INTRODUCTION. 11 



With a constantly increasing demand, and no apparent 

 prospect of our markets being fully supplied, it is, no won- 

 der that many have turned their attention to the cultiva- 

 tion of the small fruits. 



All along the lines of our railroads, canals, and naviga- 

 ble rivers, new villages are springing up, each of which 

 soon becomes a shipping point for produce to the larger 

 cities and villages. Many which did not exist eight or 

 ten years ago, are now annually sending to market a half 

 million to a million baskets of fruits. 



Ten years ago a nurseryman's catalogue, made up ex- 

 clusively of the numerous descriptions of small fruits, was 

 a rarity ; but at the present time they are quite abundant, 

 showing that the propagation of the plants for sale, as 

 well as the raising of the fruit, has become quite a promi- 

 nent feature in horticulture. 



It is not to be expected that every one who attempts 

 the cultivation of the small fruits will be successful, any 

 more than that all will succeed in any other business, still 

 it must be admitted, that the culture of the leading vari- 

 eties of this class offers as wide and safe a field for enter- 

 prise as is to be found in any other branch of business 

 pertaining to the cultivation of the soil. 



Some will fail because they obtained varieties unsuited 

 to their soil or location, for it must be remembered that 

 there is no such thing as general cultivation, when ap- 

 plied to the whole United States. Others will attempt 

 more than they are capable of completing. And there 

 are those who imagine that all that is required is, to obtain 

 the plants and see that they are planted, after which they 

 can sit down and wait for a bountiful harvest. Such peo- 

 ple are always disappointed, and it matters not what they 

 undertake, they are sure to be unfortunate, and every ex- 

 periment will end in failure until they learn to labor as 

 well as to wait. Profitable fruit-culture cannot result 

 from idleness or negligence. Prompt, energetic action, ap- 



