342 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



SMALL FRUIT FOR FARMERS. 



C. L. SMITH, MINNEAPOLIS. 



Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen:— 



I am well aware that what I shall say will be so well known to you, that 

 many of you may think that it might better have been left unsaid; but is 

 it not better for us to repeat over and over the things we know to be true 

 and good, rather than waste time in discussing things hoped for or guessed 

 at? Just as long as there are thousands of children in our state, who 

 throughout the long bright summer are deprived the privilege or oppor- 

 tunity of feasting on strawberries fresh from the vines of their own 

 gardens, scratching their hands or staining their frocks gathering rasp- 

 berries and blackberries; just so long as anywhere in Minnesota there are 

 farmers' wives, who, desiring to furnish their tables with something 

 appetizing, are compelled to resort to prunes and dried apples; aye, until 

 every farm and every village garden is planted with strawberries, cur- 

 rants, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes sufficient to supply 

 the family with fresh fruit all summer and canned fruit all winter, we 

 ought to go on telling the old, old story, "how to grow small fruits," until 

 every one has heard or heeded it. 



This society has for twenty-six years preached the gospel of fruit culture 

 to a skeptical and unbelieving public ; many have been converted and 

 made happy, but many yet grope in the darkness of ignorance, indifference 

 or unbelief. 



How to live and live well is the most important question for all, both 

 in a moral and physical sense. It is not an exaggeration to say that bad 

 food, unpalatable, indigestible, unsatisfying to the appetite, has much to 

 do with bad manners and morals. The acidity of luscious strawberries 

 and other fruits partaken freely throughout the summer would do much 

 to correct the acidity of disposition, generated by toil in the field or around 

 the kitchen stove. To teach one farmer how to grow small fruit for his 

 family, and arouse his ambition so that he shall do, it is a work worthy of 

 highest commendation, for it makes many lives brighter and happier. 

 There can be no better work, for the Divine Teacher of Nazareth said, 

 "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it 

 unto me." 



How TO DO IT. — Select ground naturally rich or made so with barnyard 

 manure, plowed deep and well pulverized, if not naturally well drained; and 

 let it be so arranged that no water shall stand on the plants at any time. 



Selecting varieties. — Select only well-tried sorts, such as are com- 

 monly planted by market gardeners for fruit. The Crescent strawberry 

 fertilized with the Wilson, the Countess or Captain Jack have generally 

 proved very satisfactory. Plants of these may be secured at merely 

 nominal prices. The farmer who wants berries for his family to eat 

 should not waste time or money on new varieties; leave those to the pro- 

 fessionals or amateurs who spend money or work for fun. 



Strong plants from last year's runners should be set as early in the 

 spring as the ground can be worked. The roots should be kept cool and 

 moist while out of the ground. While setting carry the plants in a pail 

 or pan with an inch or two of muddy water to keep the roots damp, as 

 they dry very quickly if exposed to sun and wind. 



