1st February, A. D. 1894. 



ESSAY 



BY 



GEORGE CRUIKSHANKS, Lunenburg, Mass. 

 Theme : — Small Fruits. 



The culture of small fruits is a subject of great interest and worthy 

 the attention of all cultivators of the soil, and where the location and 

 soil are favorable there is money in small fruits for the man that is 

 fitted for the business. On almost every farm there may be found 

 soil suitable for their culture. To obtain the best results the laud 

 must be rich and in the best possible condition by deep ploughing and 

 heavy applications of good stable or farm-yard manure. It is im- 

 portant that the soil is in the best mechanical condition, so that the 

 roots of the young plants can penetrate the soil freely in search of 

 food. Success depends very largely on the man who undertakes the 

 culture of small fruits as a market crop ; he must have a taste for the 

 business, should know the character of his soil, and have some knowl- 

 edge of the use of fertilizers and their mode of application. 



The first fruit of which I shall speak is the Straicherrii ; this is the 

 king of small fruits. The strawberry has been grown in the gardens 

 of the wealthy since the days of Shakespeare. Early in the present 

 century Keen's Seedling was produced in P^ugland ; this was the type 

 of all our present valuable varieties. The first improved American 

 variety was sent out by the late Charles M. Hovey. The introduction 

 of Hovey's Seedling created an interest in strawberry culture that has 

 continued till the present time. With new varieties came improved 

 methods of culture and a demand for more fruit, so that now it may 

 be said that all our people have their strawberries and cream in their 

 season. The strawberry adapts itself to a great variety of soils. The 

 soil best suited to its culture is a deep sandy loam with a naturally 

 moist subsoil. Such land, thoroughly prepared as advised, will pro- 

 duce good crops of fruit. For field culture the matted row is the 

 usual method ; for this, mark out rows with a marker three and a half 

 feet apart, plant from 12 to 20 inches in the row, according to the 



