66 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



will help them along to-day auy more for the mouey iuvested thau the 

 cultivation of flowers and small fruits ; and next the other fruits. 



The question of fertilizing the small fruits is much the same problem 

 that enters into the feeding of all our fruits. Liberal applications of 

 potash and phosphoric acid should be made, but very little nitrogen. 

 The use of nitrogen, either in stable manures or commercial fertilizers, 

 stimulates a rapid wood growth which is more susceptible of blights and 

 more liable to be injured bj' winter frosts. For the most successful cul- 

 ture of small fruits dodge the nitrogen. I would prefer not to use stable 

 manure, but I would use that rather than none at all. Bone meal and 

 potash in its most economical form, probabl}' wood ashes in this locality, 

 will give j'ou strong, healthy growth and a hardy wood to stand the 

 frosts of winter, and at the same time will give j'ou firm, bright colored 

 and high flavored berries. 



In strawberry culture it is well not to let the i^lants crowd too much. 

 The worst foe of the strawberry is the strawberry itself. If allowed to 

 grow too thickly and mat in the rows the vines will produce small berries, 

 and j'ou will not get as good results. They want to be given an abund- 

 ance of room. 



Here is this wonderful county of Aroostook where you have such mag- 

 nificent fields of strong, fertile soil and late seasons which give you the 

 markets southwest of you, it seems to me there is a wonderful chance 

 for commercial small fruit growing. I believe if some of you here, 

 instead of planting so many acres of potatoes would plant those same 

 fields in strawberries or raspberries your returns would be much greater. 

 Blackberries would come so late as to come into competition with peaches 

 in the markets of Boston or Portland, but strawberries would come into 

 the market after the other growers had ceased to supply them. I do not 

 know what the express rates are, but certainly if your neighbors over 

 here in Xova Scotia can grow strawberries and send them to the market 

 at the verj" great profit which they are getting, you people here can 

 exceed them in many ways. And I think there is a wonderful oppor- 

 tunitj^ for commercial strawberry growing in this county and in this 

 vicinity. I believe a ten acre patch of strawberries, well planted with 

 proper selections of varieties, and well cared for would bring greater 

 net cash returns than any fift j* acres of potatoes in j^our countj-. Of 

 course the cost of production would be far greater, as there would be 

 the cost of picking, and the cost of culture would be more and the cost 

 of plant food, for they are liberal feeders and require to be fed well. 

 Farming is similar to manufacturing processes ; the greater amount of 

 raw material we supply the greater returns we get. In entering into 

 the business from a commercial standpoint you want to produce the 

 largest and finest colored berries j'Ou can get, and then, after you get 

 the size and color, as good qualitj' as j'ou can get. If we want to open 

 the pocket books of the people in the markets we must get their eye first, 

 not their taste. You will have to select raspberries with some firmness, 

 because your markets are at some distance. Pick in the cool of the day 



