29 



BULLETIN OF 

 MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. 



SMALL FRUITS IN THE HOME GARDEN. 



By 8. T. Matnard, Boivnist and Pomologist to the Board. 



Small fruits are pre-eminently the fruit for the home garden. 

 They ai-e easily grown, and do not require a large amount of land 

 to produce a liberal supply of fruit for home consumption. The 

 fruit can be put on the consumer's table in a fresh, ripe condition, 

 quite unlike the fruit purchased from the market. 



The increasing interest in fruit in the home garden and the 

 numerous inquiries as to the best methods, fertilizers and varieties, 

 have led to the preparation of this bulletin, in which the practice 

 of the best growers is given briefly, modified so as to adapt it 

 especially to the home garden. 



The Strawbeert. 



The strawberry is perhaps the most important fruit in cultiva- 

 tion in the temperate zone, and especially as a home fruit, 

 although it takes a leading place as a money crop for fruit 

 growers in all sections of the country. In yield, measured in 

 quarts or bushels, it will probably average through a series of 

 3'ears more than that of any other fruit crop. Reliable records 

 have frequently been made of nearly one thousand bushels per 

 acre, and with an average of fiom two hundred to three hundred 

 bushels per acre under good average condition of cultivation, or 

 one to two bushels per square rod. The strawberry possesses 

 unusual importance, in that it is the first fruit to ripen in the 

 summer, and is the one that gives the quickest returns to the 

 grower after planting. 



