STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 65 



l^OTES FEOM A FEUIT GARDEN. 



BY W. H. BRIMHALL, OF ST. PAUL. 



The paper, by request of Mr. Brimhall, wa»s read by the assistant 

 secretary, Mr. Smith. 



Mr. President and Members: 



Being a new beginner in small fruit-growing, I can give you 

 nothing of much interest. When I came on my place in the 

 spring of 1882, it was covered with hazel brush and scrub oak. 

 Being anxious to raise strawberry plants for the next year's 

 planting, I broke up a small patch, two by five rods, about the 

 twentieth of May and set it out to Crescent Seedling, Charles 

 Downing and Wilson, setting them two feet apart in the rows 

 and the rows four feet apart. They did not run very much; the 

 plants were small and the crop did not last two weeks; they seemed 

 to dry up or blight. 



I set from that bed 1,500 Crescent Seedling, 1,500 Charles 

 Downing and 500 Wilson on land in fine condition, giving all the 

 same care in summer, and covered with marsh hay. All came 

 out nice in the sj)ring, the Crescent having made the largest 

 number of plants. The Charles Downing were a failure, there 

 not being enough fruit to pay for picking, while from the Crescent 

 and Wilson I picked six hundred and fifty quarts of nice berries. 

 I mulched a part of the bed and found that it doubled the yield. 

 The berries were larger and lasted a week after they were all 

 gone from the part not mulched. For mulching I used straw from 

 an old stack bottom. Have tried early and late planting and 

 find that plants set early are less liable to dry out, make a larger 

 growth of vines, and yield more fruit. I set last spring mostly 

 of Crescent and Wilson, setting three rows of Crescent and one 

 of Wilson. I also set some Glendale and Iron Clad. All made 

 a nice growth and looked well when covered. The Iron Clad 

 made the largest growth of all, completely covering the ground 

 with strong, healthy looking plants. Have noticed the leaf-roller 

 the past season. It seems to work on the Crescent mostly. Have 

 not seen any on new beds. 



For raspberries I have set Turners mostly. Set as early as 

 the land will work well, in rows north and south^ six feet apart, 

 and three feet apart in the row, using the little green shoots just 

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