30 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Another very important point in pruning is to cut out all the old 

 >vood as soon as the last berries are picked. I usually set a lot of men 

 in, after the last pickers, to cut out and carry out all bearing canes. 

 They have filled their usefulness, and only detract from young growth 

 and ^•houId be removed at once. 



Were I to plant in open ground I would make the rows seven feet 

 iipart, plants two to two and one-half feet apart in rows; but assuredly 

 I very much prefer the shade the apple trees make for them, besides I 

 get two crops from same ground and always get moreai)ples from that 

 eight acres than any other eight acres of my orchard of thirty acres. 



In picking, I use a light stand which holds six boxes, with handle 

 made of old barrel hoops, after the style of the basket handle. The 

 stands have legs about twenty inches long, made of old barrel staves 

 or strips of thin boards, put on so as to be wider at the bottom than 

 the box, so as to not be upset or knocked over. In these we carry 

 berries to the place of packing in crates, where they are always kept 

 well shaded and covered with heavy paper until shipped. If berries 

 are allowed to stand for only a short time exposed to sun, they are 

 very much injured, if not spoilt entirely. Always keep them in a 

 cool, dry, and well shaded |)lace. 



There is another very important matter to look after, — that is, 

 marketing the berries after they are grown. For a few years after I 

 iiad berries to sell I found ready sale and satisfactory prices by ship- 

 ping to commission houses, but each year my portion grew rapidly 

 less until I had the fun of growing them and some other fellow get- 

 ting the money. I began to look about for other customers. I soon 

 found a few good reliable retail dealers in different towns along the 

 railroads and made arrangements to ship about so many cases a day. 

 I found this to be a mutual benefit to myself and the dealers. I got 

 fair prices, the dealer getting better and fresher berries than they pos- 

 sibly could gel from the commission houses for the same money. Of 

 late years I have had ready sales in the field for nearly all I can grow 

 for the farmers and villages around me. Had I to depend on selling 

 to the commission houses, I fear I should be tempted to give up in 

 despair. Those that only grow a limited amount and are near some 

 small town or a village will usually find ready sale at fairly good 

 prices. Many of the fiarmers will buy from one to three cases each 

 season. 



