The Profitableness of Fruit -Culture. 33 



from a large city, were it not for the conv-eniences of getting his crop easily 

 and quickly to the consumer. What is true of the East is more true of the 

 West, which yearly sends her grapes, apples, and other fruits, to even the 

 extreme Eastern markets. Granting, then, there are immense portions of 

 country so situated, that the products may easily be forwarded to the con 

 sumer, the question will be asked by every person about to enter upon the 

 work of fruit-raising, What can be grown most profitably? The first fruit 

 of the summer is a favorite one wnth all classes who can afford to use it : 

 and strawberries, taking the years together, are a profitable crop ; none more 

 so, perhaps. The Eastern markets have never been so fully supplied that 

 the laboring-man could afford to buy for his family ; and, latterly, the price 

 has ruled high, averaging tv^enty-five cents per box of a quart each. At 

 these prices, it is not an uncommon thing to realize ten to twelve hundred 

 dollars from an acre of strawberries, and that, too, of the Hovey's Seedling. 

 If the average product should command two-thirds that sum, it would still 

 be a profitable one ; for we take it that there are not many acres situated at 

 a distance from a market that will yield such an amount of money when 

 planted to vegetables or field-crops. The work of cultivating this crop is 

 not the most laborious for the owner, while a large part of the work can be 

 done by w^omen and children. The demand is unlimited, and has never 

 yet been fully met ; so that if the business be one giving a large profit, as 

 we have briefly attempted to show, then it is quite safe to extend it. After 

 strawberries come the raspberries, — an excellent fruit, that has, of late years, 

 been somewhat neglected. Its season, coming, as it does, just as the straw- 

 berries are finished, renders it valuable in making up a succession of fruits. 

 They are more easily grown than the strawberry, and will produce good 

 crops even under the shade of trees. One reason why this berry has not 

 been produced in considerable quantities is the fact, that, at the North at 

 least, the canes need to be covered in winter to give the best results. This 

 is not a great job, however ; and should not deter a single person from 

 entering upon the cultivation of this fruit. They can be sent to market in 

 the same way as the strawberry, there being no extra expense for boxes or 

 baskets. The yield is often large, and the fruit sells for nearly as much as 

 the strawberry. The best information we are able to get, added to our own 

 experience, all goes to prove that it is a profitable fruit to raise. The 



