SMALL-FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. 



berries, good bunch, good quality, and 

 a heavy bearer, but it is such a straggley 

 grower, and so prone to spHt in the forks 

 when loaded with fruit, that it will always 

 be a short-lived bush. 



A new variety, much advertized, 

 " North Star,' does not justify the claims 

 made for it. Though a strong grower, 

 and apparently growing to be a heavy 

 cropper, neither in size or quality is it 

 the equal of any of those mentioned 

 above. 



" Raby Castle " and " Victoria " are 

 two old sorts that if not the same, are so 



nearly alike, that there is no use grow- 

 ing both of them ; heavy bearers, but 

 only medium in size and quality. 



The " Cherry," though a large, showy 

 berry, is too shy a bearer to be a good 

 market variety, and too acid to be suit- 

 able for home use. 



" London Red," though a very heavy 

 bearer, one of the heaviest with me, is 

 too small and too acid to be desirable. 



" Red Dutch," though better in qual- 

 ity, is too small to be profitable. 



R. B. Whvte. 



Ottawa. 



SMALL-FRUIT CULTURE FOR MARKET. 



T is the purpose of this paper to 

 present in compact form the gen- 

 eral principles upon which the 

 successful culture of small fruits is 

 founded. It is designed for beginners 

 rather than for experienced growers, 

 and is therefore largely devoted to 

 points which the man without experi- 

 ence is likely to ignore, or at best to 

 regard with insufficient attention. Some 

 of the methods suggested may need 

 modification to meet the needs of the 

 individual grower, but it is believed 

 that such changes as may be necessary 

 will suggest themselves to the thinking 

 cultivator who carefully considers his 

 particular location and surroundings. 



The growing of small fruits requires 

 a comparatively large investment of 

 capital per acre and also a better soil 

 than is necessary for the production 

 of most of the tree fruits. It is there- 

 fore better suited to the small farm, 

 under the direct supervision of the 

 owner, than to the large estate, whose 

 proprietor cultivates by proxy. To 

 balance the comparatively large capital 

 required we have the fact that, aside 

 from the value of the land and perma- 



nent improvements, the chief outlay is 

 for labor, which may be done by the 

 grower and his immediate family, while 

 the returns are much quicker than from 

 the tree fruits or the grape. In a few- 

 sections, so situated that large markets, 

 either near or remote, are accessible, 

 the culture of one or another of the 

 small fruits may be profitably under- 

 taken on a large scale, but these in- 

 stances only serve to emphasize the fact 

 that small fruit culture is primarily a 

 homestead pursuit. The narrow bed 

 or garden border of fifty years ago, en- 

 riched, dug, and weeded by hand, has 

 developed into the field, fertilized, 

 plowed, and cultivated by horse-power, 

 yet the requirements of the various 

 species remain much the same, the 

 methods of accomplishing the desired 

 results alone differing. As practised 

 by advanced growers in North America, 

 the methods followed in the cultsre of 

 small fruits are peculiarly of American 

 development ; while with the exception 

 of the currant, the varieties extensively 

 grown aro of American origin. 



The fruits to be considered are the 

 strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, cur- 

 rant, and gooseberry. 



63 



