44 BOOK OF FRUITS. 



rieties are obtained, good crops may be had 

 with little or no care after transplanting ; we 

 have known beds almost untouched for years 

 to yield plentifully. Nevertheless, we consid- 

 er the cheapest method, ultimately, of raising 

 this fruit, is by thorough culture ; that the 

 greatest amount of fruit is obtained in this 

 way for the care and labor expended, and that 

 the quality is so much superior to that obtain- 

 ed from slight culture, as to give the former 

 practice very decided advantages. When the 

 beds have much diminished in their product, 

 new plantations must be made to supply their 

 place. This generally takes place in four or 

 five years. 



A grower of this fruit in New York subjoins 

 his method of cultivating, thus " In the Fall, 

 cover the beds slightly with straw, and burn 

 all down ; then dig in between the hills with 

 a trowel or deep hoe, rake smooth, and re- 

 place with a fresh dressing two inches thick, 

 for winter protection, &c. The hills ought to 

 be 110 more than twelve inches apart, and two 

 or three stems in a hill. While the fruit is 

 setting, water morning and evening, with a 

 table spoonful of salt to each pail of rain or 



