108 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



away from the last row of brambles; the 

 other rows of currants and gooseberries 

 may be six feet apart, with the plants 

 four feet apart in the row. For home use, 

 the strawberries are best grown, in my 

 judgment, in a narrow, matted row; other 

 systems of planting are often more profitable 

 commercially. Plant the first row eight feet 

 away from the currants, with the plants one 

 foot apart in the row. Succeeding rows 

 may be six feet apart. If a pistillate variety 

 is planted, it will need a pollen-bearing 

 kind next to it. The pistillate sorts are 

 marked P. in the catalogs. The runners 

 should not be allowed to set over a foot 

 away from the centre of the row. Narrow, 

 matted rows, about two feet wide, with a 

 cultivated strip between, are my preference 

 for the home strawberry patch. 



Line out the rows and mark the distances 

 in the soft dirt. Carry the plants in a pail 

 of water when planting. Plant raspberries, 

 blackberries, currants, and gooseberries in a 

 hole more than large enough to accommodate 

 all the roots without twisting, filling rich, mel- 

 low surface soil around them. Plant deep; 



134. The berries on the right are Gregg, one of our 

 best blacK raspberries. On the left are the largest 

 and best wild blacK raspberries. This improvement 

 has been wrought in twenty-five years. The best 

 Greggs are an inch long 



135. Cuthbert— unquestionably the leading variety 

 of red raspberry, both for marKet and home use. It 

 is not of as high quality as Marlboro, but is more 

 vigorous, hardy and productive 



most amateurs err in the direction of shallow 

 planting. Be careful to plant the black rasp- 

 berry tips in the same relative position which 

 the}- were 7/hen attached to the parent plant; 

 that is, ,_;• not set the piece of old cane up- 

 right, but so that the large bud in the centre 

 of the mat of roots will be upright. It is 

 the bud, not the cane, which ought to grow 

 strongest. Tramp firmly around each plant 

 when done; but throw a little loose soil over 

 this tramped soil before leaving, to prevent 

 evaporation. Either before or after plant- 

 ing, head back the tops of the bushes or . 

 canes, one-third to one-half, unless this has 

 been done by the nurseryman. 



The strawberries are best planted with a 

 spade. Thrust it deeply into the soil, press 

 it forward, insert the roots into the crevice, 

 withdraw the spade, and press the dirt firmly 

 around the plants by springing slightly on 

 the balls of both feet, which are placed close 

 to the plant, one on each side. Be especially 

 careful to plant strawberries deep, but do 

 not cover up the crown. A Little attention 

 in the way of watering newly set plants is 

 often very beneficial, especially if the season 

 is dry. 



CARE THE FIRST SUMMER 



The first season is a very critical time in 

 the growth of the small fruit garden. Do 

 not neglect it. The most important thing 

 to look after is the tillage. Use the culti- 

 vator and hoe frequently and thoroughly. 

 Keep the entire surface of the garden stirred, 

 not simply to kill the weeds, but more par- 

 ticularly to make a mulch of dry soil which 

 will keep the soil water from escaping by 

 evaporation. A mulch of straw may some- 

 times be desirable in later years, but the first 

 year the mulch should be made of well-tilled 

 soil. Be especially careful to stir the soil 

 after a heavy rain, when a crust has formed. 

 'Whenever you find the surface soil crusted, 

 you may know that much valuable moisture 

 is escaping; break it up with the cultivator. 

 On very small areas a stirring of the surface 

 with an iron rake, every three or four days, 

 will keep up the best kind of a mulch, and 

 the weeds cannot grow. Be particularly 

 attentive to the strawberry bed. Allow no 

 weeds to get a start there the first season; 

 then it will not be difficult to keep down the 

 weeds during subsequent seasons. Tillage 

 should not be kept up much after the middle 

 of August, as it will cause the plants to grow 

 late, and so be more liable to winter killing. 

 Let the weeds grow in the fall as they will; 

 they protect the soil during the winter. 



In the home garden, irrigation may often 

 be practised to advantage. Strawberries, 

 above all other fruits, delight in an abundance 

 of water. Good tillage provides water; but 

 it may sometimes be expedient to supplement 

 tillage with irrigation. Surface sprinkling, 

 unless prolonged, is usually worse than use- 

 less. Let the water soak down several feet 

 in one place before directing it to another 

 place. Irrigate deeply, or not at all. This 

 applies to the watering of lawns as well as 

 to the irrigating of gardens. 



Pick off all blossoms from the strawberry 

 plants, except, perhaps, on two or three 



plants, to see what you may expect next 

 year. Let the runners set at will. In tilling 

 strawberries, always run the cultivator or 

 rake through the same way each time. This 

 allows runners to set which would be uprooted 

 by a reverse tillage. When a row is matted 

 over two feet wide, stretch a line and chop 

 off and hoe up all the outsiders. Keep the 

 row at this width by frequent uprooting: 

 let all the strength of the soil go into the plants 

 which have already set. Keep up tillage in 

 the space between the matted rows. If 

 you find an occasional plant which looks 

 sickly and shriveled, dig it up, and kill the 

 fat, white grub which is eating its roots. This 

 is the worm which becomes the June beetle. 

 When the raspberry and blackberry shoots 

 are a foot and a half high, pinch off the ends, 

 so as to get branched canes. Look out for 

 currant worms. When the first worms 

 appear, others are almost sure to follow. 

 Pick them off. Spray the leaves with helle- 

 bore — one ounce in three gallons of water. 



. U«liA_ 



136. The small-fruit garden in winter. This mar 

 has made a blacKberry hedge which is both orna 

 mental and serviceable. The red stems maKe a 

 cheery bit of color in winter 



137. Agawam blacKberries. Sometimes an inch 

 and a half long. After tasting home-grown Agawams 

 you will never go bacK to the red-tipped, fly-specKed, 

 ill-flavored blacKberries which the grocer offers 



