78 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETT. 



next two years. I dida't wish to know his opinion had he been told 

 I was setting raspberry and blackberry bushes in October. Even my 

 own family were skeptical, but now they all admire and enjoy that 

 beautiful hedge of fruitful shrubbery. 



This year we had two or three barrels of apples, a surplus of straw- 

 berries, currants and gooseberries, some fine samples ot grapes, and 

 a few pears. There were also picked from my old raspberry bushes 

 some excellent berries, which with Jersey cream made just the sort of 

 relish we all enjoyed, in fact it was so popular there were no berries 

 to sell. 



THE FIFTH YEAr's FRUITS. 



The next season's work was similar in its nature. The scrubby 

 apple trees upon which we commenced five years previous were grow- 

 ing rapidly, and fine thrifty trees with well-shaped tops were the result. 

 Several grape vines were set, Brighton, Moore's Early aud Virgennes. 

 The shrubbery of all kinds was doing finely. The raspberries and black- 

 berries set the fall before wintered well and started early in the spring, 

 and during the season made a fine growth, though I did not allow any 

 of them to grow more than two feet and at that not more than three 

 or four canes to the plant. I had a few strong Downing strawberry 

 plants. These were carefully set early in the spring and bore before 

 the season ended some very fine fruit. My experience, however, has 

 taught me that for garden culture, at any rate, there is more profit in 

 setting the plants as early in August as they can be obtained, aud I 

 have lately followed this plan with success. A crop of peas or early 

 beans may be grown from the same land and the following season the 

 vines under favorable conditions will bear a good fair crop of berries. 



This year we had apples the entire year, a surplus of strawberries, 

 currants and gooseberries, which found a ready market. There were 

 also enough raspberries for the family and a few Snyder blackberries 

 from bushes of which we have made no mention. There was also 

 quite a lot of grapes, some pears, and promise of still more fruit the 

 next year. 



HOW THE FRUIT CAME IN THE SIXTH YEAR. 



The sixth year very few additions were made, though here and 

 there a bush, tree or plant was set out. There was in fact no need of 

 it except to keep up the strawberry beds. This we did by setting 

 plants in the summer as soon as the new plants were of sufficient size. 



