March : First Week 



BUSH AND TREE FRUITS FOR THE SMALL PLACE; 

 QUANTITIES NEEDED; GOOD VARIETIES 



No garden is complete without fruit — not only the small 

 fruits but, unless it is a very small garden indeed, some of 

 the pome and stone fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, 

 cherries and plums. Sometimes it is argued that the latter 

 take too much room. As a matter of fact, blackberries and 

 raspberries take more space in proportion to what one gets 

 from them than need be given to dwarf or trained fruit 

 trees. 



Most of the small fruits will survive any adverse condi- 

 tions they are likely to encounter. In fact, many gardeners 

 would obtain better results if the bushes were not so hardy. 

 A currant bush set out by the garden fence, where it will 

 survive for years even if it is not cared for, is more Hkely to 

 be neglected than the newly set strawberry patch, which 

 must be tended for a season at least if one expects to get any 

 crop from it. It is the same principle that prompts a gar- 

 dener to coddle and nurse through the winter a tender tea 

 rose, while an equally beautiful but perfectly hardy rose 

 will be stuck up against the house wall and left without so 

 much care as spring pruning. 



Aside from the fascination of growing it, there are prac- 

 tical reasons why fruit should be given a place in every 

 garden. Most fruits, being highly perishable products, 

 cost the consumer a very high figure in proportion to the 

 expense of growing them. Not only can he produce them 

 for himself a great deal cheaper than he can buy them, but 

 the fruit will be of very much better quality. Fruits dete- 

 riorate after picking even more quickly than most vegeta- 

 bles. There is very little danger of overproduction. Prac- 



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