DIRECTIONS FOR BLUEBERRY CULTURE. 9 



It is a curious fact that these plants send out no new i-oots in 

 spring until the}^ are in full leaf, their flowering is nearly or quite 

 finished, and their principal twig growth has ceased. It is important, 

 therefore, in taking up either a wild or a cultivated plant from the 

 open gi-ound that as much as possible of the old root mat be lifted 

 with the plant, for upon this they depend for moisture until their 

 new rootlets are formed. 



In the case of mature wild bushes with very large root systems, 

 when it is practicable to secure but a fraction of the root mat, say. 

 a disk only 3 or 4 feet in diameter, it is the best procedure to cut all 

 the stems to the ground at the time of transplanting. The bush will 

 then produce a new and symmetrical top of a size suited to the 

 capacity of the roots. The wood that is removed may be used for 

 cuttings if the plant is sufficiently valuable. 



In the permanent field plantation the bushes should be set 8 feet 

 apart each way. When they reach mature size they will nearly or 

 quite cover the intervening spaces. 



To secure full vigor of growth the ground between the bushes must 

 be kept free from all other vegetation. On roclr^^ uplands a continu- 

 ous mulch of oak leaves, Avhen it is practicable to secure them, will 

 help toAvard this end as well as keep the soil in the necessary acid 

 condition. It is more economical, however, to choose such a location 

 for the plantation as will permit the use of horse-drawn machinery 

 and will make mulching unnecessary. 



The most favorable location for blueberry culture is a boggy area 

 with a peat covering and sand subsoil, the peat preferably of such a 

 ihickness that a deep plowing Avill turn up some of the underlying 

 sand. 



The land should be so ditched that the water level can be kept at 

 least a foot below the surface of the ground during the growing 

 season or can be raised for subirrigation during a drought. 



The ground should be plowed to the depth of about 8 inches and 

 repeatedly harrowed or otherwise tilled during the season preceding 

 the planting, in order to kill the vegetation. The best time for plow- 

 ing is late spring, after the principal vegetation has used up its stored 

 starch in completing its early growth and before the leaves have 

 matured and the roots have begun the new storage of starch with 

 uhich they can send up new sprouts. After the plants are old enough 

 to have formed a root mat, the tillage should be very shallow, not 

 more than 2 or 3 inches, so that the roots will not be injured. This is 

 probably best accomplished by the use of a light spring-tooth harrow 

 with the teeth set closer together than usual. 



Fertilizer experiments have .shown that lime is positively injurious 

 and that manure, while producing a temporary stimulation of vege- 

 87087°— Cir. 122— 13 2 



