TRANSACTIONS OF HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ILL. 299 



REPORT UPON SMALL FRUITS. 



BY G. W. r.ARRETT. 



George W. Garrett, from Committee on Small-Fruits, reported 

 as follows: 



Small- Fruits for the Farmer. — One who really enjoys all varieties of 

 small-fruits, in their season, cannot readily account for the fact that not 

 one farmer in fifty in the State has more than an occasional dish of 

 berries or other small-fruit on his table. With many farmers this is in 

 consequence of the opinion that it requires "professional skill," and they 

 give it up, and say, "we can buy our small-fruit cheaper than we can 

 raise it," "or we have not time to attend to it." The consequence is, but 

 it'vf of them have but an occasional dish, and those gathered from a 

 neighboring meadow, or from the corners of the fences. No farmer 

 would think of raising a good crop of corn or potatoes in this hap- 

 hazard way. If he wanted a good crop of corn he would thoroughly 

 prepare the ground, procure good healthy seed and give good culture. 

 How can a farmer expect at the harvest to have his bins and cribs filled 

 unless he performs his part the whole season ; corn does not grow spon- 

 taneously, neither does small-fruit. The same care and attention in the 

 preparation of the soil and selection of plants and vines, in this depart- 

 ment, as well as any other, depends largely upon the cultivation given it; 

 goo(^cultivation will give an abundance of small-fruit for the table, such 

 as s^wberries, raspberries, grapes, currants, etc., and with a succession 

 of these fruits the farmer can have fruit from June ist to New Year's. 

 No class of people are so well fitted for such facilities as the farmer, 

 having an abundance of room and fertilizers convenient to make the 

 ground produce well. Small-fruits require just as good soil and cultiva- 

 tion as corn or any other crop to have an abundant yield. 



It might not come amiss to give a few simple directions for the 

 method and cultivation of small-fruits, so as to induce the farmer to plant 

 more abundantly, if not for market, "for home use." 



Strawberries succeed best on good soil, with ample drainage, near to 

 water if convenient, so in a time of drouth they could be watered. Well- 

 fed plants will repay in quantity and quality of fruit. In setting, set in 

 rows four feet apart, and set the plants from one-and-a-half to two feet 

 apart in the rows. 



A bed six rods long by four rods wide will furnish an ordinary 

 family with all the fruit they need. Keep the bed clean from grass and 

 weeds, use a horse and small-tooth cultivator until the runners drive you 

 out, then use the hoe the balance of the season. 



Do not stop when harvesting commences, but continue through the 

 season, as at this time of the year the purslane bothers most; after the 

 ground is frozen, mulch with leaves, wild hay, straw or chip manure; be 

 careful not to mulch too deep, as you may smother the vines; cover about 

 one inch deep. In the spring, if the ground becomes hard and packed 



