410 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and make an evener out of it. The extra size will give it the neces- 

 sary strength and will also weight down the plow, which should be 

 either a i6 or i8 in. iron beam. This evener should be wrapped with 

 burlap. A heavy log chain, also wrapped with burlap, should be 

 attached to the end of the evener and looped around to the end of the 

 beam. This chain should have slack enough to extend back to the 

 point where the furrow is dropping and will pull the canes down 

 and the dirt immediately following will cover and hold them. The 

 larger the plow the more dirt will be thrown. A good, strong team 

 will handle this arrangement without any trouble, and I will add that 

 by lengthening the spread and straps and hitching a horse to each 

 end of the evener the team straddles two rows and by so doing, the 

 plow will turn the furrow from between them. In this way one 

 man and a 3,400 pound team covered up 4 acres of raspberry plants 

 for us in half a day last fall, and they were properly covered, tops, 

 body and all. 



It is good policy to mulch the covered rows to prevent the ground 

 thawing in case of a warm spell in winter, also to keep the ground 

 and canes frozen until late in the spring when all danger of frost is 

 over; then they can be uncovered with forks. The mulch will work 

 into the ground when uncovering the canes and will help enrich the 

 soil and add vigor to the plants. Strawberry plants should not be 

 uncovered until they begin to grow, which is usually late enough 

 to escape frosts. 



In conclusion I will say that there are great possibilities in fruit 

 culture in the northwest, and any one who makes an effort can raise 

 all the fruit he needs for his own use and will find that it pays bet- 

 ter than any other product of the farm if placed on the market. But 

 in order to be successful we must start right by purchasing stock 

 of responsible northern growers, who have not only a reputation 

 to sustain but whose honor and integrity is beyond reproach. There 

 are a great many nursery concerns within the reach of all who bear 

 this reputation an^d are interested in the success of those who make 

 an effort to do their part in making fruit growing successful in the 

 cold northwest. 



