VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 119 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE. 



By Chas. A. Hinsdale of North Bennington. 



I shall not attempt to describe all the operations connected 

 with the culture of small fruits but will give my ideas on a few 

 of the most important. 



First we must consider the soil and its condition. Choose a 

 spot that you think would be good for corn or potatoes and you 

 will usually be safe. It may be sandy loam, clay loam or gravel, 

 but don't try a swamp. It is not often that the land on which 

 crops are planted is properly fitted, and it is especially necessary 

 to have the soil in good shape for crops that are to occupy the 

 ground more than one season. Of course the ease with which the 

 work can be done depends largely on the character of the soil and 

 the previous crop and here is a very important matter to the mar- 

 ket grower, for if soil and conditions are such that the fitting is ex- 

 pensive, away goes his profit. Or he may be tempted to plant 

 when the fitting is only half completed and that means extra labor 

 in caring for the crop, or failure. Whatever you do, be sure that 

 your land is well plowed and harrowed before you plant. When 

 you have it harrowed in good shape, harrow it some more, then 

 harrow again and drag it with a plank drag. I use the harrow 

 until the soil is so mellow that it clogs in front, then the plank or 

 board drag makes the field as smooth as can be and we can tell 

 just how deep to plant. 



We set strawberry plants with a spading fork. For most 

 other plants we use either a cultivator with only one tooth or a 

 plow but sometimes both plow and cultivator are necessary. By 

 following the plow with the cultivator tooth the trench is made 

 deeper and the soil at the bottom so loosened that the planter can 

 push it aside with his hands if necessary. You can easily tell 

 how deep a plant should go if you will examine it carefully. 

 The distance apart to plant is a point which can be varied to suit 

 the ideas and convenience of the grower and is not so important 

 as many believe provided the after culture is suited to the manner 

 of planting. Speaking generally, the closer you plant the more 

 expensive will be the culture. 



In doing the planting the soil will be more or less packed, 

 and should it be left so and the weather be unfavorable, a great 



