MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 307 



It is well to put all the available plant food possible on your berry 

 bed. I buy all the manure I can get, pile it up in the summer to rot, 

 pitchiag it over a time or two during: the summer to let the weed seed 

 germinate, and apply to the rows late in the fall, when the ground is 

 very dry or frozen. Some growers object to applying manure directly 

 over the crowns, but so far I have not seen any bad effects with plants 

 treated in this way. A clover field may be plowed under and a crop 

 of potatoes taken from it, and then apply your manure and plow deeply 

 and you will be sure to get good results. Dried blood, I believe, will 

 make big berries, but the cost — $42 to $45 a ton — may not meet the 

 approval of many of us today. The cleanings of a lime-kiln, including 

 the wood-ashes, are good fertilizers. Ground bone applied just before 

 the plants are set is a good fertilizer, although we do not need one- 

 tenth the fertilizers here that they do in the East. 



If you cannot get new ground to plant your berries in, it will be 

 best to cultivate the ground for at least one season in some hoed crop, 

 and be sure and not let a single weed go to seed. 



In planting, I use a bull-tongue plow to mark the rows, marking 

 both ways as deep as possible. Plant in tlie checks, so that the 

 crown of the plant will be just as near even with the surface of the 

 ground as possible. Firm the earth over the roots by stepping di- 

 rectly over the plant after it has its roots covered with earth, and then 

 draw a little loose earth over foot-print to hold the moisture. Place 

 your order now for plants, so that you can get them early in the spring, 

 and plant as soon as the ground can be worked. This is important 

 so that your beds may be already established when the dry weather 

 comes next July and August, as now predicted by that grand man, 

 Kev. Irl Hicks, of St. Louis. 



I have tried summer planting twice, but have had poor success 

 with it and would not recommend it, unless you are prepared to irri- 

 gate. 



Kever let the weeds get a start, but cultivate before they can be 

 seen peeping through the ground. I use the Planet Jr. cultivator, and 

 think it is the greatest labor saving cultivator ever made. In very 

 rocky ground and when the plants are small I usually take off all but 

 three phovels, when rows are close together, as this will prevent throw- 

 ing dirt or stones on the plants. Where ground is free of rock I 

 would recommend the Planet Jr. with ten or twelve small teeth, re- 

 versible, and the pulverizer attachment. The hoe is an instrument 

 that cannot well be dispensed with, and should be used frequently and 

 thoroughly, but be careful not to hoe deep. 



