SUMMER MaETING AT BUTLER. 117 



REPORT ON SMALL FRUITS. 



BY W. H. THOMAS. 



LaGrange, Mo., June 8, 1885. 

 Z. A. Goodma7it -Esq. 



Dear Sir : In answer to your request for a paper on small fruits 

 from Northeast Missouri, I have to say that this section of the State 

 pays but little attention to growing small fruits, hence but little can be 

 said by us. The past winter was very severe on the blackberries of 

 the tender varieties, such as Lawton, Kittatinny, etc., but the Snyder 

 came through all right, and is now full of blossoms, but few of that 

 variety has been planted as yet, so of course our crop of blackberries 

 for this season will be very light. The Black Cap raspberries were also 

 injured by cold weather to some extent, so our crop of them will also be 

 a little short. The red varieties appear to be uninjured, but very few 

 of them, however, are grown here. But of the strawberry crop a more 

 favorable report may be made, except as to prices, for we are now 

 right in the heavy part of the picking. The Wilson was badly dam- 

 aged by the freeze about a month ago, and the Sharpless and Chas. 

 Downing are almost a total failure, but the Crescent, the boss of ber- 

 ries, is uninjured, and, oh, my! what quantities of large fine berries 

 they are turning off, and all for the small sum of "one dollar a bottle" 

 — case — need I say, well, not quite so bad as that yet, for some are 

 selling for $2.00 per case. 



We grow the Orescent, Wilson, Capt. Jack, Sucker State and Sharp- 

 less, and are trying a few others, but shall discard Sharpless for same 

 reason we had to give up Downing — too tender to .stand spring frosts. 

 I always plant in the spring as early as possible after plants are large 

 enough to take up. In planting a Crescent patch I plant two rows of 

 Crescent, then one row of Wilson, then two rows Crescent, then one of 

 Sucker State or Capt. Jack, and so on till all are planted. The Wilson 

 being an early bloomer is ready to fertilize. The first bloom of the 

 Crescent, the Capt. Jack or Sucker State both being late bloomers are 

 ready to take up where the Wilson leaves off, thus fertilizing all the 

 blooms on the Crescent, unless during unfavorable, cold, rainy weather 



