46 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE, [Jan., 



obtained that will astonish any one who has not tested the matted 

 hill system. By planting six feet apart we would get about six 

 hundred hills on one half acre; say fifty each, early and medium, 

 and one hundred late ripening strawbei'ries; fifty early and twenty- 

 five late black-caps; twenty-five early and fifty late red raspberries; 

 twenty-five yellow raspberries; twenty-five early and fifty late 

 blackberries; thirty red, fifteen white, and five black currants; 

 fifteen gooseberries; and eighty-five grape vines of early, medium, 

 and late ripening varieties. 



A field planted in this way could be cultivated at one-half the 

 cost of that of one in rows, where it would be impossible to use 

 the horse and cultivator as freely as this would admit of; for in the 

 fruit garden, as in all of our farm operations, our aim should be 

 to produce the best crops at the least expense of hand labor; the 

 horse and cultivator being made use of whenever possible. 



Enemies. — There are a number of enemies more or less destruct- 

 ive in the small-fruit garden; none, hov/ever, that I know need be 

 feared to any extent here in Connecticut, if simple precautions are 

 taken to prevent in season. 



The common white grub is often quite destructive to the roots 

 of strawberry plants; but as it is seldom found except in land that 

 has recently been in sod, it is best to plant on land that has been 

 cultivated for some years previously; but if grubs are known to 

 be in the ground, they can be prevented from doing any harm by 

 sprinkling a little flour of sulphur in and around the roots at time 

 of planting. 



The rust or leaf blight, so destructive to many strawberry plan- 

 tations in recent years, seems to affect some varieties much more 

 than others, and to a certain extent can be prevented by planting 

 only those varieties the least liable to its attacks. It usually shows 

 itself first during warm, wet weather, the last of May or early 

 part of June; first a few brownish red spots, not much larger than 

 the head of a pin, are seen, but these soon spread rapidly over the 

 whole leaf, and often in a week or ten days three-fourths of all 

 the foliage will be brown and dry, about ruining the whole crop 

 of fruit. Following the lead of friend Olcott, I have found that 

 a very light dusting of lime will entirely prevent this, if taken in 

 time; knowing just the weather that will breed this fungus, keep 

 a stock of lime on hand and you will be able to prevent it to a 

 great extent. 



