Fertilizers for Berries 149 



quantity must be carefully regulated, and in Europe slow- 

 acting forms of organic nitrogen are in special favor. Basic 

 slag meal or bone-meal may be used as sources of phos- 

 phoric acid when the grapes are set, but later, superphos- 

 phate is to be preferred, especially if it is not most thor- 

 oughly worked into the soil. Sulfate of potash is often 

 considered preferable to the muriate of potash for grapes, 

 for it is alleged to give a better quality of fruit." 



Berry bushes respond readily to the fertilizer treat- 

 ments appUed to general field and garden crops. The roots 

 are relatively shallow and therefore submit to surface 

 tillage and applications, and the life of the plantation is 

 short enough to allow of definite tests and also of rotation. 

 Wheeler writes that "The blackberry is especially at home 

 on very acid soils and a very light application of lime will 

 meet all possible requirements of the plants, if indeed it 

 is needed at all. The blackcap raspberry is more likely 

 to be helped by liming than the blackberry, although it is 

 well adapted to moderately acid soils. The Cuthbert rasp- 

 berry is appreciably helped by liming on quite acid soils, 

 and the same is probably true of most or all of the red and 

 yellow varieties. The gooseberry and currant, including 

 the white and various red varieties, are greatly benefited 

 by liming. As much as two to four tons of ground lime- 

 stone an acre, or its equivalent of slaked lime, are often 

 very helpful to these plants. Raspberries, in particular, 

 thrive well on a heavy, freshly rotted sod, as for example, 

 on old grass land plowed the autumn before the plants are 

 set. In many cases all that is required on such land is to 

 supply an adequate mixture of an available phosphate 

 and a potash salt, but whenever the cane-growth is weak 

 and unsatisfactory, or, when gooseberries and currant 

 bushes do not show satisfactory growth, a moderate 



