24 BULLETIISr 974, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



ness, productivity, hardiness, season of ripening, resistance to fungous 

 diseases, and many other less important characteristics. In making 

 the selections, special consideration has been given to the. form of 

 the bush and its possession of a foliage surface adequate to the nour- 

 ishment of a large crop of berries. (PI. XXV.) 



CONCLUSION. 



The introduction of the blueberry into agriculture has a much more 

 profound significance than the mere addition of one more agricul- 

 tural industry to those alread}^ in existence. Blueberries thrive best 

 in soils so acid as to be considered worthless for ordinary agricul- 

 tural purposes. Blueberry cultivation, therefore, not only promises 

 to add to the general welfare through the utilization of land almost 

 valueless otherwise, but it offers a profitable industry to individual 

 landowners in certain districts in which general agricultural condi- 

 tions are especially hard and unpromising, and it suggests the pos- 

 sibility of the further utilization of such lands by means of other 

 crops adapted to acid conditions.® 



8 For a discussion of the principles of acid-soil agriculture in districts in which the 

 cost of lime is prohibitory, consult " The Agricultural Utilization of Acid Lands by Means 

 of Acid-Tolerant Crops," United States Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 6, 1913. 



ADDITIONAL COPIES 



OP THIS PUBLICATION MAT BE PROCURED FROM 



THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 



GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 



WASHINGTON, D. 0. 



AT 



30 CENTS PER COPY 



X7 



