‘VT, Om 
alendar for eptember. 
MARTIN W. COOK. 
[This was written by Mr. Cook in 1894, two years before his death. Aside from 
its practical value. it will be interesting to our members as a reminder of one 
whom we hold in loving remembrance ] 
Small Fruits—As cultivation stimulates growth, raspberries and 
blackberries should not be cultivated after September, but allowed 
then to ripen up for winter. -If not already done, cut out and burn 
all old bearing canes' All pinching or cutting back should have 
been done early in the season when the canes were one to two feet 
high, and no trimming should be done after this until laid down 
in late fall, or when taken up in spring. 
Continue cultivating very shallow new beds of strawberries this 
month. It will pay to cut off all runners after rows are one foot 
wide, and thin the rows so that plants will not be nearer than four 
to six inches apart. Much finer fruit can be grown in this way than 
when the vines are allowed to meet too thickly. 
Small beds for family use can be set this month up to the first of 
October, if good, strong plants can be obtained and the work well 
done by thorough preparation of land and the careful setting of 
each plant, and then mulching at once all the ground four inches 
deep all round the plants with coarse litter from the barn- 
yard, and if dry weather watering them thoroughly. After the 
ground is frozen, cover plants two to fourinches deep with clean 
straw or very coarse litter. 
Old beds intended for fruiting next year that have not been cleaned 
out and cultivated,as should have been done immediately after 
fruiting, should be attended to at once—“Better late than never.” 
Do now as should have been done early in season with the follow- 
ing exception,—cultivate shallow, destroying as few roots as possi- 
ble. Immediately after harvesting the crop, mow off the beds, not 
too close, and haul off at once; loosen up the mulch between the 
rows if any and burn; then with a small plow anda rolling coulter 
cut down the rows to one foot in width by back-furrowing shallow. 
You can then weed rows as you think best. Then go over the bed 
with a planker leveling itdown. This will break hard lumps and 
pulverize the ground. Plow again, without the coulter, a little 
deeper, throwing dirt on to the rows, and plank again crosswise. 
This leaves fine dirt on the rows; then with potato hook go over the 
rows pulling off all lumps and dirt if too deep on the plants between 
the rows, leaving plenty of fresh dirt on the plants. 
After this and at once mulch four inches deep between the rows 
with coarse manure from the barnyard; also apply a light coat of 
fine manure on the rows, which will keep the plants from drying up 
and stimulate the growth and the forming of fruit-buds for the next 
year’s crop. 
The above direction can be applied to large or small beds; small 
beds can be spaded in between the rows two to three feet apart, 
made straight by a line. 
If not already commenced by giving a good coat of fine manure, 
plowing and spading the ground often so as to destroy all weed 
seeds, commence at once to thus prepare the land for spring setting 
of strawberries. 
Join the Minnesota State Horticultural Society and get free premi- 
ums offered and the monthly Horticulturist, a bundle of good prac- 
tical information, which, if you practice its teaching you owners of 
land will be blessed with an abundance of fruit. 
