44 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



early fall and lightly plowed in, it will be in the very best 

 condition for the plants the next season. Other fertilizers, 

 as tankage, bone meal, w-ood ashes, dried blood and sulphate 

 of potash, should be applied during the growing season in 

 small and frequent doses. 



After plowing, the field should be smoothed ofl:" and 

 marked out in squares, so that the plants can be set 14 inches 

 apart each way, four rows to each bed and a space of three 

 feet between the beds. This allows for about thirty thousand 

 plants per acre, and it must be borne in mind that these are 

 the plants that are going to bear the fruit, so no runners are 

 allowed to grow from them. 



It is almost impossible to get help that can be taught to 

 set runners carefully in the matted rows, while in the hill 

 system, where all the runners are removed, the most ignor- 

 ant help can be used, thus saving expense over the other sys- 

 tem. Then all the weeding is done by wheel hoes, for the 

 plants are set so that they can be cultivated both ways, and 

 a horse cultivator will take care of the spaces between the 

 beds. 



The plants should be set in the spring as early as possi- 

 ble, in our section about April 15th to the 30th. It is best 

 to remove about one-half of the root of the plant before 

 setting and all of the leaves. This will insure against the 

 loss of the plants during dry or windy weather. The cut 

 roots quickly start new rootlets, and new leaves soon start 

 from the cut-back crown. In a week the beds will be green 

 and the plants will not show any ill effects from this heroic 

 treatment. One of the difficulties encountered by those who 

 first began to set plants in hills was winter killing; the plants 

 were set too far apart and gave each other no protection, 

 while setting them closer, as here shown, eliminates this 

 danger, really making a very wide matted row. with each 

 plant an individual unit. 



As for varieties, this is a matter of local issue rather 

 than a principal. It is impossible for me to give you a list 



