CHAPTER 34 



Small Fruits 



By Professor L. C. Corbett 



In charge of Horticultural and Pomological Investigations, United 



States Department of Agriculture 



The small fruit interests of the United States are made up of a diversity 

 of fruits adapted to a wide range of territory and conditions. The cash 

 value of these crops approximates $20,000,000 annually, two-thirds of 

 which is derived from the strawberry, the most cosmopolitan of the small 

 fruits. The second place is contested by the raspberry and the blackberry, 

 both of which are important money crops, and the fourth crop of importance 

 is the cranberry, which is restricted both by climate and by soil require- 

 ments. Each of the important small fruits is here given a brief but, it 

 is hoped, clear and concise treatment. 



THE STRAWBERRY 



The garden strawberry is an American product. It adapts itself to a 

 wider range of latitude and to greater extremes in environment than any 

 other cultivated fruit. It is universally liked and is cosmopolitan in its 

 adaptations. 



Selection of Soil. — The soil best suited to the cultivation of the straw- 

 berry in the northeastern part of the United States is a sandy or gravelly 

 loam. A warm, quick soil, although naturally poor, is to be preferred to a 

 heavy, retentive soil well supplied with plant-food. The lacking plant- 

 food can easily be supplied by the addition of fertilizers, while the physical 

 characteristics of the soil can be modified only with great difficulty by culti- 

 vation, drainage and the addition of organic matter. Congenial soil and 

 exposure are, therefore, important considerations. 



Preparation of the Soil. — The land to be devoted to strawberries 

 should, if possible, be planted in a cultivated crop, such as potatoes, 

 beans or corn, at least one year previous to setting the plants, in order that 

 the larvae of such insects as wireworms, white grubs, cutworms, etc., may 

 be as completely eliminated as possible. 



Previous to setting the plants the soil should be deeply plowed in order 

 that all organic matter of whatever nature on the surface may be completely 

 turned under. Immediately following the plow the land should be thor- 

 oughly pulverized by the use of the harrow, and the surface should be 

 reduced to a condition which would form an ideal seed-bed. 



(438) 



