$I« 



FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



inches apart ; the space between them is 

 kept perfectly clean, and the runners are 

 cut as soon as they appear. This results 

 in the greater growth of the original plant, 

 which has an increased number of crowns 

 from which the blossoms and fruit proceed 

 in great numbers. This method enables 

 the producer to have the best possible re- 

 sults in the size and appearance of his 

 fruit, but it is attended with more labor 

 and expense than the bed system. Many 

 cultivators prefer planting in rows, when 

 they set the strawberries about a foot 

 apart, and place the rows two feet or 

 more one from another, according as they 

 expect to use plows or hoes in their cul- 

 ture. In the narrow rows the runners 

 may be cut off, and the fruit will be al- 

 most as fine as that grown in the hills, 

 but in the wider rows the runners are 

 generally allowed to strike root, and 

 spread the row into a bed in the course 

 of the first summer after planting. 



Spring is the best time for setting out 

 the plants, though this may be done at 

 any time during the growing season. 

 The advantages of early planting are the 

 longer period allowed for the stools to 

 grow and become thoroughly established 

 in the soil. The plants are set by the 

 line, a hollow is opened with the trowel, 

 in this the roots are spread out, then cov- 

 ered with mellow earth and pressed firmly 

 with the fist or even with the heel. If 

 watered at once, a little fresh earth should 

 be thrown in to prevent the cracking, but 

 great care must be taken to avoid placing 

 the crown below the surface of the 

 ground — in other words, the roots must 

 be planted and not the corm, from which 

 the crowns arise. Thorough culture should 

 be given through the season. 



Mulching, with old, rotten manure, ap- 

 plied after planting, will encourage the 

 growth of the strawberries, and keep the 

 soil moist. Winter mulching with clear 

 straw, leaves, or other material, should be 

 liberally applied after the ground has frozen, 

 and be left to protect the buds during the 

 winter, and to be removed from the 

 crowns of the plants in the spring. Be- 

 ing left between the rows, the straw will 

 make a good summer mulch, and keep 

 the fruit clean. In hill culture, saw-dust 

 and old tan bark have been recommended, 

 and still another material, spent hops from 



the brewery, has been used with excellent 

 effect. 



Strawberries have a peculiarity in their 

 blossoms, from which they have been 

 classified as Pistillate, Staminates and Her- 

 maphrodites. In the first class, the stamens, 

 are so defective that the flowers need tha 

 fertilizing influence of other kinds which 

 must be planted near them. These fur- 

 nish many of our favorite varieties, espe- 

 cially those which are largely cultivated 

 in beds. The next class embraces most 

 of those sorts which produce the largest 

 berries, their flowers are often so deficient 

 in the pistils that a large per centage of 

 them fail to set fruit. This is particularly 

 the case when these varieties are grown in 

 beds and allowed to multiply their run- 

 ners. They are, however, quite product- 

 ive when cultivated in hills, and they have 

 formed branching crowns from which 

 spring numerous trusses of flowers. Be- 

 side these two classes there is another, in 

 which the two sexes are so evenly com- 

 bined that almost every flower is followed 

 by perfect fruit, a very few varieties of the 

 strawberry, either cultivated or wild, be- 

 long to this group. 



Baspberries. — Next to the strawberry, 

 and nearly allied to it in its botanical re- 

 lations, is the raspberry, which furnishes a 

 fruit of high flavor and exquisite fragrance. 

 It is no wonder that this should be a fav- 

 orite with all fruit-growers, since it is easily 

 produced, hardy, makes quick returns is 

 easily gathered, and commands a ready 

 sale at high prices. And yet it is equally 

 surprising that so few farmers' gardens are 

 stocked with the raspberry. 



Every soil that is cultivable will pro- 

 duce this fruit, but a good loam is best 

 adapted to it. The only preparation requi- 

 site is ordinary plowing of the land, but 

 deep cultivation and manuring are well 

 bestowed upon the rasperry patch, and it 

 should be kept clean by thorough summer 

 cultivation. 



The raspberry may be planted in the 

 fall, but the early spring is generally pre- 

 ferred. They may be set about three feet 

 apart, in rows that are from six to nine 

 feet wide, or planted in hills five by five 

 feet, or wider for some of the larger kinds. 

 Planting in rows is usually preferred, but 

 the hills allow of cultivation in both di- 

 rections, or cross plowing, which saves 



