336 SUCCESS WITH SMALL FRUITS. 



1 8. If you cultivate strawberries in the spring, do the 

 work very early — as soon as the ground is dry enough to 

 work. After the fruit buds show thcmseh'es, stir the ground 

 with a rake or hoe only, and never more than an inch deep. 

 I advocate early spring cultivation, and then the immediate 

 application of the mulch. 



19. Just as the ground begins to freeze, in the fall or 

 early winter, cover strawberry plants with some light mate- 

 rial that will prevent alternate freezing and thawing during 

 the v/inter. Never use heavy, unfermented manure for this 

 purpose. Leaves, straw, salt hay, light stable manure, or 

 any old litter from the garden, answers. 



20. In setting raspberry plants, or any fruit, never set in 

 hard, unprepared soil. Do not stick them in little, shallow 

 holes, nor in deep, narrow ones, wherein the roots are all 

 huddled together; make the holes large and deep, either 

 with the plow or spade, fill the bottom partly with fine, rich, 

 moist, surface soil, free from lumps and manure, and spread 

 the roots out on this, then fill in with very fine pulverized 

 earth, setting the plant, in light land, one or two inches deeper 

 than it grew naturally ; and in heavy land at the same depth. 

 If manure is used, spread it on the surface, around, not up 

 against, the stem of the plant. 



21. Both for the sake of economy and thoroughness, use 

 the plow and cultivator rather than fork and hoe, whenever it 

 is possible. Ground can be laid out with a view to this rule. 



22. In cultivating crops among trees, use short whifile- 

 trees, with the traces so fastened as to prevent the young 

 trees from being scratched and wounded. 



23. Save, with scrupulous economy, all wood-ashes, soap- 

 suds, and all articles having fertilizing qualities. A com- 

 post heap is like a sixpenny savings bank. Small and 

 frequent additions soon make a large aggregate. The fruit 



