4l8 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETV. 



A second way to further this end is through the agricultural 

 press. If care is taken by those who have the horticultural depart- 

 ment in charge to give farmers line upon line in reference to these 

 simple methods, much would be effected. Too often the aim of 

 writers is to write about the complex and the new, rather than about 

 the simple and the old. 



A third method, and a very effective one, is through those who 

 speak on horticultural topics in the sessions of the farmers' institutes. 

 The speakers can reach the farmers with much directness. They 

 can submit those simple methods by aid of tongue and blackboard, 

 and they can make clear to the farmers any matters that they do not 

 fully understand in answering the questions that arise. 



The agricultural press and the institute speakers have done good 

 work in this direction in the past, but the fact remains that most 

 organizations and speakers and writers would rather attempt to do 

 some great thing than to labor in pressing home simple problems on 

 those Avho need them. Most men are far more anxious to carry in- 

 vestigations amid the clouds than on the earth. 



The small fruits that every farmer should aim to grow upon his 

 farm are strawberries, red raspberries and currants. He may grow 

 blackcaps and gooseberries, but the three fruits first named will 

 suffice for his needs in the line of small fruits, and they may be very 

 easily grown. Blackcaps whip about with the winds more than red 

 raspberries and involve more labor in growing them, and gooseber- 

 ries in many of the varieties are much liable to mildew. If but two 

 classes of small fruits are grown, let these be strawberries and rasp- 

 berries, as these are the most free from insect enemies. The addi- 

 tional fruits that the farmer should aim to grow are the plum and the 

 apple. These are not really small fruits, but in the discussion I de- 

 sire to submit a few thoughts with reference to the ai>ple also. 



Protection for Fruit. — One of the first things to provide is shel- 

 ter. In various ways it is more satisfactory to grow fruits in a coun- 

 try where winter and summer winds are strong with, rather than 

 without, such protection. Aim, therefore, as far as may be practica- 

 ble to grow such fruits within a windbreak that forms two sides 

 of a right angle in the more exposed direction or, what is even better, 

 three sides of a rectangle. But the planting of the fruits should by 

 no means be deferred until the windbreak has made advance in 

 growth, for the windbreak will grow more quickly than most fruits. 



Grozving Strawberries. — The ground should, if possible, be care- 

 fully prepared the previous autumn. It should be heavily manured 

 and then carefully plowed not later than August. The manure 

 should be well decomposed. The surface should then be carefully 



