TWENTY -FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 267 



Priming — Don't let the shoots fruit the first year. The 

 second year you will o-et a fair number of g-ood canes. But 

 don't work for too much fruit that year. This is the time 

 to do the heavy pruning. Cut them well back. The third 

 year narrow the hedge-row to fifteen inches and thin plants 

 to ten to twelve inches apart. Delay pruning as late in 

 spring as possible. After the snow goes and we have had 

 one or two good soaking rains and the sap starts we put on 

 a large force and rush the work through. 



Harvesting — This is the time of greatest difficulty. 

 Women pickers are the best, men are profitable, but avoid 

 the boys if possible. A frame holding three baskets is 

 strapped to the pickers so that both hands may be used. Du- 

 plicate cards are used and placed together and both punched 

 at the same time ; thus avoiding any possible mistakes. 



Varieties — Three varieties can be recommended for 

 New England, the Early King, the Ruby, and the Cuthbert, 

 giving a good succession. 



Discussion. 



President Rogers: We still have another speaker this 

 afternoon, but we will devote a short time to the discussion 

 of Air. Smith's paper. Are there any questions to ask Mr. 

 Smith ? 



A Member : I would like to ask the gentleman about 

 plowing the furrow that he speaks of between the rows. You 

 throw the furrows together at the center? 



Mr. Smith : We run one in the center and then turn 

 them together, so that after we have gone back and forth 

 with the cultivator it is leveled up again. 



A ^^Iember: In running through in that way is there 

 no injury to your root system? 



Mr. S^nTii: No. You see with my rows six feet 

 apart I go down and back on the same line, and we simply 

 break up the ground in between, and in that way we get a 

 nice open, arable soil, with the least possible trouble, and with 

 practically no danger to the root system. \\\{h tlic rows six 



