REPORTS FROM LOCAL SOCIETIES. 121 



many species. I will name but two, the red and the black. Of the red, there 

 are many varieties, the red and the white Dutch, the cherry, white grape, and 

 La Yersaillais, etc. Of these, the red and white Dutch are the ones in common 

 cultivation in our gardens, and arc doubtless the currant for the million, bear- 

 ing almost any kind of slip-shod cultivation, as you see them in nearly every 

 garden. To grow them in perfection, they should be set in rows six feet apart, 

 and three feet apart in the rows, kept well trimmed or thinned out, cultivated 

 and manured. If kept well mulched with straw it will save much labor. 



The black garden, or English currant, is of a different species. It is larger 

 .and has a strong aromatic smell and flavor, and is much esteemed by some 

 persons. It is not so general a favorite as the red species. 



( Cultivation — Same as the red. 



Strawberries. — There is perhaps no other fruit that grows so universally over 

 every part of the world, as the strawberry — in the snowy north or in the sunny 

 :-south, in the valley as well as on the hill side. It is a favorite with all races of 

 mankind, and under favorable circumstances it is very jirolific. From one 

 'to two hundred bushels may be grown from an acre in one season. 



Cultivation — Plants should be set in rich moist loam, in the fall or spring. 

 Very early spring is the best time. Set in rows four feet apart and eighteen 

 inches in the rows. Clean cultivation is necessary to success. They should be 

 covered out of sight in winter with marsh hay or straw, clear of hay seed. This 

 should be put on when the ground is frozen hard enough to be driven over with- 

 out injury to the plants, and should be raked from the crowns of the plants in 

 the spring, and left on the ground among the plants until the fruit has been 

 .gathered, when it should be removed unless sufficiently rotted to allow the culti- 

 vator to pass through it. Modifications of this manner of culture can be 

 introduced as persons become acquainted with the cultivation. Downer's Pro- 

 lific for early, and Wilson's Albany for main crop, are perhaps as good as any. 

 Recollect one thing, the better the culture, the better the crop. The old adage 

 "a stitch in time, etc.," comes in right here. 



Next iu order for this simplicity of cultivation, is the raspberry. There are 

 but two species usually cultivated for their fruit, the red and the black. There 

 are several varieties of each. Of the red, or those mostly j)ropagated from 

 sprouts, the Kirtland, Franconia, Philadelphia, and Clark, are hardy, and per- 

 haps as good as any for the million. 



Cultivation. — Set in rows eight feet apart and three feet apart in the rows. 

 Till as you would corn one way. Let the sprouts grow in the rows, and treat 

 them as weeds between the rows. Let the rows spread to about two feet in 

 width. Cut out the dead canes after gathering the berries, as w r ell as all weakly 

 sprouts. This is all the culture needed from year to year, except the applica- 

 tion of a little manure from time to time. Keep the sheep and cattle out of 

 them, and you can reckon on a good crop every season — no every other year 

 about it — say fifty bushels per acre, or at that rate. 



The black cap species are propagated from layering the tips. There are also 

 many varieties of these — black, orange and purple colored berries. The Doo- 

 little, Mammoth Cluster, Seneca, Davison's Thornless, and Golden Cap, are all 

 hardy and reliable kinds. 



Cultivation. — These as well as the red should be set in the early spring, in 

 rows eight feet apart and three feet apart in the rows, and kept clear from 

 weeds as you would corn. To pinch off the tips of the canes when three or four 

 .feet in hight is an improvement. Cut out the dead canes each year after the 



1G 



