^6 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



BEST METHOD OF GROWING THE STRAWBERRY 

 AND THE RASPBERRY. 



By Charles S. Pope, Manchester. 



Perhaps I had better tell you some of my failures and so warn 

 you off the rocks. To make a long story short I will just say 

 that why so many fail is because they do not understand the 

 first principles of raising the strawberry and raspberry. They 

 are induced by some agent to take a few strawberry plants with 

 big pictures and big names. The plants are all dried up when 

 they receive them and in nine cases out of ten they are nearly 

 all lost at the beginning. The first two beds I set I didn't get 

 strawberries enough to pay for setting out; I kept it up and find 

 it one of our easiest fruits grown. First be sure that your plants 

 are fresh, see that your ground is well prepared and enriched. 

 Dig holes with a trowel, spread out the roots and plant them at 

 once. Fertilize them plentifully and keep them hoed; no matter 

 if there are no weeds there, go out and hoe that bed. I was 

 speaking on that subject to Mr. Phillips and Mr. Webber got up 

 and said, "my bed didn't look half so well as my little boy's just 

 along side of it." He was interested in strawberries more than 

 I was; whether they needed it or not he was out hoeing those 

 strawberries. He watered them with a hoe. Fine mulching and 

 fine dirt on the surface keep the ground moist; the secret of rais- 

 ing strawberries is to keep the ground rich and thoroughly 

 stirred. 



RASPBERRIES. 



The great failure has been that most people put the plants 

 too near together, allowing for lots of suckers to grow but no 

 raspberries. Who would think of growing corn close together 

 and getting any ears of corn; if you want fodder the thicker the 

 better. Be sure and cut out all except a few canes right in the 

 hill. Don't get them too near together or too deep, raspberries 

 grow very near the surface". Keep the weeds down and the 

 dirt loose. The varieties which are tender should be protected 

 by simply laying over the top and then a shovelful of earth 

 thrown against the plant and a little over them. Even last year 



