THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



107 



gooseberry plants can be propa- 

 gated very easily and success- 

 fully at home. In February, 

 take cuttings of last year's 

 shoots, eight inches long, bury 

 them in sand in the cellar till 

 April, then plant them full 

 length deep in the soil. At the 

 end of the season you have a 

 plant ready to set out in the 

 garden. The expense of start- 

 ing the garden is, or ought to 

 be, very small indeed. The best 

 strawberry plants ought not to 

 cost over twenty-five 

 cents a dozen; rasp- 

 berry and blackberry 

 plants sixty cents a 

 dozen ; currant and 

 gooseberry plants one 

 ' dollar a dozen. If you 

 get plants from a neigh- 

 bor, be very careful that 

 they come only from 



blackberry plants have no "orange rust" on the 

 under side of the leaves. Order two - year - old 

 currant and gooseberry plants; the other plants 

 should be one year old. "Heel in" the plants 

 when they arrive — immediately, do not delay 

 an hour. Dig a trench deep enough to accommo- 

 date the roots, untie the bundles, dip the roots 

 in water, spread the plants along the trench thinly, 

 cover the roots with soil, and tramp firmly. They 

 can stay there without harm for several weeks. 



Plant early — just as soon as the ground is dry 

 enough to work up mellow. Small fruit plants 

 are hardy, and they love the cool, moist conditions 



of early spring. 

 Many a home 

 berry garden has 

 disappointed the 

 gardener the first 

 year, because he 

 delayed the plant- 

 ing until late 

 spring. If pos- 

 sible, make the 

 small fruit garden 

 oblong instead of 



superior bearing bushes or vines; 

 do not be satisfied with inferior 

 plants from unprofitable parents. 

 Tell the nurseryman to send you 

 No. i selected plants; accept no 

 other. See that your raspberry 

 plants have no root galls upon them; 

 that your strawberry plants do not 

 have diseased leaves, that your 



w 



133. Strawberries Ivvo inches 

 wide can be grown al home if ihe 

 directions in this article are fol- 

 lowed. This variety is the Meade. 

 Plant strawberries in the home 

 garden in narrow matted rows 

 two feet wide, with a cultivated 

 strip between 



square, as it is then easier to cultivate. The 

 raspberries and blackberries will naturally 

 go on one side of the area, then the currants 

 and gooseberries, and then the strawberries, 

 followed by the perennial vegetables, as 

 asparagus and rhubarb. Plant the red rasp- 

 berries, black raspberries, and blackberries 

 in rows, six feet apart, and the plants three 

 feet apart in the row. In two years, the 

 rows will be four feet wide, unless the 

 growth of suckers is restricted. In the 

 home garden it is seldom desirable to plant 

 the brambles six feet apart each way, and 

 keep them. in hills, although this is often 

 desirable commercially. Grow them in a 

 narrow hedgerow. Dewberries may be 

 planted at the same distance. The first 

 row of currants should be eight feet 



