40 



supply of humus in the soil and careful cultivation to con- 

 serve moisture, the latter methods will in a period of years 

 usually be more economical and satisfactory except in a 

 few unusually favored localities where from uncommon 

 weather conditions or peculiar markets an irrigation system 

 may prove of value. 



FERTILIZERS.— Would that it were possible to have 

 on tap but one kind of plant-food or but one formula for 

 each of the fruits under discussion. Unfortunately, such a 

 condition does not exist and in the nature of things cannot 

 maintain. With varying characters of soil and climate and 

 with natural likes and dislikes of plants, diverse needs and 

 requirements, the question of what fertilizer to use becomes 

 one of the most baffling of all questions confronting the 

 grower. No sooner does one grower demonstrate that a 

 certain treatment is most efficient on his farm but some 

 neighbor "goes him one better" by some other treatment or 

 as is more often the case, attempts to imitate the recom- 

 mended plans only to end in disaster finding them nothing 

 but mountains of chaff which are blown to the four points 

 of the compass by the first trying winds of climatic and 

 soil conditions. Doubtless some growers are not getting 

 the worth of their money in fertilizers. The kinds of fer- 

 tilizers, and the amounts to use are almost as diverse as the 

 number of growers who use them: Of one thing we are 

 certain. There is no one kind of fertilizer best adapted to 

 the .strawberry, another for the raspberry and so on. that 

 will hold for all soils, localities and seasons. The Small- 

 Fruit growler must experiment for himself on his own farm 

 as to the possible need for the different fertilizers contain- 

 ing forms of nitrogen, potassium and phosphoric acid and 

 must not forget that fertilizers will not take the place of 

 liumus from stable manure or cover-crops plowed under 

 and also that it is of equal importance to look to his drain- 

 age, the physical condition of soil and his cultural methods. 



PRITNING. — Operations of pruning are simple as 

 compared with those of tree-fruits. Saw, knife and shears 



