FRUIT CULTURE. 817 



the roots like a fan if possible. If planting in a hot sun, or when exposed to drying winds, 

 the plants should be kept in pails, boxes, or lined baskets, and roots kept moist. The roots 

 are sometimes dried more in ten minutes in the open air than in going 2,000 miles through 

 the mails. Some persons prefer to dip the roots in a puddle made of clayish soil or muck 

 when received, also when planting. 



Another method for planting is to push the spade (or trowel) down into the soil, and 

 then, by pushing it forward, insert the roots behind the spade without withdrawing it. This 

 is an excellent way when planting in summer, or in very dry weather. If the soil is very 

 dry, a pint or two of water may be poured into the cavity. River or rain water, or water 

 that has been drawn and exposed to the air for some hours, is better than cold spring water. 

 Next run the spade or trowel down into the soil, about an inch further out, and pry the soil 

 back into place against the roots, and level off the ground. 



A fourth method is to dig a hole with a trowel, and, after making a little mound in the 

 bottom of the hole, spread the roots around upon it. Next fill in part of the soil, and if very 

 dry pour in some water. A little well-rotted manure (not strong fertilizers), if placed in the 

 hole before filling up, will often give the plants a good start. Before finishing, if not too 

 wet, press the soil firmly with a trowel, or moderately firm with the foot, and leave the last 

 half inch of soil loose, so as better to catch the rain or dew, and to prevent the soil from 

 baking. The mound in the bottom may be omitted if time is limited. 



Distances for Planting. The &quot;hill&quot; system is the favorite method in garden 

 culture, except where the soil is very light and sandy, or overrun with grubs. It merely 

 consists in keeping all runners cut off, thus keeping each plant separately by itself. In 

 garden culture, where the space is limited, the rows may be made either a foot and a half or 

 two feet apart, with plants either eight, twelve, fifteen, or eighteen inches apart in the rows. 

 A space two or three feet wide may be left between every three, or four, or five rows, to be 

 used as a walk, or as a dividing line, or as a surface drain. If for the last purpose, it will 

 want to be lower than the rest of the bed. The nearer the rows are to each other, the less 

 mulching will be required. These different distances will give opportunities for experiment 

 ing, and all of them might be tried to see which will give the best satisfaction on the soils of 

 each cultivator. Usually the largest berries are obtained from plants grown by the &quot; hill &quot; 

 system, with the rows two or three feet apart, and plants fifteen inches apart, though more 

 berries are often obtained by planting nearer together. 



In field culture, the &quot;hill&quot; system is usually followed if the soil is heavy or of a clayey 

 nature. The rows are then made either two and a half or three feet apart, usually three feet, 

 when about 14,500 plants are required to the a.cre. If the garden plot is large, and can be 

 arranged so as to permit of horse-power, then I would also recommend this same distance of 

 three feet between the rows. Berries usually are sweeter and ripen more evenly when grown 

 by the &quot;hill&quot; system, as they are more exposed to the sun and air than when grown in 

 &quot;matted &quot; rows. 



The &quot;matted&quot; row system consists in having the rows either three, four, or five feet 

 apart, and allowing the runners to take root on both sides of the parent plants. It is followed 

 almost entirely in field culture where the soil is sandy, and frequently upon gravelly soils and 

 upon easily worked loams. The plants may be set out at twelve or eighteen inches apart, 

 and the rows, being more widely separated, require less plants to the acre than by the &quot; hill &quot; 

 system. A &quot; partially matted row &quot; system is to allow only four or six runners to take root 

 from each plant, cutting off the rest. Excellent crops of fine berries can usually be obtained 

 in this way. 



Another method, called the &quot;matted hill system,&quot; is to mark off the land both ways, as 

 if for corn, placing one or two plants at every crossing, which may be either three or four 

 feet from each other. Run the cultivator lengthways, and also across the row, during the 



