Timely Hints 



IF THE more strenuous work of spring and 

 early summer has been well done, work will 

 be light in the fruit garden during July and the 

 other hot months. Late strawberries (such as the 

 Gandy), currants and gooseberries, and late cherries 

 extend their season until the earliest blackcaps are 

 ripe. I think the strawberry season can be ex- 

 tended to nearly six weeks by growing the earliest 

 and latest varieties, i. e., beginning the season with 

 Michel Early and ending with the Gandy. I value 

 the early blackcaps mostly because they bridge 

 over the gap between strawberries and the red 

 and yellow raspberries, which are richer and of 

 better flavor. Those who enjoy the flavor of the 

 blackcap should plant Plum Farmer and Gregg. 

 Raspberries do not have their true flavor unless 

 they are left on the canes until almost ready to drop 

 off. We grow the Cuthbert and Golden Queen 

 varieties. Last summer a friend who ate them told 

 us afterwards that she did not care for the berries 

 offered in the markets. 



When growing raspberries and other cane and 

 bush fruits, it is very important to mulch heavily 

 between the rows to prevent evaporation of moist- 

 ure during the hot, dry periods in midsummer. 

 The ideal way is to cultivate thoroughly between 

 the rows during May and June, then place a mulch 

 between the rows so thick that it will retain the 

 moisture and keep down the weeds. The best 

 material to use is coarse, strawy manure from horse 

 stables; but if this is not easily obtained, use refuse 

 matter such as weeds, pea vines, small brush pruned 

 from the fruit trees, etc. Make a thick carpet of 

 coal ashes around the bushes — a most important 

 factor toward success. A mulch once applied 

 saves considerable labor during the hot months. 



During July decide whether to retain the straw-, 

 berry bed, which has been fruited the past season, 

 or plow it up. Generally I find it best to continue 

 fruiting if the weeds have been kept out of the bed 

 and there is a fairly good stand of plants in the rows, 



especially if they are of the varieties that make 

 large stools and tap roots, like the old Sharpless and 

 the Marshall. Such varieties generally yield better 

 crops the second and third years after planting 

 than the first, and may do well for five or six years. 

 If the strawberry bed is a mat of weeds, it is far 

 better to plow it immediately after the berries are 

 picked, and plant it to late cabbage or celery, or it 

 may be seeded to clover or other grass seed. Buck- 

 wheat is a good crop with which to subdue an old, 

 weedy strawberry bed. 



If you decide to keep the strawberry bed another 

 year, mow it as soon as the berries are picked. If 

 you can burn it over, so much the better. I take 

 a one-horse garden cultivator, narrow it to twelve 

 inches for rows that were planted two feet apart (my 

 method is practically "hill culture," and plants are 

 set two feet by eighteen inches); clean out the 

 paths between the rows and then dig out the weeds 

 with the hoes. If the bed is kept clean up to the 

 time of fruiting, this weeding is not tedious or diffi- 

 cult if it is done after a shower that thoroughly wets 

 the ground. Mulch the bed early in the winter. 



Many will consider the question of potting 

 strawberry plants and of summer and fall planting. 

 My advice to those living in a latitude of the north- 

 ern part of New York is not to bother with summer 

 and fall planting unless they have no berries and 

 do not wish to wait another year. In the shorter 

 and colder seasons plant the main bed of straw- 

 berries early in the spring; in Maryland and 

 farther south, the best results sometimes follow fall 

 setting. Potting strawberry plants is very simple. 

 The first runners that grow in July are bedded in 

 pots filled with rich soil, and sunk in the ground 

 alongside of the row. The runners are placed over 

 the pots at the nodes, and held in place by little 

 hooks. 



When the roots grow down in the pots, the 

 runner is clipped from the main plant. When the 

 roots fill the pots, the plants are removed and 

 planted twelve inches apart, in rows twenty to 

 twenty-four inches apart. The soil should be 



rich and mellow. This planting may be done in 

 July or August, after the removal of an early gar- 

 den crop, such as early peas, potatoes, etc. Nearly 

 as satisfactory results are obtained by bedding the 

 earliest plants in rich soil and transplanting them 

 with transplanters. One must not expect to get 

 as large crops from summer planting as from early 

 spring planting, but a fair crop of fine berries 

 can be obtained the very next season! Summer 

 and fall set plants require heavy mulching to insure 

 their wintering safely. Three garden crops may 

 thus be obtained in one year, early summer culti- 

 vation is saved, and, if one has no strawberries, a 

 fruiting bed is more quickly established. 



AN EXPERIENCE WITH DWARF FRUIT TREES 



Ten years ago I planted fifty standard and fifty 

 dwarf pear trees. They were planted in about 

 the same soil and given the same care and culture. 

 At this time more of the standard pears are living; 

 they are now about three times as large as the 

 dwarfs, have borne much more fruit, and come 

 into bearing each season as soon as the dwarfs. 

 This experience is sufficient evidence for me that 

 it is better to plant standard trees if there is room 

 for them to grow. As I know the dwarfs, it would 

 require four or five to produce as much as one stand- 

 ard tree planted at the same time. 



One row of the dwarf trees seemed to stand still 

 for several years. I moved them to richer soil 

 and cultivated them, and they have begun bearing. 

 Dwarfs should be planted in rich garden soil, and 

 as frequently cultivated and hoed as any plant in 

 the garden. Plant about six feet apart each way. 

 Put dwarf apples and pears in rows with the cane 

 fruits and give them the same cultivation. 



Keep a constant and close watch for blight, and 

 when the leaves begin to turn yellow or droop on 

 a twig or branch, cut off to the live, healthy wood 

 at once, and disinfect the tool after each branch 

 is cut. This is the only way known to control 

 pear blight. 



New York. W. H. Jenkins. 



Mr. Jenkins's fruit garden in July, Cane fruits on the right, grapes in the centre, and strawberries at the left 



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