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A SUMMER’S WORK IN HORTICULTURR. 387 
shut off about half the sunlight. The seedlings may be allowed to 
remain in this bed for three to four years, when they should be 
removed to their permanent situations, where it would be of great 
advantage to them if they were protected by some deciduous trees 
for a few years. 
Berries.—The shrubby berries most common under cultivation in 
this state are the blackberry and black and red raspberry. As 
regards propagation, both the blackberry and red raspberry pro- 
duce suckers from the roots, and so the easiest way of raising them 
is to plant these suckers outin anew place. The black raspberry, 
however, does not produce suckers, and, therefore, varieties of this 
must be propagated by a different method. This is done by bury- 
ing the tops of the branches in the ground early in the fall, where 
under suitable conditions they will have a good root system estab- 
lished before it is time to put down the whole plant for winter. 
When well rooted, the branch should be cut off, and the new plant 
is thus formed, 
Pruning is one of the essentials connected with the care of berries. 
In the spring just when the leaves are nicely started, all the wood 
should be cut back toa strong ,healthy side shoot. The result of 
this is to reduce the amount of fruiting wood and thus increase the 
size of the berries. Stopping of the young wood is also a very 
important branch of pruning, especially as far as blackcaps are 
concerned. When the young shoots of the year have reached the 
height of one to one and one-half feet, the tops should be clipped 
off with a knife. This has a tendency to produce numerous side 
shoots or bearing wood while upward growth is practically stopped. 
The work extended from about the first of April to the first of 
October, when the fall term of school began. 
To one who enjoys practical illustrations, it was time very profita- 
bly spent. There were numberless opportunities to put into prac- 
tical operation the theories discussed in the class-room.,. To him 
who has never lived ona farm, book knowledge of horticulture 
might soon fade away were it not firmly fixed in the mind by actual 
experience in the nursery and garden. 
CHEMISTRY AND HORTICULTURE. 
W. R. HERRICK, SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE, ST. ANTHONY PARK. 
The question sometimes arises, “How can chemistry aid the horti- 
culturist?’ No doubt the three following ways are among the more 
important, viz: the precise food value of our fruits, the chemical 
composition and actual cash value of fertilizers, and the prepara- 
tion of insecticides and fungicides. 
Food value of our horticultural products.—Although we well 
know of the healthfulness of fruit as a diet, let us study the actual 
food value. Take, for instance, the Duchess apple. Chemical 
analysis shows it to contain 83.2 per cent water, 16.8 dry matter, .2 
per cent protein, 4 per cent fat, 15.9 per cent carbohydrates and .3 
per cent mineral matter; or, in plain English, in one hundred 
pounds of ripe apple there are 83.2 pounds of water, only 16.8 pounds 
of solid food, and of this small amount of food there are .2 pounds 
