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CECIL H. HOOPER. Small Fruit Growing in Kent. ^Aw/vwr/ of the 

 Board of Agriculture, November 1909, p. 628. 



" Small fruit, such as raspberries, gooseberries, red and black 

 currants, and also strawberries, are largely grown in nearly all parts 

 Of Kent. 



Preparation of land for small fruits. - - To be successful with 

 small fruits, the soil must be good, well situated, fertile, clean from 

 weeds, and well cultivated. A good working soil is a great asset. 

 For strawberries, raspberries, and bush fruit on arable land, the 

 best practice consists in applying some 30 tons of dung per acre, 

 then ploughing seven inches deep with three or four horses, follow- 

 ing each furrow with a heavy brake drawn by two horses to sub- 

 soil the ground, stirring it some four or five inches deeper. This 

 is the method followed by some of the best growers, it is almost 

 equivalent to trenching, and costs much less. Steam cultivation to 

 stir the soil may be employed if a large area is to be planted. 



The Raspberry. The raspberry is a plant that responds to 

 heavy manuring. The varieties now most popular for field cultiva- 

 tion in Kent are " Superlative " and " Hornet," which have replaced 

 " Carter's Prolific " and " Norwich Wonder, " the favourites of 

 twenty years ago. The raspberry is propagated from young plants 

 dug up yearly from the side of the parent plant; these suckers or 

 " spawn " are best when taken from young plantations. They should 

 be planted out in land well cleaned, well manured, and deeply 

 worked, the tops being previously cut off to about six inches above 

 the ground line. A common distance for planting is 4ft. 6in. 

 between the rows and 2ft. apart in the row, using one, two, or 

 even three plants to a hole, depending on the strength of the sucker. 

 The planting is done from November to the end of February, 

 avoiding frosty weather, and keeping the roots of the suckers duly 

 protected from frost and drought before planting by carefully bedding 

 them in the soil. 



The approximate cost per acre of forming a raspberry planta- 

 tion, including the first year's cultivation, if everything is well done, 

 will be somewhat as follows: 



