LAYING OUT THE COMMERCIAL SMALL FRUIT FARM. 175 



the planting of trees or plants of any kind. It leaves the ground 

 loose, and it will dry out too early, while if the land is plowed early 

 the previous summer and if plenty of cultivation is given the plants 

 will hold their own for at least two months without rain. 



I will state here that in spite of the long drouth in the vicinity 

 of Owatonna I did not lose more than five per cent of my apple 

 grafts and about ten per cent of four to six inch evergreens, and I 

 have a perfect stand of strawberry plants all set last spring. I at- 

 ' tribute this to the land being plowed very early and well harrowed 

 last season. I planted as soon as the ground worked nicely and then 

 began cultivating and hoeing, which I kept up constantly until the 

 rains came about July 7th, the first we had of any consequence at 

 Owatonna dating back to April 17th. 



In laying out the ground I would run all my rows north 

 and south for 'protection, as each plant receives an equal amount of 

 the sun's rays on three sides of the bush, unless very thick on all 

 sides, which insures an even ripening of fruit. I would have a 

 driveway running directly through the center of the piece with a 

 cross road the other way and the packing shed in the center or to 

 one side of where the roads cross, arranged so that one foreman, un- 

 less it were a very large plantation, could keep tab on the pickers and 

 at the same time look after the packing and shipping of the berries. 



Next to consider would be selection of varieties and the distance 

 of planting. I will begin with our smallest plant and what I con- 

 sider our most profitable plant, the strawberry. I would plant Be- 

 derwood, ^^'arfield, Splendid, Lovett, Enhance and Parker Earle ; 

 but largely of Bederwood and Warfield, and arrange so that the 

 Warfield would be near enough to the Bederwood to insure pol- 

 lination. I would not plant Parker Earle except on low ground 

 where water will not lodge for any length of time in the spring, and 

 will say that on very rich low ground the Parker Earle is a world' 

 beater, but it has got to have abundant moisture. 



To get best results out of ground planted to apple trees I would 

 plant my trees 16 feet apart in rows and 30 feet between rows, and 

 in the 30 feet spaces, which, by the way, are running north and south, 

 I would plant one-half the ground to Bederwood and Warfield straw- 

 berries and the other half to Enhance. I have stated that my apples 

 would be planted on the northeast slope. Now by planting these 

 strawberries on the northeast exposure it would make a difference of 

 at least three to four days in the ripening of such varieties as Beder- 

 wood and Warfield, while the Enhance, which is a much later berry 

 than the others mentioned, would prolong the strawberry season at 

 least one week. In the rows of these apple trees I would plant cur- 



