14 BULLETIN 334, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



give it a uniform texture before the plants are set out in it, for in a 

 soil in which layers of peat alternate with layers of sand the capillary 

 connection of the two is usually imperfect, and a plant rooted in the 

 peat may suffer severely from drought, although the neighboring 

 sand still has water to spare. For a similar reason it is important 

 that when the plant is first set out, the peat and sand mixture shall 

 be very tightly pressed and packed about all sides of the old root ball. 



To secure full vigor of growth the ground between the bushes must 

 be kept free from all other vegetation. On rocky uplands or in situ- 

 ations deficient in peat a continuous mulch of oak leaves, when it is 

 practicable to secure them, will help toward this end, as well as keep 

 the soil in the necessary acid condition. It is more economical, how- 

 ever, to choose such a location for the plantation as will permit the 

 use of horse-drawn machinery and will make mulching unnecessary. 



The most favorable location for blueberry culture is a moist area 

 with a peat covering and sand subsoil, the peat preferably of such a 

 thickness that deep plowing will turn up some of the underlying 

 sand. 



The land should be so ditched that the water level can be kept at 

 least a foot below the surface of the ground during the growing 

 season. 



The ground should be plowed to the depth of about 8 inches and 

 repeatedly harrowed or otherwise tilled during the season preceding 

 the planting, in order to kill the wild vegetation. The best time for 

 such plowing is late spring, after the principal vegetation has used 

 up its winter store of starch in completing its early growth and be- 

 fore the leaves have matured and the roots have begun the new 

 storage of starch with which they can send up new sprouts. 



The tillage of the plantation after the young bushes have been set 

 out should be sufficiently thorough to keep down all competing vege- 

 tation. This is best done by horse cultivation, with careful hand 

 hoeing and hand weeding close about the plants. As the bushes grow 

 older and their roots extend into the spaces between the rows, they 

 develop root mats close beneath the surface of the soil. The tillage 

 over these root mats should be very shallow, not more than 2 or 3 

 inches. This is probably best accomplished by the use of a small, 

 light spring-tooth cultivator with the teeth set closer together than 

 usual. 



In case of drought, the drainage ditches may be used to bring in 

 water for subirrigation. But unless the surface of the ground is 

 very level, subirrigation is likely to result in the injury of plants in 

 the lower spots by excess of water. In uneven areas, therefore, sur- 

 face irrigation, if accompanied by good drainage, is preferable to 

 subirrigation and should be used if practicable. 



Fertilizer experiments have shown that lime is positively inju- 

 rious to blueberry plants and that stable manure, while producing a 



