TAMING THE WILD BLUEBERRY 119 



used, a row of plants from one stock being followed by a row from 

 the other. 



In the permanent field plantation the bushes should be set 8 feet 

 apart each way. When they reach mature size they will nearh^ or 

 quite cover the intervening spaces. 



When blueberry culture is to be tried in a sandy or gravelly soil 

 deficient in peat or peatlike matter, the plants should be set in 

 separate holes or trenches about 12 inches deep in a mixture of two 

 to four parts of peat or half -rotted oak leaves to one part of clean 

 sand. The excavations should be wide enough to provide ample 

 space for new growth of the roots, not less than a foot each way 

 from the old root ball. In small plantings, if the materials for the 

 mixture are easily available in quantity, an 8-inch bed of it may be 

 laid down over the whole surface of the ground, and if a planting 

 is to be tried on a soil wholly unsuited to the blueberry, the area 

 may first be covered with a 6-inch layer of sand, the bed of peat 

 and sand mixture being then laid down on top of the sand layer. 

 Wherever used, the peat and sand mixture should be thoroughly 

 manipulated, so as to give it a uniform texture before the plants are 

 set out in it, for in a soil in which layers of peat alternate with layers 

 of sand the capillary connection of the two is usually imperfect, 

 and a plant rooted in the peat may suffer severely from drought, 

 Sblthough the neighboring sand still has water to spare. For a 

 similar reason it is important that when the plant is first set out, 

 the peat and sand mixture shall be very tightly pressed and packed 

 about all sides of the old root ball. 



To secure full vigor of growth the ground between the bushes 

 must be kept free from all other vegetation. On rocky uplands or 

 in situations deficient in peat a continuous mulch of oak leaves, 

 when it is practicable to secure them, will help toward this end, as 

 well as keep the soil in the necessary acid condition. It is more 

 economical, however, to choose such a location for the plantation 

 as will permit the use of horse-drawn machinery and will make 

 mulching unnecessary. 



The most favorable location for blueberry culture is a moist area 

 with a peat covering and sand subsoil, the peat preferably of such a 

 thickness that deep plowing will turn up some of the underlying; 

 sand. 



