42 



leaf-spot of strawberries and also of currants and goose- 

 berries are held within bounds by applications of bordeaux 

 mixture or lime-sulfur and gooseberry mildew by the re- 

 peated use of potassium sulphide. In some cases the free 

 use of th^ knife lessens the numbers of cane — and plant — 

 destroying borers. Unfortunately, there are troubles of a 

 more serious nature. Anthracnose takes heavy yearlj^ toll 

 of the cane-fruits, cane-blight, yellows, root-knot or crown- 

 gall and orange-rust flourish unrestricted, their virulency 

 'depending on the climate, the season, the locality, the 

 weather and the variety. Concerning these troubles un- 

 fortunately at present there is no satisfactory cure, remedy 

 or preventive, once the disease becomes established, and 

 such afflicted plants sooner or later reach the rubbish heap, 

 the sooner the better. With some of the insects, their re- 

 production goes on rapidly by leaps and bounds and when 

 weather conditions are favorable the reproductive spores of 

 disease are multiplied and spread broadcast by countless 

 millions making it almost impossible to hold such troubles in 

 check without the most thorough treatment at the proper 

 time, and with the right materials. The full details of such 

 work we leave with entomologists and plant pathologists. 

 HARVESTING AND MARKETING 

 The major difficulties of Small-Fruit growing do not 

 end with growing the fruit. Success is as dependent upon 

 proper harvesting and marketing as on anything else. The 

 t:me when the fruit is ready for picking, the care observed 

 in harvesting, the neatness and attractiveness of the package 

 and of the fruit in the package, the selection of the best 

 marlvets. all pla}^ an important part in determining the 

 i^mount of profit or loss. Unfortimately ripe fruit cannot be 

 shipped satisfactorily so that it must be picked at a stage 

 slightly in advance of full maturity although the harvesting 

 of gooseberries may begin long before full maturity has been 

 reached, and currants for jells are also harvested while yet 

 partly in the green stage. Most Small-Fruits are perishable 

 by nature and untoward weather conditions — high tempera- 



