156 Success with Small Fruits. 



heart of each propagator lurks the hope that he may draw the prize of 

 prizes. 



I will close this chapter with a few simple and practical suggestions. 

 It is not necessary to place the seeds in ice. They may be sown in July, 

 in rich soil, rendered fine and mellow, and in a half-shady position ; and 

 the surface should be kept moist by watering, and a sprinkling of a little 

 very fine compost, that will prevent the ground from baking. Some of 

 the seeds will germinate that season, more will come up the following spring. 

 Or, they may be started in a cold frame under glass, and hastened in 

 their growth so that good-sized plants are ready for the fruiting-bed by 

 September. Mr. Durand plants his seed in the spring, and the seedlings 

 bear the following year. The plants should be set eighteen inches apart 

 each way, in the fruiting-bed. When they blossom, note and mark all 

 the pistillates as such. Those that grow feebly, and whose foliage scalds 

 or burns in the sun, root out at once. The Spartan law of death to the 

 feeble and deformed should be rigorously enforced in the fruit garden. 

 The first year of fruiting will satisfy you that the majority of seedlings are 

 to be thrown away. Those that give special promise should be lifted with 

 a large ball of earth, and planted where they may be kept pure from 

 mixture, and given further trial. Remember that a seedling may do 

 better the first year than ever after, and that only a continued and varied 

 trial can prove its worth. All runners should be kept off, unless the 

 ground is infested with grubs, and there is danger of losing a promising 

 variety of which we have but one specimen. If so fortunate as to raise 

 superior seedlings, test them side by side, and under the same conditions 

 with the best kinds in existence, before calling to them public attention. 

 Try them, also, in light and heavy soils; and, if possible, send them to 

 trusted friends who will subject them to varied climates in widely separated 

 localities. If, however, you find them vigorous and productive on the 

 light, poor soils of your own place, you may hope much for them else- 

 where. No berry will be generally popular that requires much petting. 

 I only state this as a fact. In my opinion, some varieties are so superb 

 in size and flavor that they deserve high culture, and well repay it. 



It is a question whether, except for the purposes of propagation, 

 pistillate varieties should be preserved and sent out. Mr. Fuller, and 

 others, take ground against them, and their views are entitled to great 

 respect, but with such kinds as the Golden Defiance and Champion in my 

 garden, I am not prepared to condemn them. One objection urged 

 against them is that many purchase a single variety, and, should it prove a 

 pistillate, they would have no fruit. They would not deserve any, if they 



