26 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



in encouraging the aforementioned average farmer to seek an improved 

 condition, the object and excuse of this paper will be attained. 



Farmers, like most other men, have one of two incentives to effort, 

 pleasure, or profit, and, as to the latter incentive, generally the view 

 is limited to the pecuniary sense. What does not bring in ready cash 

 is seldom thought of as profitable. To this mistaken view I attribute 

 much of the neglect of small fruits so noticeable on the farm. The 

 one who makes a business of raising the various small fruits for mar- 

 ket purposes, whether on a limited or more extended scale, seldom 

 fails to find the operation profitable, if he has had intelligent fore- 

 thought as to varieties and market opportunities. Too often has the 

 general farmer been induced to believe that similar success might be his 

 if he would devote a portion of his acres to fruit culture, and so with 

 all his other multifarious duties and plans of work sufficient to em])loy 

 all his time and ability he concludes to try fruit raising, and very gen- 

 erally he makes either a failure of the fruit or the farming. Though 

 I would not be dictatorial, yet I firmly believe that as a rule the av- 

 erage farmer should not attempt raising small fruits for market pur- 

 poses, but I would no less strongly urge the importance and real value 

 of a well selected small fruit garden on every farm. This garden 

 should not be large. A small plot, well prepared, well cared for, filled 

 in with a few choice varieties of every kind of small fruit generally 

 cultivated in the locality, will bring more of health and happiness, 

 consequently profit, than ten times the amount of ground devoted to 

 any of the general farm uses. I said this little plot should be well 

 cared for; if it is not so cared for, then realize in your own disap- 

 pointment and vexation of spirit what occurs everywhere throughout 

 our land among the average farmers who have neglected this choice 

 bit of earth as the broad fields of corn or wheat have engrossed their 

 attention. 



The trouble with this family garden generally is, that the farmer 

 does not give it a place in his plans of work. This is the fatal mis- 

 take, as it will not bear neglect, and there the work must be timely, 

 never delayed to "a more convenient season ;" neither is it wise or 

 safe to delegate the care of the small fruit garden to the already over- 

 burdened wife and children, as is too often done with the vegetable 

 garden. j\Iany a resident of the city or village with only a spare lot 

 has proven the profitableness of the small fruit gaideu and been the 



