SMALL FRUIT GARDEN IN JULY AND AUGUST. 



2SS 



SMALL FRUIT GARDEN IN JULY AND AUGUST. 



O. W. MOORE, SPRING VALLEY. 



July and August are the harvesting months of small fruits. The 

 first of these fruits to ripen is the strawberry. We will suppose' 

 that the strawberry bed that we are taking as an illustration was- 

 one year old the previous spring and that it has been well cared for 

 through good cultivation and winter protection ; and that the 

 straw from the winter covering has been well placed between the 

 rows, which will serve as dry openings for the pickers to work uponi 



Mr. O. W. Moore, Spring' Valley, Minn. 

 One of our oldest members. 



and will also act as a mulch whereby moisture may be retained, and" 

 will also help to retard the growth of weeds. A large portion of 

 the first berries have ripened, and the pickers are about to begin 

 work. 



The writer is of the opinion that there are more strawberries 

 damaged in the picking than in the shipping. The picker should take 

 hold of the berry at the stem and by a little twist of the wrist 

 separate it from the parent stalk without bruising it or injuring 

 those that remain for later ripening. The boxes should be new and. 



