298 ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



good formula for land of ordinary fertility is about twenty cords 

 stable manure and one thousand pounds suj)er-phosphate (running 

 fifteen per cent, phosphoric acid and five per cent, potash) per acre. 

 This will give a balanced ration, which we must have in fruit grow- 

 ing. For fear of ravages of white grub, land should be cultivated 

 the year previous to planting in berries, to some hoed crop. 



The best success I have had is on ground on which a crop of corn 

 or potatoes had been grown, and sown to crimson clover in July, 

 and this turned under. The clover adds to the humus and nitrogen. 



PREPARATION AND PLANTING. 



The soil should be plow'ed deep and harrowed thoroughly. Most 

 varieties are deep rooted, hence the necessity of deep plowing. The 

 harrowing is very important. It should be continued with rolling, 

 if necessary, until the soil is thoroughly pulverized. Plants should 

 always be taken from vines that never bore fruit, and the best plants 

 are obtained from beds that are grown for plants and not for fruit. 



These plants, when lifted, should be handled as carefully as plants 

 of the tomato. They have a large leaf surface, and unless protected 

 from the sun and wind, the moisture they contain soon evaporates 

 and they die. When lifted, all dead leaves and runners (and if to 

 be planted immediately and the sun is hot, part of the green leaves) 

 are to be removed. The root should be i)runed to about three 

 inches in length, as the plant forms new roots before it resumes 

 growth; and as the new roots are generally within this distance of 

 the crown of the plant, it is better to prune the useless portion. 



The best and speediest way I have found to set the plants is to 

 mark the gi'ound with the ordinary corn marker, weighting it so it 

 will mark about three inches in depth. If the ground is in proper 

 condition the weight of the driver will be sufficient. Running by 

 stake, if the driver has a straight eye, your rows will be as straight 

 as a line. Never mark farther than plants are set, so that in plant- 

 ing, the fresh cool soil comes in contact with the roots. In planting, 

 you require a boy to drop and a good careful man to cover, who 

 should get down on his knees, holding the plant in one hand against 

 the side of the mark, and drawing the soil up against it with the 

 other, being careful to get the plant at exactly the right depth. The 

 roots being pruned and the ground being marked to about the same 

 condition, with a little practice this is easily done. Two motions and 

 two handfuls of soil are all that are necessary. A smart man will 

 cover from seven to eight thousand plants in a day. 



The time to apply commercial fertilizers is immediately before 

 the setting of the plants, by sowing it along the row. At this time 

 use one-third of the amount you intend to use. The balance should 

 be used about the last of June, sowing it on each side of the row. 



