1056 



Gardening for Amateurs 



any variety chosen. This ensures the heads 

 of the trees being well above any crop grown 

 for some years, especially if planted, as they 

 should be, 18 feet apart. Where Plums 

 succeed, the Czar, Victoria and Belle de 

 Louvain may be planted, but if the grower 

 is not certain of success he should plant 



Cordon Pear tree in fruit. 



only Victoria. The Plum succeeds better in 

 cultivated land than when planted in grass. 

 This fact is taken advantage of to utilise 

 the ground beneath the trees for various 

 crops, e.g. Spring Cabbages, Parsley and 

 Wallflowers. 



Raspberry. In some districts Rasp- 

 berries are much favoured by small growers. 

 Some consideration must be given to the 

 labour question if more than an acre or two 



be planted. The young plants are put out 

 in rows 5 feet apart, 18 inches from cane to 

 cane. Cut them back after planting 1 foot 

 or 18 inches from the ground. Between the 

 rows of Raspberries all kinds of crops may 

 be grown for a couple of years. Cabbages, 

 Sprouts, Salads, root crops, in fact almost 

 anything for which the grower has a demand 

 or need. Land for Raspberries should al- 

 ways be quite clean before planting. The 

 old canes must be cut away each autumn and 

 the small, useless growths removed, weeds 

 being kept down by hoeing as needed. Deep 

 digging near Raspberries is always to be 

 avoided, though there is nothing against 

 turning over the surface soil to bury small 

 weeds. Manure is needed annually, or the 

 canes soon dwindle in size and become 

 useless as fruit bearers. The first season 

 there are no Raspberries worth gathering 

 as a rule ; the second year about 5 cwts. 

 per acre may be secured ; the following 

 season 10 to 15 cwts. may be obtained; 

 afterwards full crops according to the seasons 

 ought to be gathered in, SOMC years 2 tons 

 per acre. The price in chip baskets may be 

 from 4d. to 7d. per lb., and as these prices 

 represent roughly from 36 to over 60 per 

 ton, there is the possibility that on occasion 

 a Raspberry crop may be an extremely 

 profitable one. The affair is somewhat 

 different when the berries can only be sold 

 in tubs for jam, and the price is down to 

 15 or even as low as 10 per ton. Superla- 

 tive, Baumforth's Seedling and the old Red 

 Antwerp the latter still unsurpassed for 

 cropping capacity are all useful sorts to 

 grow. 



Strawberry. Possibly this crop may 

 appeal to the smallholder more than any 

 of the other fruits. The land for Straw- 

 berries should be just as carefully prepared 

 as for anything else. It is possible to 

 obtain a small crop of large berries from 

 young plants the first year, if the runners 

 are secured early and planted out in favour- 

 able weather by the end of July or beginning 

 of August. When we come to plant Straw- 

 berries by the acre, it becomes rather difficult 

 to give them special treatment, and so it has 

 been found better to put the young plants 

 out in October, or failing this in February or 

 March. The usual plan and a most useful 





