewhere. When- 4jf ever the plants and fruit are attacked, the JR A water should be let on to the beds and allowed to remain for six to twenty-four hours ; this would doubtless destroy the worms without materially injuring the plants. The ravages of the Cranberry worms have not been very extensive, nor very wide spread, and, although I have visit- ed many hundreds of acres of Cranberry beds, I have not as yet seen one of these worms ; neither have I been able to find a description of them, or their scientific names, in any work on entomology. It is to be hoped that for the Fig. 96.— BELL CRANBERRY. Fig. 97. — LARGE CRANBERRY. sake of science, some one who has an opportunity will investigate this subject, and give us the results. UPLAND CULTURE. Although the cultivation of the Cranberry upon dry up- land cannot be recommended as equal to lowland cultiva- CRANBERRY. 243 tion, still it possesses so much that is interesting and advan- tageous that it deserves the attention of those who have no other means of growing them. Even a partial success will very often be highly remunerative, besides affording much pleasure to the cultivator. There are but few gardens or soils where the experiment is not worth trying on a small scale, even if it is not suc- cessful, because the expense is so slight that a total failure would be no great loss of capital. A light sandy or loamy soil, one that is naturally moist, should be selected, if convenient, and prepared as thor- oughly as for a vegetable garden. If swamp-mud or peat can be had, it is well to give a liberal dressing, mixing it with the soil ; rake all level, and then plant in rows about two feet apart, and one foot apart in the rows. Hoe the plants as long as it can be conveniently done without disturbing them, after which no cultivation is re- quired, except to pull out large weeds or grass that may occasionally appear. If saw-dust can be had, it should be applied as a mulch, scattering a light dressing in among the plants ; this will keep the soil moist and assist in keeping the weeds down. A small plot of three or four rods square will, if they suc- ceed, be sufficient to supply an ordinary family. In addition to the value of the fruit, the Cranberry is an exceedingly ornamental plant at all times of the season, whether in fruit or flower. The variety known as the Bell Cranberry is generally planted on upland, but it is proba- ble that others, with proper care, will succeed equally as well. There are a few cultivators in the vicinity of New York who grow all of the improved varieties on upland, and claim that they are very successful with them. Judging from the fruit that has been shown by these gen- tlemen at our horticultural fairs, the berries grow to as large a size, if not in such large quantities, on upland as upon the low. By obtaining seeds from these upland beds, and 244 SMALL FKUIT OULTURIST. by producing new varieties therefrom, plants may be ob- tained that 'will be better adapted to dry soils than any previously known. It is certainly worthy of trial, and I would advise all who have leisure and inclination to try the experiment fully and thoroughly. PROFITS OF CULTURE. The profits of Cranberry culture, like those from other fruits, depend somewhat upon the amount of care given the beds as well as upon the markets. There is also a lia- bility of failure from unforeseen causes ; still the Cranberry may be considered as certain as any other fruit. To make anything like a fair estimate in regard to profits, we are obliged to select from the reports of the various growers throughout the country, and draw our conclusions there- from. But in many instances these are so vague that we can only approximate to the truth. I have inserted a few of such as I deem reliable, omitting those which appear to be too far above the average : Mr. Edmund Bagley, of Massachusetts, reports in the Journal of Commerce : cost of land, $12 per acre ; clean- ing, $100 ; vines and setting, $50 ; cultivation. $10 per year. The fourth year, average crop, 300 bushels per acre ; worth $2.50 per bushel. F. Trowbridge, New Haven, Conn., considers the usual average about 175 to 200 bushels per acre. Mr. Sullivan Bates says, that on beds that have been carefully prepared, the yield will be from 150 to 400 bush- els per acre. J. H. Baker, of Westport, Mass., reports the average crop about 175 bushels. Trowbridge and Davis, of Ocean County, N. J., report 10 acres in bearing ; crop 1,100 bushels ; although the beds were new, and have not arrived at an age at which a full crop could be expected. CRANBERRY. 245 At Shamong, N. J., a small bed is reported to have yielded 220 bushels per acre. W. R. Braddock, of Bedford, N". J., has 100 acres; 20 acres of which yielded, last season, 1866, an average of 100 bushels per acre. The fruit sold for a price which left him $6,000 over and above all expenses. The above statements are about a fair average of the various reports received from the proprietors of Cranberry beds in the Eastern States. The price of the fruit varies from $2.00 to $6.00 per bushel. It is probable that when the immense beds, which are now being planted, have ar- rived at full maturity, our markets will be fully supplied, unless some new way of disposing of the fruit is dis- covered, which it is very likely will be the case. CHAPTER X. HUCKLEBERRY.— (FAMILY ERICACEA) Huckleberries were formerly all included under the genus Vaccinium, but botanists now separate them into the genera, Gaylussacia and Vaccinium. In general appearance they resemble one another, being branching shrubs, with bell-shaped or urn-shaped corollas and 2- parted anthers. The fruit is a 10 to many seeded berry. The Gaylussacias differ from the Vacciniums in having only one seed in each cell of the fruit, and their foliage is often sprinkled with resinous dots. For our purposes it is convenient to consider them all under one head. The species best known in the United States as produc- ing edible fruit, are chiefly deciduous shrubs of medium size, blooming in May and June, and ripening their fruit from July to September. SPECIES. The number of species of Huckleberry is quite large, and I shall only name a few of the best. Gaylussacia frondosa. — Blue Danglebeny. — Leaves obovate, oblong, pale glaucous beneath ; branches slender, smooth. Fruit dark blue, covered with white bloom, sweet HUCKLEBERRY. 247 and edible. Bush grows three to six feet high. Found from New England to Virginia in low grounds. G. resinosa* — Black Huckleberry. — Leaves oval or ob- long, clammy when young ; plants quite branching, the young shoots pubescent ; fruit black without bloom, with an agreeable flavor ; bush, two to three feet high. Com mon in swamps and low grounds at the North. Vacc in him I'mnsyl vaiiinun. — Dwarf Blueberry. — Leaves oblong, sometimes lanceolate, smooth and shining ; branches green, somewhat angled, occasionally warty; bush one to three feet, very prolific ; berries blue, ripening early. The fruit of this species is highly prized on account of its earliness, but it is not so agreeable in flavor as some others. Abundant in dry, sandy seasons, from Maryland northward. V. Canadcnsc* — Canada Blueberry. — Leaves more or less downy, common in low grounds ; otherwise similar to the preceding species. V. COrymbOSlim. — Swamp Blueberry, or High-bush Huckleberry. — Leaves oval or oblong, variable in size and color. Shrubs four to ten feet high, common in low, wet places. Fruit black, covered with bloom, sweet but sprightly ; the best Huckleberry ; ripens late in the season, August and September. Fig. 98 shows a small branch, with bunch of fruit of natu- ral size. This species assumes various forms and colors; some- times the fruit is oval, approaching an oblong, while others are globular or slightly compressed. The Black High-bush Huckleberry, as it is generally called, is quite distinct, the fruit being destitute of bloom and of inferior flavor. It is distinguished by the riame of V. corymbosum, var. atrococ- cum, by Dr. Gray. There are many other species and varie- ties growing wild all over the country. There are also foreign species, but none of them superior to those named. I do not think it necessary to enter into any minute details 248 SMALL FRUIT CULTUKIST. Fig. 98.— SWAMP HUCKLEBERRY. HUCKLEBERRY. 249 of the history or cultivation of this fruit, from the fact that there is nothing connected therewith which would make the subject interesting. The Huckleberry is one of those fruits which have always been neglected ; none of our horti- cultural writers have deemed it worthy of any particular description, and but very few have thought it worthy of mention. Why this neglect, I am at loss to understand, for the Huckleberry possesses naturally better qualities than even the Currant and Gooseberry. All of our northern species are perfectly hardy, produc- ing no thorns, (which is such a disagreeable feature with many of our small fruits,) and the plants are generally quite productive. The berries are more firm than the Raspberry, Black- berry, or Strawberry; consequently, will bear carriage well, and are suitable for market. Thousands of bushels are annually gathered from the woods and fields, but these sources of supply will not al- ways be available ; besides, we should not be content with depending wholly upon nature for either the necessaries or the luxuries of life, while a helping hand would not only increase the quantity, but improve the quality. Those species, which naturally grow upon high, dry soils, will probably be the best for garden culture ; still, be- cause a plant is found in its wild state in any particular soil or situation, it does not follow that similar circum- stances are always necessary for its best development when under cultivation. If nature invariably located plants un- der the most favorable conditions for growth, then improve- ments would be less certain and far more difficult than now. The history of horticulture affords abundant testi- mony to the fact that many plants succeed far better in soils and locations differing very materially from the one in which nature has placed them, than otherwise. The Swamp Huckleberry, ( V. corymbosumj) is some- 11* 250 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. times found upon high, dry soils, although it grows chiefly in locations where the roots are immersed in water for the greater portion of the year. That it will grow and pro- duce fruit upon high and dry soils, I have proved by ex- periment. There is no great difficulty in removing the plants from their native locality to the garden, but our main depend- ence for improvement should be upon seedlings, because they will always vary more or less from the parent, and by carefully selecting the best improvements, are certain. The seeds are quite small, and require considerable care in sow- ing. A good plan is, to crush the berries, and mix them with fine sand ; then put them in a box or flower-pot, and bury in the open ground until spring. Prepare a seed-bed, the soil of which should be, at least, half leaf-mould, or peat, from a swamp ; the remainder may be any good garden soil. Surround the bed with boards, a foot or more in width, mix the soil thoroughly and rake level, then sow on the sand containing the seeds ; then sift over this soil suf- ficient to cover the seeds, about a quarter of an inch deep, give a good soaking of water and place a screen over the frame. It may be made of lath, coarse cloth, or anything that will partially shade the plants when they come up, but not wholly exclude the light. Keep the soil well wa- tered, applying the water with a watering-pot, or in such a manner that the seeds or plants will not be disturbed. The seedlings may be transplanted when one year old, if they have made a good growth, or remain in the seed-bed for two years. They will usually come into bearing in three to six years, at which time the best should be marked, so that they may be propagated. The inferior kinds may be thrown away, or be reserved for stocks, on which to work the others. Budding and grafting may be employed in propagation, as well as layers, the operation being per- formed in the usual manner. CHAPTER XL SHEPHERDIA. FAMILY [Named in honor of John Shepherd, formerly curator of the Liverpool Botanic Garden.] GENERAL CHARACTERS. Deciduous shrubs, or small trees, with silvery leaved ; flowers dioecious, the sterile ones, (fig. 99,) having a four- parted calyx, and eight sta- mens ; the fertile flowers, (fig. 100,) have an urn-shaped ca- lyx, enclosing the ovary which becomes a berry-like fruit. Leaves opposite, entire, de- ciduous; the flowers very small, yellow, borne in the ._ axils of the small branches. A very small family of plants, and there is but one species of this genus that is worthy of being cultivated for its fruit, Shepherdia argentea, — Buffalo Berry ; Rabbit Berry ; Grosse de Buffle, of the French ; Hippophce argentea, of Pursh. — Leaves oblong, silvery-white on both sides ; 251 Fig. 99. Fig. 100. 252 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. branches rusty dull white, with many small thorn-like branchlets ; fruit round, dull red, sprightly acid, agreea- ble, borne in very compact clusters in the axils of the small branches, as shown in figure 101. Ripens its fruit in early autumn, or late in summer. Found on the banks of the upper Missouri, and other large rivers of the Northwest. It is seldom seen in cul- tivation, but it is really deserving of a place in every gar- den. The plant is quite ornamental, in addition to its edi- ble fruit, which is produced abundantly. The plant is very hardy, and grows quite readily in almost any good soil. The Shepherdia, being dioecious, it is therefore necessary to plant one of each sex to obtain fruit; consequently, those who may have occasion to send to the nurseries for plants, shouljl be careful to order at least one of each kind, although if several are to be planted in a group, one sta- minate plant will be sufficient to fertilize a half dozen or more pistillate plants. At the present time, the Shepherdia is not grown as a market fruit, but the time may come when we shall see it in our markets, and it is more than probable that new and improved varieties will be produced by some of our enter- prising fruit growers. The thorn-like character of its small branchlets makes it a suitable plant for ornamental hedges, and very probably it would be equally serviceable as the Buck-thorn and other similar plants, for turning cattle. It is well worthy of trial, and up to the present time I am not aware that it has been subject to disease, or attacked by any insect. PROPAGATION. Gather the berries when ripe, crush the pulp, and wash out the seeds ; then sow them, or preserve in sand, until the ensuing spring. The best method is, to sow the seeds in drills soon after they are gathered, covering an inch or two deep. Transplant when one year old into KIIEPITERBIA. 253 101. — FUUIT OF SHEPIIERDIA. 254 SMALL FRUIT CULTTTKIST. nursery rows, placing the plants a foot apart in the row, and the rows four feet apart. They will usually bloom the third year from seed, at which time every plant should be examined, and a label attached to each with the word staminate or pistillate, as the case may be, written upon each; common wooden labels, such as used by nurserymen, freshly painted at the time, will remain legible for two or three years. If it is more convenient to have the plants separated than to keep each one labeled, then they may be taken up after the sexes are determined, and each kind placed in a row by itself. The Shepherdias produce very few suckers, but when any appear, they may be taken off and planted separately. Layers root very readily, and plants may be produced in this manner quite rapidly. It is quite probable that ripe wood cuttings will grow the same as the Currant, but I have never had occasion to try this mode of propagation, because they grow so readily from seed that I have practiced this method in preference to others. Besides, there is always a chance, when grow- ing any kind of fruit from seed, of producing something better than the original, consequently, the very uncertainty becomes fascinating to the true lover of horticulture, and the hope of the thing lightens the otherwise irksomeness of the task. There is another species of Shepherdia found in the Northein States, the fruit of which is very insipid. I copy the description from Gray's Manual of Botany : Shepherdia CanadensiS. — Canadian Shepherdia. - "Leaves elliptical or ovate, nearly naked and green above, silvery-downy, and scurfy with rusty scales under- neath ; fruit yellowish-red ; rocky or gravelly banks ; Ver- mont to Wisconsin, and northward. A straggling shrub, three to six feet high ; the branchlets, young leaves, yel- lowish flowers etc., covered with the rusty scales. Fruit insipid." CHAPTER XII. PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT. To grow a crop of fruit is but the initial step towards the successful termination of the enterprise. If the fruit is to be sent to market, then crates, baskets, etc., are necessary for gathering and transporting, all of which should be provided in advance of the ripening of the crop. The number of baskets required per acre can- not be given, inasmuch as the product will not be the same in any two seasons, but it is always best to provide enough, for if the supply should fall short in the busy part of the season, it might cause considerable loss. We will suppose that a grower expects to send a thous- and baskets per day to market, during the season, of any particular kind of small fruit, and if he sends them by railroad or steamboat, to a distance of twenty miles or more, he must not expect to have any baskets or crates returned in less time than six to ten days after the time of the first shipment, unless he has better success than usual with fruit growers in this vicinity ; consequently he will have to provide six to ten thousand baskets to en- able him continue gathering. Sometimes, owing to the negligence of the commission merchant, no baskets will be returned for two or three 255 256 SMALL FRUIT CTJLTURIST. weeks, and a very large extra supply of baskets will be necessary to prevent a corresponding loss. Ten thousand baskets, with a corresponding number of crates, should be provided, if a thousand baskets are to be picked per day. To the inexperienced in these matters, this may seem to be an unnecessary outlay, but fruit growers in the East- ern States, at least, have learned that a little, or consider- able, extra capital invested in baskets will quite often insure them against great losses. Any one who has ever looked through the New York markets, soon after the close of the Strawberry season, must have noticed thousands of baskets and crates lying around loose, or being piled up in the streets, where the boys make bonfires of them at night, and thus the prop- erty of the fruit grower is often destroyed through the willful neglect of those to whom the fruit was consigned. Many remedies have been tried to prevent this waste, but none have been entirely successful, unless it be that of sending very cheap baskets and crates, which it is not expected will be returned. Many fruit growers are adopt- ing this give away system, and under some circumstances it is probably the best, but under others it is doubtful if it is the most profitable in the end. An attractive exterior is a good passport, even in the fruit line, and I know of many instances where fruit put up in handsome baskets, and enclosed in extra finished crates, has sold for almost double the price of that sent to market in an inferior style of crate and basket. I will give one instance which came under my notice the past season : A young man, formerly in my employ, commenced sending Blackberries to the New York mar- ket the past season, (1866,) for the first time, and wishing to have his fruit make a good appearance, he purchased quart baskets of as handsome style as he could find. They cost him $30.00 per 1,000. He made his own crates, PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT 257 which cost about $2.00 each for those holding sixty quarts. The crates were very neatly finished, and well painted, with his name and address put on with stencil plate. When he received his returns for the fruit, he found that it had brought seven cents per quart more than that of his neighbors, although of no better quality. The com- mission merchant, to whom the fruit was consigned, sent a note along with the money, stating that the extra price was owing entirely to the neat appearance of his baskets and crates. Thus it can be seen that he received $4.20 per crate more than his neighbors, merely for the good look of the vessels in which the fruit was sent to market, and if neither crate or basket had been returned, he would then have gained sixty cents per crate ; but the fact Avas that scarce- ly a basket was lost, because they were considered by pur- chasers of the fruit as worth returning, while the contrary is often the case with inferior kinds. Crates and baskets are in some cases returned free by the railroad and steamboat companies, unless the distance to market is too great ; under such circumstances it is best not to expect it, but ship the fruit in cheap b'askets, unless it will bring enough more, as in the instance named, to pay for packing in a better style. The most common basket used for the New York mar- ket is what is called the Jersey Strawberry basket, figure 102 ; it requires from five to seven to hold a quart. Of late years this basket is seldom used, except for the smaller Fig. 102. — JERSEY BASKET. 258 SMALL PKUIT CTTLTTJBIST. varieties of the Strawberry. They are usually made by the fruit growers themselves in winter, but sometimes they are made for sale, and the price varies from $10 to $15 per 1,000. A half dozen of the larger varieties of Strawberries will fill one of these Jersey baskets. The Raspberry baskets formerly used in New York State, were mainly of this style, but a little larger ; other kinds of baskets are now rapidly coming into use, and it is to be hoped that our small fruits will soon be sold by measure, and not by the basket, regardless of its size, whether it be the size of a thimble, or will hold a half pint or pint, as formerly. Baskets or boxes holding a pint or quart, full measure, are most in vogue at the present time, and new patterns are constantly being brought forward, each claiming to be an improvement upon its immediate predecessor. With most of the small fruits ventilation is requisite to preservation for even a very short time, and this very e&> sential point has not been lost sight of by the manufac- turers of most of the new boxes or baskets now before the public. When fruit is only to be transported a short distance, and will reach the consumer within twelve or fifteen hours after being gathered, ventilation, farther than that which it will receive through an open crate, is not very import- ant, or scarcely necessary. The idea of ventilation applied to baskets or boxes is a good one, particularly for some kinds of fruit, but there is no necessity of carrying it to extremes, so that the vessels made for holding fruit are scarcely more than fragile wooden nets. The following are some of the most popular baskets now in use at the East. All are patented : American Basket* This, basket is manufactured by the American Basket PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT. 259 Fig. 103. AMERICAN BASKET. Company, New Britain, Conn. They are made of two sizes, quarts and pints, and of the form shown in figure 103. They are very strong, of neat appear- ance, and one of the best baskets with which I am acquainted. Those who prefer to make their own crates can purchase the baskets separately, and their pe- culiar form admits of their be- ing very compactly nested for transportation, as shown in figure 104. The manufacturers also fur- nish crates to those who de- sire them. A 32 quart crate is shown in figure 105, each one being furnished with lock attached with a small chain. The fruit grower keeps a key to lock the crate, and the one to whom the fruit is con- signed, has a duplicate, with which to open it when re- ceived. Price of the above baskets is at present as follows Quart berry baskets Pint berry baskets 32 quart crate 60 quart crate When the baskets are sent nested, as shown, $2.00 per 1,000 is charged for the boxes in which they are packed. Hallock Fruit Box. A square box, figure 106, made of thin, light wood, with holes bored in the sides for ventilation, as shown. The Fig. 104. — STOCK OF BASKET. $30 per 1,000 - $35 per 1,000 - $2.00 $2.50 260 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. bottom is set within the sides, and about three-fourths of Fig. 105.— CRATE OF AMERICAN BASKETS. an inch above the lower edge, so that when one box is set in the crate above the other, there will be a small space between the fruit of the lower one and the bottom of the one above. This also admits of each box being filled a little more than even full, and still the fruit will not be crushed by the one above it. These boxes are used in large quantities at the West, also considerably in some portions of the East. Some fruit growers object to any box or basket with perpendic- ular sides, because the fruit will settle more in carrying than when the sides slope, as in the American basket. There are advantages in both forms, also disadvantages. A square box, with perpendicular sides, packs and remains more firmly in its place than any other, but ventilation through the sides cannot be obtained, and the fruit will certainly crush more readily than in boxes with sloping sides. The price of the Hallock box I am unable to give, as te. 10t;.— HALLOCK FRUIT BOX. PREPARATION FOB GATHERING FEUIT. 261 the inventor failed to furnish the information when send- ing his specimen. Manufactured by N. Hallock, Queens, Queens County^ 1ST. Y. Free Fruit I*ox. Figure 107. As its name implies, this box is intended to be given away with the fruit. This will be quite convenient for those who forget to take a basket with tli em in the morning when going to business, and thereby have a very plausible excuse for not bringing home some fruit for tea. The manufacturer, in his circular, thus describes this box : Fig. 107.— FREE FRUIT BOX. " This box was invented for the purpose of relieving fruit growers of one of the most annoying incidents of sending their fruit a long distance to market — the neces- sity of having their crates and boxes re- turned to them. It supplies a want which has always existed in the berry trade, and will be sold so cheap that it can be given away with the fruit. In appearance, it is remarkably neat, light, but substantial, while the fruit will always go to market in a perfectly clean box. Though given away, it will save the grower money. Fi;r. 108. — SIDE OF FKUIT BOX. 262 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. enable him to get a better price for his fruit, and put an end to the annual loss of boxes, besides saving him the necessity of keeping a vast quantity of the boxes and crates on hand to provide for the delay of returning them. The box is composed of two pieces of veneer. Figure 108 represents a piece which is folded up into four sides of the box. It is scored or cut at the dotted lines, so that it can be folded up into a shell as readily as a piece of paste- board. The tongue at the left hand end, buckles into the two slots at the right hand end, just like closing a poeke; book. A notch on the end of the tongue catches so effec- tually, after being buckled in, as to hold the shell firmly together. The bottom is shown in figure 109. The two tongues at the end are also scored or cut at the dotted lines, and be- ing readily turned up, are buckled into the two sets of slots shown on the left hand '. edge of figure j 108. When thus / buckled togeth- er, the two pieces form a perfect Fig. 109.— BOTTOM OF BOX. box, US SCCU in figure 107, neither nails nor glue being required, and the whole constituting a strong and beautiful box. The bottom cannot fall out, as it is held firmly in its place by the spring of the wood. The prominent advantages se- cured by the use of this box are as follows : 1. The great desideratum of a box always nice and cleanly is, for the first time, secured. 2. The commission agent being relieved from the great annoyance of hunting up and returning crates and boxes, as well as escaping the loss of them, will sell the fruit for much less than the usual commission. 3. The return freight of empty boxes is saved, and this, f PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT. 263 added to the saving in commission, will more than pay for cost of crates and boxes. 4. Another saving is secured in sending to market, as 100 of the Free boxes, quart measures, weigh only 9^- pounds, while ICO of the old square quarts weigh 50 pounds. As fruit in crates goes to market by weight, the new box saves 80 per cent of the weight. Any one can readily satisfy himself by a calculation of what is thus saved in freight to market, commission, and return of empty crate, that he will really save money by using a box that he can give away. It will be found cheaper to use a box only once than to continue using it many times. 5. As these boxes are put together without nails or glue, they can be sent to distant growers, in the shape of flats, to be made up by children at odd times dur- ing the winter. . The flats are scored, ready for fold- ing up, and as the wood. bends at the joint without breaking, a small girl will learn in five minutes how to put them together. Many hundred boxes thus packed as flats, can be got into a very small compass, and at trifling cost of freight." Present prices : Quart boxes, made up, $10.50 per 1,000 Pint boxes, made up, - 10.00 per 1,000 Quart boxes, in flats, , 10.00 per 1,000 Pint boxes, in flats, 7.50 per 1,000 Square Cliip Baslcet. Figure 110. Here we have an improvement on the com- mon Jersey basket. The slats are reversed, the wide ones passing around the basket, and the small ones form- Fig. 110. — SQUARE CHIP BASKET. 264 SMALL FKUIT CULTUKIST. ing the uprights, thereby giving a comparatively smooth surface, allowing the baskets to be lifted out or put bark into place in the crates, without catching upon those ad- joining, and upsetting them, as is often the case with the common one. These baskets are made square, conse- quently park very closely together, leaving no vacant spares between them. An excellent basket for Raspber- ries. Made by J. K. Park, Marlboro, Ulster County, N. Y. Price, $3.00 per 100. <-oilii< Free I'Vuit Ifiox. This box is intended to be given away with the fruit. They arc of an octagon shape, as shown in iig. Ill, made of veneer, and can be sent in Hats and put together by the fruit grower, thus saving much r. \prnsr in transportation. Fig. 111. — GOTHIC FREE FRUIT BOX. Fig. 112. — COOK'S BASKET. The material, all ready to be put together, is furnished by F. II. Lumus & Co., the manufacturers, for $10 per U)00. This is a very neat and pretty basket, very strong and durable. Some of onr fruit growers object to it on ac- count of the small strips of which it is made, because, as the berries settle, they are injured, by being cut by the sharp edges. It is, however, an excellent basket, and well worthy of the attention of the cultivator of the small fruits. Manufactured by D. Cook, New Haven, Conn. PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT. 265 Fig. 113.— GUERNSEY BOX. Guernsey Frnit Box. This is a round box, fig. 113, made of thin veneer and reversible, as either end may be used as the cover, there being a thin band within which holds both ends to- gether. This box would answer better for Currants and Gooseberries, than for Raspberries and similar fruit, as it is not ventilated ; but this might be done by boring holes through one end. Manufactured by Wm. B. Guernsey. Price, $50 per 1000. Johnston's Premium Fruit Case " Is made up of four trays 17 inches wide, 23 inches long, and 3 inches deep, holding a little over one half bushel; side pieces (1, in fig. 114) half inch thick, 3 inches wide, 23 inches long ; ends (2) f inch thick, 3 inches wide and 19J inches long ; bottoms of three upper trays -J- inch thick ; standards (5) 2 inches by f by 15; cover cleats (6) 2 inches by f by 18 ; tops (4) Fig. 114. — JOHNSTON'S CASE. 24 inches by 6 by f ; handles (2) 23 inches by 2 by f ; bottoms of case 24 inches by 6 by -j ; the ^m 3 bottom tray is made of heavier stuff, sides (4, in fig. 115) f inch thick, end 1| inch thick and sides are let in to the ends as seen in 1 ; this tends to strengthen the standard, 2, which is firmly nailed to both side and end pieces. The trays are separated by slats f inch by 2 inches, with the ends projecting about -J- an inch, as 12 Fig. 115. 266 SMALL FRUIT CULTTJKIST. seen in fig. 14. The cover has also a narrow slat at each end. The cover is fastened by bending a piece of hoop iron around the standard, and fastening it to both sides of the cover cleats with screws, and a spring made of the same is attached to the inside edge of the standard, runs up through, and hooks over the band of hoop iron, the stand- ard being sawed out to admit of working the spring, as seen in fig. 14. Care should be taken to make the trays all square, and the covers all alike, so that each will fit in any case. In order to have the standards all alike, the handles should not be put on until after the covers are. In getting out a bill of material, have it sawed in planks at the saw mill, as thick as you want the pieces wide, and have it worked up by circular saw." I am not aware that this style of case is in use at the East, but it is a western invention, and used by growers in that section. Sin i i It'- Grape B5<» \ . Though made with reference to packing grapes, this box will answer for Currants, Gooseberries, and those fruits that do not especi- ally need ventila- tion. The sides of this box are made, of veneer, cut part- ly through at the edges where it bends over the end pieces, which are thick enough to al- Fig. 116.— SMITH'S GRAPE BOX. low the sides to be nailed to them. The cover fastens down by tacking the flap to the ends. They are made with the sides, top and bottom all in one piece, as shown in figure 116, or with PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT. 267 these in two pieces, so that it is reversible and may be opened at either top or bottom. Patented and made by J. B. Smith, Ansonia, Conn. Boxes to hold 5 Ibs. of grapes, in the flat, nails included, for $60 per 1000. GATHERING FRUIT. In sections where the small fruits are grown extensive- ly, women and children are chiefly employed to gather them, being paid so much per basket. The small Jersey Strawberries are generally pulled, as it is called, or separated from the calyx, or hull, when picked; with the larger kinds it is left on. The price paid for picking varies from seventy-five cents to one dol- lar twenty-five cents per hundred for the small baskets, and three to five cents per quart for the larger Strawber- ries, Raspberries and Blackberries. At these prices, an expert hand will make two to three dollars per day where the fruit is abundant. The fruit should always be gathered in dry weather, and none should be picked in the morning while the dew is on. The usual method practiced in the larger plantations is something like the following : A tent or temporary shed is erected in or near the field in which the fruit is grown, and the superintendent remains in this and takes charge of the fruit as it is brought in, giving each picker a ticket, stating the number of baskets brought in. When one or two hundred baskets are gath- ered, then the small tickets are taken up and a large one given, on which is printed good for one, two, or more dollars, as the case may be. These tickets are redeemed at the end of the week, provided the holder retains them until that time ; but with some a week is a very long time to keep a promise to pay, and they sel!4 them. In some portions of New Jersey, and perhaps elsewhere, these 268 SMALL FRUIT CULTUBIST. tickets pass current at the stores in the vicinity, ami the merchants take them in exchange for goods, and when the season is over, present them to the proper persons for re- demption. At the time of gathering, each picker is furnished with a stand, figure 117, holding ten to twenty-five baskets. When all are filled, they are carried to the tent and put into the crates, Fig. 117.— BASKET STAND. , ,. ,. ready for sending to market. The small Jersey baskets are put into crates holding from one hundred and fifty to two hundred each, but when pint and quart baskets are used, from thirty to sixty go in a crate. The pickers have to conform to certain rules promulgat- ed by the nabob of the tent, for there must be discipline and system observed in fruit gathering, as in every other business, to produce the best result. No picker must be allowed to encroach upon his neighbor, and when a row or bed is selected at the start, it must be retained until all the fruit for that time is gathered. The next bed or row must be taken by lot — and no dodging because it happens to be a poor one. The time of the vintage is one of rejoicing in the vine countries of Europe, and equally so is the time of gather- ing the small fruits in America. Good feelings prevail on all sides, and particularly if the crop is abundant, for both employer and the employed are abundantly rewarded for their labor. TABLE OF DISTANCES. TABLE OF DISTANCES. 269 To show at a glance the number of hills or plants contained in an acre of land, at any given distance from each other, from 40 feet by 40, to 1 foot by 1, omitting fractions. Divide the amount by 160, will show the No. for 1 rod. feet feet per acre feet feet per acre feet feet per acre\\feet feet per acre 40 by 40 27 11 by 5 792 5 6byl 6 5280 3 3by3 0 4818 39 . . 39 28 10 . . 10 435 — 1 0 7920 — 29 4882 38 . . 38 30 — .. 8 544 50 50 1742 — 26 5361 37 ..37 31 — .. 6 726 — 46 1936 — 23 5956 36 .. 36 33 — .. 5 871 — 40 2178 — 20 6701 35 .. 35 35 — .. 4 1089 — 30 2904 — 1 9 7658 34 .. 34 37 — ..3 1452 — 26 3484 — 16 8935 33 .. 33 40 — .. 2 2178 — 20 4356 — 1 3 10722 32 .. 32 42 — .. 1 4356 — 1 6 5808 — 1 0 13403 31 . . 31 45 9 .. 9 537 — 10 8712 30 30 4840 30 .. 30 48 — .. 8 605 46 46 2151 — 29 5289 39 . 29 51 — .. 6 806 ~ 40 2420 — 26 5808 28 .. 28 55 — .. 5 968 — 36 2765 — 23 6453 27 .. 27 59 — ..4 1210 — 30 3226 — 20 7260 2fi .. 26 64 . . _„ O 1613 — 26 3872 — 19 8297 25 .. 25 69 — '.'. 2 2420 — 20 4840 — 1 6 9680 24 .. 24 75 — .. 1 4840 — 1 6 6453 — 1 3 11616 23 . . 23 82 8 .. 8 680 — 10 9680 — 10 14520 22 .. 22 90 — ..6 905 40 40 2722 29 29 5760 21 . . 21 98 — .. 5 1089 — 39 2904 — 26 6336 20 . . 20 108 — .. 4 1361 — 36 3111 — 23 7040 — .. 15 145 — .. 3 1815 — 33 3350 — 20 7920 — .. 10 217 — .. 2 1722 — 30 3630 — 19 9051 — .. 5 435 — .. 1 5445 — 26 4356 — 1 6 10560 19 ..19 120 7 .. 7 0 888 — 23 4840 — 1 3 12672 — .. 15 152 -..66 957 — 20 5445 — 10 15840 — .. 10 229 — ..60 1037 — 1 9 6222 26 26 6969 — .. 5 458 — ..50 1244 — 1 6 7260 — 23 7740 18 .. 18 134 .... 4 6 1382 — 13 8712 — 20 8712 — .. 15 161 — ..40 1555 — 10 10890 — 1 9 9950 — .. 10 242 — ..36 1777 89 39 3097 — 16 11616 — .. 5 484 — ..30 2074 — 36 3318 — 1 3 13939 17 ..17 150 — ..26 2489 — 33 3574 — 1 0 17424 — .. 15 170 — ..20 3111 — 30 3872 23 23 8604 — .. 10 966 — . . 1 6 4148 39 29 4224 — 20 9680 — .. 5 512 — ..10 6222 — 26 4&46 — 1 9 11062 16 .. 16 170 6 ..60 1210 — 23 5162 — 16 12906 — .. 15 175 — ..56 1320 — 20 5808 — 1 3 15488 — .. 10 272 — ..50 1452 — 1 9 6637 — 10 19360 — .. 5 544 — ..46 1613 — 16 7744 20 20 10890 15 .. 15 103 — .. 4 0 1815 — 1 3 9272 — 19 12445 — .. 10 390 — . . 3 6 2074 — 1 0 11616 — 16 14520 — .. 5 580 — . . 3 0 2420 36 36 3535 — 1 3 17424 14 . . 14 222 — ..26 2904 — 33 3829 — 10 21780 — .. 10 JHI -..20 3630 — 30 4148 19 19 14223 622 -..16 4840 — 29 4525 — 16 16594 13 ! '. 13 257 -..10 7260 — 26 4978 — 1 3 19913 — .. 10 335 5 6 .. 5 6 1417 — 23 5531 — 10 24454 — .. 5 670 — ..50 1584 — 20 6222 16 16 19360 12 . . 12 302 — ..46 1760 — 1 9 7111 — 1 3 23232 — .. 10 363 — ..40 1980 — 16 8297 — 10 29040 — .. 5 720 — ..36 2262 — 1 3 9956 13 13 27878 360 — ..30 2640 — 1 0 12445 — 10 34848 \- :: 10 396 — ..20 3960 33 33 4124 10 10 43560 GENERAL INDEX. Synonyms are put in Italics. ^Bcidlura Berberidis 29 Argema obtusatum 83 BARBERRY 20 u Culture of 25 ** Historyof 21 " Diseases of 29 •• Mildew 29 " Propagation 21 44 Black-fruited 28 44 Chinese 28 44 Common 20-25 44 Cretan 28 " ' Iberian 28 '• Magellan Sweet 20 44 Nepaul 20 44 Purp' e-fruited 28 44 Purple-leaved 27 44 Siberian 28 41 Sweet-fruited 27 44 Violet-fruited 28 " White-fruited 27 " Yellow-fruited 28 Basket, American 258 " Cook's 264 44 Jersey 257 44 Square Chip 263 Basket Stand 268 Berberis 20 44 aristata 20 11 Asiatica 20 44 buxifolia 20 44 Canadensis 20 44 ChUra 20 4- Cretica 28 44 Iberica 28 *4 rotundtfoUa 20 " Sibirica 28 M Sinenais 28 " vulgaris 20-25 44 alba 27 270 Berberis, vulgaris asperma 27 dulcis 27 44 " glauca 27 longifolia 27 " lutea 28 " mitis 28 44 '4 nigra 28 44 purpurea 28 44 " violacea 28 BLACKBERRY 168 Albion 179 CapeMay 175 Claret 179 Col. Wilder 179 44 Common High 168 Crystal White 181 Cultivation 171 Cumberland 174 Cut-Leaved 172 Cutter's Mulberry 181 Dr. Warden 181 Dorchester 175 European 170 Felton 175 Holcomb 175 Kittatinny 175 Lawton 178 Low 169 Low Bush 169 Mason's Mountain 181 Needham's White 179 Newman's Thornless.. . .178 New Rochelle 178 Parsley-Leaved 173 Propagation of 171 Pruning Shears 172 Pruning Hook 172 Running Swamp 169 Sand 169 Seacor's Mammoth 178 GENERAL INDEX. 271 Blackberry, Washington 181 " Wilson's Early 179 Blueberry, Canada 247 44 Dwarf 247 " Swamp 247 Blue Dangleberry 246 Buffalo Berry 251 Cherry, Cornelian 225 Cherry, Dwarf .183 Cloud Berry 115 Cornel 225 Cornelian Cherry 225 Cornus mascula 225 CRANBERRY 231 Applying water to 239 Bush 232 Common 231 Cultivation of 239 Gathering 240 History of 232 Insects. 241 Planting 237 Preparation of Soil for. . . .234 Profits of Culture 244 Propagation 233 Selection of Plants 238 Small 231 Upland Culture 242 " Varieties of 240 Crows and Fruit Culture 84 CURRANT 186 44 Foreign Varieties 202 44 History of 187 44 Insects and Diseases 196 44 Native Varieties 199 44 Propagation from Cuttings.190 44 Propagation from Layers. . . 192 44 Propagation from Seeds 188 44 Propagation from Suckers . .192 44 Pruning and training 193 44 Soil and Cultivation 192 44 Attractor 203 44 American Black 199 44 BlackEnglish 209 41 Black Grape 210 " Black Naples 210 44 Black Varieties 204 44 Brown Fruited 211 44 Buist's Long-Bunched Red . 204 44 Cassis Eoyal of Naples 210 44 Champagne 204 44 Cherry 204 Currant, Clarke's Sweet 209 44 Dana's White 205 44 Deseret 199 44 Fertile o? Angers of Leroy . . 204 44 Fertile de Palluau 206 Fetid 186 Gloire de Sablous 206 Golden 200 Goliath 208 Gondouin Red 20f Gondouin White 206 Green Fruited 211 Gros Rouge d' Angers 206 Holland Long Grape 206 Houghton Castle 208 Imperial Jaune 206 Imperial Rouge. 204 Imperial Yellow 206 Irish Grape 204 Knight's Early Red 207 Knights' Large Red 207 Knights' Sweet Red 207 La Caucase 204 La Fertile 207 LaHative 207 La Hative de Set tin 207 Large Red Angers 204-206 Large Red Dutch 207 Long Bunched, Red 207 Macrocarpa 204 May's Victoria 208 Missouri 187 Missouri Black 200 Missouri Sweet Fruited.. . .201 Morgan's Red 207 Napoleon Red 204 New Red Dutch 207 New White Dutch 209 Ogderfs Black Grape 210 Pheasant's Eye 204 Prince Albert 207 Profits of Culture 211 Roby Castle 208 Red 187 Red Dutch 207 Red Flowering 187 Rod Grape 208 Red Grape 208 Red Imperial. 204 Red Provence 208 Reeves' White 209 Rouge a Grosse Fruit 207 272 GENERAL INDEX. Currant, Russian Green 211 Striped Fruited 208 44 Transparent White 208 " Usesof... 211 " Versailles 205 " Victoria 208 " WhiteAntwerp 209 " White Clinton 209 " While Crystal 209 " WhiteDutch 209 44 White Grape 209 White Holland 209 White Imperial 206 44 Wldte Leghorn 209 " White Pearl 209 44 White Provence 209 4 ' White Transparent 209 44 Wilmot's Red Grape. 208 44 Wild Black 186 Dangleberry, Blue 246 Dewberry 169 Dwarf Cherry 183 Forcing Houses 74 Fragaria 31 44 collina 82 44 elatior 32 grandiflora 82 44 Indica 32 44 manophylla Ill 44 vesca 31 44 Virginiana 32 Fruit Box, Free 261 44 Gothic Free 264 44 Guernsey 265 Hallock's 259 44 Smith's 266 Fruit Case, Johnston's Premium... .265 Gathering Fruit 255-267 Gaylussacia frondosa 246 44 resinosa 247 GOOSEBERRY 214 44 American Red 222 44 Cluster 222 44 Cluster Seedling 222 44 Downing 222 44 Dutch Joe 222 44 Foreign Species 215 44 Foreign Varieties 223 History 216 44 Houghton's Seedling.. .222 44 Insects Injurious to 220 44 Mountain Seedling 222 Gooseberry, Native Species 214 Native Varieties 222 14 Pale Red 222 44 Prize English Varieties.222 44 Profits of Culture 221 44 Propagation of. 216 41 Pruning and Training . . 217 44 Roberts' Sweet Water . . . . 222 44 St. Clair 222 44 Small Leaved 215 44 Smooth 214 41 Soil and Culture 219 " Swamp 215 Grosse de Baffle 251 Hyjipophce argentea 251 HUCKLEBERRY 246 44 Black 247 44 Dwarf 247 44 High-bush 247 INSECTS. 44 Abraxis Grossulariata 190 44 u ribearia 197 44 Blackberry Bush Borer 141 44 Byturus tomentosus 141 44 Cecidomya Grossulariae 221 44 Currant Borer, American ... 198 44 " Borer, European 19? 44 Worm 196 44 Gooseberry Bark-louse 220 Midge 221 44 44 Moth 221 44 Lecanium Cynosbati 220 44 Magpie Moth 196 44 May Beetle 83 44 MealyFlata 220 44 Paeciloptera primosa 220 44 Plant-Louse 86 44 Prenocerus supernotatus. . . 198 44 Trochilium caudatum 199 41 " tipuliforme 198 44 WhiteGrub 83 Introduction 7 Microsphaeria Berberidis 30 Mulberry 115 Number of Plants to the Acre 269 Preparation for Gathering Fruit. . . 255 Propagation, by Cuttings 22 44 Green-wood Cuttings.. 24 Root Cuttings 117 Primus pumila 184 Rabbit Berry 261 GENERAL INDEX. 273 114 American Black 141 Black 115 Black-Cap,Propagation of 122 Brand 140 Rust 140 Disease and Insects 140 Duration of Plants 139 Dwarf 115 European 116 Garden Culture of 137 History of. 116 Planting and Culture 131 Propagation of 117 Pruning of 134 Purple Flowering 114 Selection of Plants 131 Training of 135 Varieties for Family Use.. 166 Varieties for Market 167 White Flowering 115 Wild Red 115 Winter Protection of. ... .136 Allen's Antwerp 151 Allen's Red Prolific 151 American Improved 142 American Red Cane 147 American White Cap 142 Antwerp 156 Antwerp Red 156 Antwerp Yellow 156 Bayley's Perpetual 158 Barnet 156 Barnefs Antwerp 156 Beehive 165 Belle de Fontenay 157 Belle de Palluau 158 Brentford Cane 157 Brinckle's Orange 163 Bromley Hill 165 Burley^s Antwerp 156 Burlington 157 Catawissa 146 Chili Monthly 165 Clarke 158 Col. Wilder 159 Cope 159 Cornish 165 Cornwall's Prolific 156 Cornwall's Seedling 156 Cretan Red 159 Gushing 159 12* Raspberry, Cutbush's Prince ofWales!59 " Cox's Honey 165 " Davison's Thornleas 143 " Doolittle's Black Cap 142 " Doolittle's Red-Flavored Black 143 " Downing 166 " Double Bearing 160 " Double Bearing Tdlow. . .156 Duhring 160 Early Prolific 165 Ellisdale 146 Elsie 143 Emily 166 English Antwerp 156 Fastolff 160 tfillbasket 160 Foreign Varieties 155 Franconia 161 French 161 Fulton 161 Gardiner 147 General Patterson 161 Golden Cap I". . .148 Hornet 161 Howland's Antwerp 156 Hudson Biver Antwerp. . . 156 Huntsman's Giant 162 Imperial 162 Improved Black Cap 142 Jillard's Seedling 165 Joslyrfs Improved 142 Jouet 162 Keystone 165 Kirtland 154 KnewetVs Antwerp 156 Knevet'a Giant 162 Large Fruited Monthly... 162 Large Eed 156 Longworth 165 Lord Exmouth 156 Magnum Bonum 163 Marvel of the Four Seasonsl63 Merveille Quatre Saisons.136 Miami Black Cap 143 Monthly Black Cap 143 Mote's Seedling 166 Mrs. Ingersoll 165 Mrs. Wilder 166 Naomi 163 New Everbearing 166 New Red Antwerp 156 274 GENERAL INDEX. Raspberry Nm'thumberlandMOdasketlGO 44 Nottingham Scarlet . .166 44 Ohio Everbearing 143 44 Old Red Antwerp 156 44 Orange ...163 44 Pearl 154 44 Philadelphia 147 " Pilate 163 44 Princess Alice 166 44 Purple Cane 147 44 Purple Cane Family 144 44 Richardson 166 44 Rivers' New Monthly 162 *4 Rivers' Seedlings 163 44 Russell's Red 164 44 St.Louis 166 44 Scarlet • 154 44 Semper Fidelis 164 44 Seneca Black Cap 143 44 Souchettii 164 44 Spring Grove 166 44 Stoever 154 44 Summit Black Cap 144 44 Superb 166 44 Superb d' Angleterre 166 44 Surpasse Merveille 166 44 Surprise 144 44 Taylor's Paragon 166 44 Thornless Blackcap 143 44 True Red Antwerp 156 44 Vice President French. ... 161 44 Victoria 157 Walker 164 44 WMUAntwerp 156 44 White Transparent 164 WildRed 149 Wilmot's Early Red 166 44 Woodside 144 u Woodward 166 41 Woodward's Red Globe . . 166 44 Yellow Cap 142 " YellowChili 165 Ribes 186 44 aureum 187 44 cuneifolium 215 44 Cynosbati 214 44 divaricatum 215 " floridum 186 44 gracile 215 44 Grossularia 215 44 hirtellum 214 44 lacustre ... ... 215 Ribes microphyllum 215 44 nigrum 187 44 oxycanthoides 215 44 prostratum 186 44 rotundifolium 215 44 rubrum 187 44 sanguineum 187 44 Uvacrispa ,....215 Root Cuttings 117 Rubus 114 44 Canadensis 1G9 44 Chamsemorus 115 44 cuneifolius 1(>9 44 fruticosus 170 44 hispidus 169 " Idaeus 116 41 Japonicus 116 44 latiniatus 173 41 macropetalua 116 44 Nutkanus 115 44 occidentalis 115 44 odoratus 114 41 spectabilis 170 44 strigosus 115 44 triflorus 115 44 trivialis 169 •w villosus 168 Shepherdia 251 44 argentea 251 44 Canadensis 254 Slugs 85 STUAWBKRRY 31 Brand 83 44 Culture, Annual 63 44 " Biennial 62 Garden 64 Rows and Hills. 63 14 Diseases and Insects — 83 4* Forcing 70 4- History of. 32 •' Houses for 74 44 Hybridizing andCrossing 7o " Manures for 54 44 Planting and Cultivation 60 44 Preparation of Plants. . . 57 44 Propagation of 48 44 " by Division of Roots 53 44 " by Runners 52 44 bySeeds 5f 44 Sexuality of. 39 14 Soil and Situation 53 " Structure of Plants. . . 48 GENEBAL INDEX. 275 Strawberry, Thinning the Fruit 76 " Tiles 67 u Time to plant 66 " Varieties for Forcing 75 Vase 67 " Winter Protection 70 LIST OP VARIETIES. Admiral Dundas 104 Agriculturist 88 Albion White 95 Alpine 31 Alpine Blanc 110 Alpine Red 110 Alpine Red Monthly 110 Alpine Rouge 110 Alpine White 110 Alpine White Monthly 110 Alpine Varieties 110 Ambrosia 104 American Alpine 110 American Queen 101 Austin 88 Autumnal Galande 110 Baltimore Scarlet 89 Barnes1 Seedling 102 Baron Beman de Linnick 104 BarOett 88 Belle Artesienne 105 Belle Bordelaise Ill Belle de Vibert 105 Berancon 110 Bicolor 105 Bijou 105 Black Hautbois 112 Bonte de St. Julien 104 Boston Pine 88 Boule d'Or 104 Boyden's Mammoth 102 Brighton Pine 89 Brooklyn Scarlet 89 Brooks' Prolific 89 Buffalo 96 Bunce 91 Burr's New Pine 89 Bash Alpine, Red Ill Bush Alpine, White Ill Byberry 101 Caperon Royale 113 Carnolia Magna 105 Caucasian Ill Chilian... 91 Chorlton's Prolific 89 Clinton 102 Col. Ellsworth 90 Crimson Cone 90 Crimson Favorite 90 Cutter's Seedling 91 Dagge's Seedling 102 Dent de Cfieval. 110 De MontreuU a Fruit Blanc 110 De MontreuU a Fruit Rouge 110 De MontreuU a Marteau 110 DeptfordPine 105 Des Alpes a Fruit Rouge 110 Diadem 92 Dioecious Hautbois Ill Double Bearing 112 Downer's Prolific 91 Dukede Malakoff 105 Durand's Seedling 91 Early Scarlet 92 Eclipse 92 Eliza 105 Elton Improved 105 Emily 92 Emma 105 Empress Eugenie 105 Faulkner's King 98 Fillmore 92 Foreign Varieties 103 French's Seedling 98 Frissant 110 Frogmore Late Pine 105 Garibaldi 102 General McGlettan 96 General Scott 102 Genesee 102 Georgia Mammoth 92 Germantown 94 Gilbei t'a Large Brown Ill j Globe Hautbois 112 ] Glory de Nancy Alpine 110 j Golden Seeded 93 ! Golden Queen 93 ' Goliath 108 Great Eastern 98 Greon 82 Groen Alpine Ill Green Pine Apple Ill Green Prolific 93 Green Wood Ill j Gwontvw 106 YJa« uin .106 276 GENERAL INDEX. Hautbois 32 Hautbois Varieties Ill Hermaphrodite 112 Hero 106 Hillman 106 Hooker 94 Hovey 94 Huntsman's Montivideo 102 Ida 94 Tudia 32 Iowa 94 Jenny Lind 102 Jucuuda 106 Kate 106 Kimberly Pine 107 Knox'sTW 106 La Constants 107 Ladies' Pine 94 Lady Finger 95 La Mendonaise 110 Large-flowering 32 La Sultanne 107 Le Baron 94 Leed's Prolific 102 Lennig's White 95 Leon de St. Laumer 107 Little Monitor 102 Long Fruited Muscatell 112 Longworth's Prolific 95 Lorenz Booth 107 Lucas ..107 Lucida Perfects 107 Marguerite 107 Mc'Avoy's Superior 96 Mead's Seedling 96 Metcalf s Early. 96 Monitor 97 Monstrous Hautbois 112 Musky Hautbois Ill Napoleon HI 107 Native Varieties 88 Newark Prolific 93 New Jersey Scarlet 97 Newland 91 Old John Brown 97 One-Leaved Alpine 111 Oscar 108 Perry's Seedling 97 Philadelphia 102 Pine Apple 90 Poitou Alpine Monthly 110 Powdered Pine. ... ... Ill Prince's Frederick William 108 Prince's Seedling 101 Prolific Alpine 110 Prolific Hautbois 112 Pyramidal Chilian 91 Regent's Dwarf 112 Ripawam 98 Russell's Prolific 98 Sabreur 108 Sacombe 112 Scarlet Alpine 110 Scarlet Magnate 99 Scarlet Runner 99 Scotch Runner 99 Scotch Runner 90 Scott's Seedling 99 Shaker 88 Sir Joseph Banks 112 Souvenir de Kieff. 108 Starr's Seedling 102 Stinger's Seedling 99 Trembly' s Union 108 Triomphe de Gand 108 Topsy 108 Versailles Alpine Monthly 110 Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury. . . . 1C9 Victoria 1U9 Victory 103 Ville de Bois 110 Vineuse de Nantes 109 Virginian 32 Walker 103 Ward's Favorite 103 Washington 94 White Pineapple 95 White Wood Strawberry Ill Williams'' Green Pine Ill Wilson's Albany 99 Wood 31-1 11 Young^s Seedling 94 Rejected Varieties 112 Table of Distances 269 Thimble Berry 115-141 Vaccinium 246 " Canadense 247 " corymbosum 247 " erythrocarpon 232 " macrocarpon .... 231 " Oxycoccus 231 " Pennsylvania 247 Wire-Worms... .. 85 GARDENING FOR PROFIT, In the Market and. Family Grarden. BY PETER HENDERSON. This is the first work on Market Gardening ever published in thu country. Its author is well known as a market gardener of eighteen years' successful experience. In this work he has recorded thia experience, and given, without reservation, the methods necessary to the profitable culture of the commercial or It is a work for which there has long been a demand, and one which will commend itself, not only to those who grow vegetables for sale, but to the cultivator of the FAMILY GAKDEN, to whom it presents methods quite different from the old ones gen- erally practiced. It is an ORIGINAL AND PURELY AMERICAN work, and not made up, as books on gardening too often are, by quotations from foreign authors. Every thing is made perfectly plain, and the subject treated in all its details, from the selection of the soil to preparing the products for market. CONTENTS. Men fitted for the Business of Gardening. The Amount of Capital Hequired, and "Working Force per Acre. Profits of Market Gardening. Location, Situation, and Laying Out. Soils, Drainage, and Preparation. Manures, Implements. Uses and Management of Cold Frames. Formation and Management of Hot-beds. Forcing Pits or Green-houses. Seeds and Seed Raising. How, When, and Where to Sow Seeds. Transplanting, Insects. Packing of Vegetables for Shipping. Preservation of Vegetables in Winter. Vegetables, their Varieties and Cultivation. In the last chapter, the most valuable kinds are described, and the culture proper to each is given in detail. Sent post-paid, price $I.5O. ORANGE JULD & CO., 245 Broadway, New-York. VALUABLE AND BEAUTIFUL WORK. BY JOSIAH HOOPES, Westchester, Pa. INCLUDING Propagation, Cultivation, Description of Varieties, and their Adaptability to Different Situations. THIS is a long-needjed work, as in it the present Btate of our knowledge upon the cone-bearing plants, or Coniferse of the botanist, is posted up. Mr. Hoopes is one of those persons rarely met with — a practical cultivator, and a man of science at the same time. While his work gives us all the Couiferse arranged in the classification of the botanist, it at the same time treats of the experience, not only of the author, but of American cultivators generally, with this large and important family of plants. Evergreens play so interesting a part, not only in ornamental planting, but in what may be termed economical planting, ({. «. hedges, screens, wind- breaks, etc.,) that we are sure a work which treats of their propagation and culture, describes in both popular and scientific language the many species, and, what is of not the least Importance, gives a list of the tender and un- reliable ones, will be warmly welcomed by every lover of these beautiful trees. Mr. Hoopes brings to his work a perfect enthusiasm for his subject, and is as free to condemn a plant as if he were not a nurseryman. All the latest novelties from Japan, the Northwest, etc., are noticed, and their success or failure, both in this country and in England, is recorded. The work is abundantly illustrated with most carefully executed engrav- ings, for the greater part from living specimens. We must commend the conscientious care the author has shown in striving to arrive at the proper names ; and doubtless much of the confusion that at present exists in respect to names among both dealers and growers, will be corrected now that they have a standard work to refer to. Not the least interesting portion of the book is an account of the principal collections of evergreens in the country. The work contains 435 pages, 12mo, on fine paper. Sent post-paid. Price, $3.00. ORANGE JUDD & CO., 245 Broadway, New- York City. DARWIN'S GREAT WORK. THE VARIA.TIOIST ANIMALS AND PLANTS UNDER DOMESTICATION. BY CHARLES DA.RTWI]Sr, M.^L., BVR S., ETC. AUTHORIZED EDITION. H JSL. IE" m3 3?" .A. O 33 BY PROFESSOR ASA GRAY. I3ST T-WO -VOLTJIkEIES- This work treats of the variations in our domestic animals and cultivated plants, discussing the circumstances that influence these variations, inherit- ance of peculiarities, results of in-and-in breeding, crossing, etc. It is one of the most remarkable books of the present day, presenting an array of facts that show the most extraordinary amount of observation and -esearch. All the domestic animals, from horses and cattle to canary-birds and aoney-bees, are discussed, as well as our leading culinary and other plants, making it a work of the greatest interest. Its importance to agriculturists, breeders, scientific men, and the general reader will be seen by its scope as indicated in the following partial enumera- tion of its contents : PIGS, CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS ; DOGS AND CATS, HOUSES AND ASSES ; DOMESTIC RABBITS ; DOMESTIC PIGEONS ; FOWLS, DUCKS, GEESE, PEACOCK, TURKEY, GUINEA FOWL, CANARY-BIRD, GOLD-PISH; HIVE-BEES; SILK-MOTHS. CULTIVATED PLANTS ; CEREAL AND CULINARY PLANTS ; FRUITS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, FLOWERS, BUD VARIATION. INHERITANCE, REVERSION OR ATAVISM, CROSSING. ON THE GOOD EFFECTS OF CROSSING, AND ON Tea EVIL EFFECTS OF CLOSE INTERBREEDING. SELECTION. CAUSES OF VARIABII* ITY, LAWS OF VARIATION, ETC., ETO. Published in Two Volumes of nearly 110O pages. FINELY ILLUSTRATED. SENT POST-PAID, ......................................... PRICE, $6.00. ORANGE JUDD & CO., 245 Broadway, New-York City A VALUABLE BOOK. THE GRAPE VINE. BY FREDERICK MOHR, DOOTOE OF PHILOSOPHY AND MEDICINE. Translated from the German, and accompanied with Hints on the Propagation and General Treatment of American Varieties. BY H OH TIC OH, A. This work is mainly devoted to the most elementary matters. It ex- plains the structure ana mode of growth of the vine so clearly that no intelligent person who reads it need be in doubt what to do with his vines. It has been well translated, and a chapter on the propagation of American varieties has been substituted for the original one on multi- plying the European grape. As anatomy is the foundation of surgery, so is a knowledge of the structure of the vine to the vine-dresser. In both cases, it is as important to know when and where to cut and how. CONTENTS: Development and. Structure of the Grape Vine* The Node; The Branch; Reasons for Pruning; Pruning. Training on Trellises; Summer Treatment; Plantations. Vines Trained along the Garden Walk. Trellises on Wai IN ; Tree Trellises. Vines Trained to Trellises ; Bronner's Method. Time Required for Covering a Trellis. Manuring the Vine; Age of Vineyard. The Rising Sap in the Vine ; The Grape Disease. Treatment of Vines Injured by Frost. Implements ; Proper Time to Perform Work on the Vine. Constituents of the Vine and their Distribution. Propagation of the Vine: By Layers; By Cuttings; By Grafting; By Inarching; By Seeds. Hybridization. American Varieties — General Management; Planting; Pruning; Pinching; Covering In Fall. SENT POST-PAID, PRICE $1. OliANOE JUDD & CO., 245 Broadway and 41 Park Row, N. Y. MY VINEYARD AT LAKEVIEW; OR, SUCCESSFUL GEAPE CULTUEE. BY A WESTERN GRAPE GROWER. ILLUSTRATED. To any one who wishes to grow grapes, whether a single vine or a vine- yard, this book is full of valuable teachings. The author gives not only his success, but, what is of quite as much importance, his failure. It tells just what the beginner in grape culture wishes to know, with the charm that always attends the relation of personal experience. It is especially valuable as giving an account of the processes actually followed in CELEBRATED GRAPE REGIONS iiv Western New-York and on the shores and islands of Lake Erie. This book is noticed by a writer in the Horticulturist for August last as follows : " Two works very different in character and value have j.ist been published, and seem to demand a passing notice. The better and less pre- tentious of the two is ' MY VINEYARD AT LAKEVIEW,' a charming little book that professes to give the actual experience of a western grape grower, de- tailing not only his successes, but his blunders and failures. It is written in a pleasant style, without any attempt at display, and contains much ad- vice that will prove useful to a beginner — the more useful because derived from the experience of a man who had no leisure for fanciful experiments, but has been obliged to make his vineyard support himself and his family." Written in a simple and attractive style, and relating the experience of one who feft Us way along into the successful cultivation of a vineyard in Ohio. — Mass. Ploughman. It is the experience of a practical grape grower, and not the theory of an expert- menter.— Bath Daily Sentinel and Times. It has no superior as an attractive narrative of country life. — Hartford Daily Post. Many books have been written on the grape, but this is the only work that gives an account of grape growing as actually practiced at the successful vineyards in the grape region of the West, and will be welcomed by a large class of reader's.— New-Bedford Standard. This little yolume contains, in an attractive form, and in clear and concise language, just the information needed to enable any one to become thoroughly posted up in tiiia delightful and profitable branch of horticulture — Vermont Farmer. Just the manual for a beginner, by one who says " he is well rewarded in the success attained." Adding, "It might have been reached in half the time, had I possessed the knowledge imparted to the reader of this book.' -Boston Cultivator. Sent Post-paid Price, $1.5O. ORANGE JUDD &. CO., 245 Broadway, New-York. VALUABLE AND BEAUTIFUL WORK. HARRIS' Insects Injurious to Vegetation. BY THE LATK THADDEUS WILLIAM HARRIS, M.D. A New Edition, enlarged and improved, with additions from the author1! manuscripts and original notes. Illustrated by engravings drawn from nature under the supervision of IPftOF'KSSOR AJ3-ASSIZ. Edited by CHARLES L. FLINT, Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.— Insects Denned— Brain and Nerves— Air-Pipes and Breath- Ing-Holes—Heart and Blood— Metamorphoses or Transformations- Classification ; Orders and Groups. CHAPTER II. COLEOPTERA.— Beetles— Scarabaeians— Ground-Beetles-Tree-Beetles-Cock- chafers— Flower. Stag, Spring, Timber, Capricorn, Leaf-mining, and Tor- toise Beetles — Chrysomelians— Cantharides. CHAPTER III. ORTHOPTERA.— Earwigs — Cockroaches-- Soothsayers— Walking-sticks or Spectres— Mole, Field, Climbing, and Wingless Crickets-Grasshoppers— CHAPTER IV. HEMIPTERA.— Bugs— Squash-Bug— Clinch-Bug— Plant Bugs— Harvest Flies— Tree-Hoppers— Vine-Hoppers— Plant-Lice— American Blight— Bark-Lice. CHAPTER V. LEPI DO PTE R A . —Caterpillars — Butterflies — Skippers — Hawk-Moths— Mge- rians or Boring^ Caterpillars— Moths— Cut-Worms— Span- Worms— Leaf- Boilers— Fruit, Bee, Corn, Clothes, and Feather-Winged Moths. CHAPTER VI. HYMENOPTERA — Stingers and Piercers— Saw-Flies and Slugs— Elm, Fir, and Vine Saw-Fly — Rose-Bush and Pear-Tree Slugs — Horn-Tailed Wood-Wasps— Gail-Flies— Barley Insect and Joint Worm. CHAPTER VII. DIPTERA.— Gnats and Flies— Maggots and their Transformations— Gail Gnats— Hessian, Wheat, and Radish Flies— Two-Winged Gail-Flies, anrf Fruit-Flies. ftPPEN DIX.— The Army Worm. Published in two beautiful editions ; one plain, with steel engravings, 8vo extra cloth, $4 ; the other in extra cloth, beveled boards, red edges, engrav Ings colored with great accuracy, $6. Sent post-paid on receipt of price. ORANGE JUDD & CO., 245 Broadway, New- York City THE AMERICAN FOR 1871. .A. WANTED BY EVERY BODY. Tms valuable Year Book has now reached its fifth number. In its general features it follows the plan of the three numbers that have preceded it. It contains, besides the review of the year, a record of inven- tions affecting Agriculture ; Progress in Dairy Matters, by Gard- ner B. Weeks ; Progress in Agricultural Education ; Veterinary Matters, by Dr. John Busteed ; Leguminous Forage-Plants ; Mut- ton-Sheep in America; Progress in Fish Culture, by William Clift; The Pneumatic Sewage System, by Dr. F. Coar; Poultry Raised for Flesh; Agricultural Books for the Tear; Farmers Directory, giving names of manufacturers of agricultural imple- ments, dealers in seeds, stock, etc. BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED. Sent Post-paid. Price, Fancy Paper Covers, 50 Cents; Cloth, 15 Cents. Either of these Annuals for the four preceding years may be had at the same prices. ORANG-E JTTDD & CO., 245 Broadway, New-Yorlc. THE AMERICAN Horticultural Annual TOR 1871. BOOK! FOR EVERY HOME. THE fifth number of this beautiful serial is now ready. It presents reports upon the various departments of Horticulture. Dr. J. A. Warder writes upon Apples; P. Barry gives an ac- count of New Pears ; Charles Downing and F. R. Elliott treat of New Peaches ; A. S. Fuller gives a full account of Small Fruits ; C. L. Allen has an article on New Bulbs ; Peter Henderson tells of the New Bedding and other Plants. Besides these, there aro valuable treatises, among which are those on Orange Culture in Florida, by Samuel B. Parsons ; Raising Nursery-Trees from Seed, by Thomas Meehan ; Dwarf Evergreens, by Josiah Hoopes ; various tables, summaries, and other useful matter by the editor, including a list of the principal seedsmen, nurserymen, and florists in the United States. ILLUSTRATED WITH ELEGANT ENGRAVIN6S. Sent Po§t-paid. Price, Fancy Paper C'ovcr§, 50 Cents; Cloth, ?5 Cents. Either of these Annuals for the four preceding years may be had at the same prices. ORANGE JUDD & CO., Broadway, New-Yorlc. AMERICAN POMOLOGY. APPLES. By Doct. JOHN A. TV-AJRDEIfc, PRESIDENT OHIO POJfOLOOIOAL SOCIETY; YIOB-PBXSXDXHT AMBRIOAK POXOLOOIOA1 SOCIETY. 993 ILLUSTRATIONS. Tliis volume has about 750 pages, the first 375 of which are de roted to the discussion of the general subjects of propagation, nur- sery culture, selection and planting, cultivation of orchards, care of fruit, insects, and the like ; the remainder is occupied with descrip- tions of apples. With the richness of material at hand, the trouble was to decide what to leave out. It will be found that while the old and standard varieties are not neglected, the new and promising sorts, especially those of the South and West, have prominence. A list of selections for different localities by eminent orchardists ia a valuable portion of the volume, while the Analytical Index 01 Catalogue JZaisonnS, as the French would say, is the most extended American fruit list ever published, and gives evidence of a fearful amount of labor. CONTENTS, Chapter I—INTRODUCTORY. Chapter II — HISTORY OF THE APPLE. Chapter III — PROPAGATION. Buds and Cuttings— Grafting— Budding— The Nursery. Chapter IV.— DWARFING. Chapter V — DISEASES. Chapter VI.— THE SITE FOR AN ORCHARD. Chapter VII.— PREPARATION OF SOIL FOR AN ORCHARD. Chapter VHI.— SELECTION AND PLANTING. Chapter IX.— CULTURE, Etc. Chapter X.— PHILOSOPHY OF PRUNING. Chapter XI.— THINNING. Chapter XII— RIPENING AND PRESERVING FRUITS. Chapter XIII and XIV— INSECTS. Chapter XV— CHARACTERS OF FRUITS AND THEIR VALUE— TERMS USED. Chapter XVI— CLASSIFICATION. Necessity for— Basis of— Characters— Shape— Its Regu- larity—Flavor—Color—Their several Values, etc., De scription of Apples. Chapter XVH— FRUIT LISTS— CATALOGUE AND INDEX OF FRUITS. Sent Post-Paid, Price $3,00. ORANGE JTJDD & CO., 245 Broadway, New-York TELE f X) ANDEEW S. FULLEE. NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION. THE STANDARD WORK ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE HARDY GRAPE, AS IT NOT ONLY DISCUSSES PRINCIPLES, BUT ILLUSTRATES PRACTICE. HJyery thing is made perfectly plain, and its teach- ings may be followed upon ONE VINE OR A VINEYARD. The following are some of the topics that are treated , GROWING NEW VARIETIES FROM SEED. PROPAGATION BY SINGLE BUDS OR EYES. PROPAGATING HOUSES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT FOLLY DESCRIBED. How TO GROW. CUTTINGS IN OPEN AIR, AND HOW TO MAKE LAYERS. GRAFTING THE GRAPE — A SIMPLE AND SUCCESSFUL METHOD. HYBRIDIZING AND CROSSING — MODE OF OPERATION. SOIL AND SITUATION — PLANTING AND CULTIVATION. PRUNING, TRAINING, AND TRELLISES — ALL THE SYSTEMS EXPLAINED. GARDEN CULTURE — How TO GROW VINES IN A DOOR- YARD. INSECTS, MILDEW, SUN-SCALD, AND OTHER TROUBLES. DESCRIPTION OF THE VALUABLE AM> THE DISCARDED VARIETIES. Sent post-paid. Price $1.50. Orange Judd