388 BOARD OP^ AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



making and similar culinary operations. The chief problem 

 in growing- is to combat the currant worm. For this pur- 

 pose thorough spraying with Paris green is best. The best 

 varieties are Fay, Red Cross and Victoria. White currants 

 and black currants are sometimes grown, liut are not in great 

 demand. 



Gooseberries. — In a few families the gooseberry is indis- 

 pensable. It is usually not difficult to grow. The standard 

 varieties are Houghton and Smith, although some of the 

 newer introductions promise to be valuable. 



Strawberries. — The strawberrv bed should be renewed 

 each year. The best practice is to set a new bed every 

 spring, as soon as it can be done conveniently. This bed is 

 enriched and highly cultivated during the year, in order to 

 get the strongest possible growth from the plants. In some 

 systems of cultivation the runners are kept removed, while 

 in others they are allowed to grow in the middle of the row. 

 Such a bed, properly managed, should be in condition to bear 

 a large crop of fine berries the second spring. It may then 

 be left during the third year to bear a second crop, if one 

 insists on it ; but the second crop is much inferior to the first, 

 and those who cultivate strawberries extensively have found 

 by experience that it does not pay to carry most plantations 

 over longer than the second year. 



There are many excellent varieties, almost an}^ of which 

 will answer for home use, and many of which are desirable. 

 Glen-Mary, Clyde, itrandywine, Sample, Ilaverland, Marshall 

 and Gandy are among the best, and should be relied on when 

 the planter does not knoAV, from personal local experience in 

 his own garden, that other varieties are better. 



In o-eneral, the manao-ement of the home o^arden should 

 aim at a high culture, thorough cleanliness and the best enrich- 

 ment of the soil. It has come to be almost a i)art of our 

 language that a garden should be a spot exemplifying all the 

 agricultural virtues herein specified. In actual fact, how- 

 ever, we know that very often the garden is the most neg- 

 lected spot on the farm. Good results in growing of fruits 

 cannot be ex})ected from meagre feeding and slovenly culti- 

 vation. The trees and bushes should be always arranged in 



