FOR REAl 



• Cultivated Blueberries are making bl 



Plant now that you to 



Attempts to improve the wild blueberry by breeding were first made by Dr. Frederick V. 

 Coville of the U. S. D. A. in 1909, and from this work has grown a new and very protfiable 

 industry. Until recently, cultivated blueberries could be grown successfully only on natural 

 blueberry soil. Such land is usually rough and far from good roads, requiring much labor 

 and expense to get it in condition for planting. On soils of this type, which have a high water 

 table and are abundantly supplied with turf, leaf mold and other organic matter, clean cultiva- 

 tion is practiced right up close to the plants. All attempts to grow cultivated blueberries on 

 upland soils in this manner failed ; the plants simply refused to make satisfactory growth. A 

 small planting on the N. J. Experiment Station farm near New Brunswick, N. J., cultivated in 

 this manner for several years, simply stood still ; the plants lived but failed to grow. Finally, 

 it was decidea to put the plants under a deep permanent mulch of salt hay. The following 

 year the plants made good growth and have continued to do so ever since. We have been 

 watching this planting for five years, growing on the uplands of N. J., and it is fully as pro- 

 ductive as plantings on the finest natural blueberry soil — yielding as high as six quarts of large, 

 delicious berries per plant. 



Our experience was the same with a small planting of Pioneer made in 1931. Cultivated 

 faithfully for four years, the plants simply stood still. Following the practice of New Jersey, 

 we decided to mulch with pine needles. Every year since, the plants have made a nice 

 growth, often as much as eighteen to twenty-four inches, and have produced good yields. 



The cause of this great response of blueberries to mulching on upland soils is really very 

 simple. The blueberry is very shallow rooted, yet requires a large quantity of moisture. 

 Cultivation on upland soil causes the drying out of the top soil, while conserving the moisture 

 deeper down ; thus, the blueberry plant, with its shallow roots, is feeding in this dry top soil. 

 With the deej) permanent mulch, moisture is retained right up to the surface of the soil and 

 the roots are not disturbed. 



These findings open a wide field for the growing of blueberries, which are now, by far, the 

 most profitable of the bush fruits. The permanence, high profit possibilities and the depend- 

 ability of cultivated blueberries make them the one fruit crop you should be sure to consider. 



ADAPTABILITY— Cultivated blueberries are be- 

 ing successfully grown from North Carolina to 

 the Northern boundary of the country, and are 

 ;:enerally adapted wnerever wild l)luel)ernes and 

 huckleberries are found. As cultivated blueberries 

 are now being grown only in limited areas, we do 

 not feel any exact limit of their adaptability has 

 been established, and would suggest small plant- 

 ings anyAvhere except in the deep South or where 

 the soil is alkaline or very dry. 



SOILS — On natural blueberry soils having- jui 

 abundance of humus and a fairly constant high 

 water table, blueberries grow well under clean cul- 

 tivation. Such soils must have good surface drain- 

 age, or the plants may be injured, while small, from 

 too constant tlooding after heavy rains. Planting 

 on wide ridges, six or seven inches high, will great- 

 ly reduce the danger of injury. This practice of 

 ridging is now generally followed on this type of 

 soil. On regular soil, the site selected for the 

 blueberry planting should also have good surface 

 drainage, be well su'jplied with humus and re- 

 tentive of moisture. It should be borne in mind 

 that the productiveness of a blueberry planting 

 depends largely on the moisture supply in the up- 



per soil, which may be maintained by applying a 



r*1iict<&r of '^^^HI^^^^^^^^HIhBl^ ^^ heavy permanent mulch. Blueberries require a 



0'ius>it?i ui ^^BHB^^^^^^^H^K'' ^ somewhat acid soil, growing well on soils ranging 



R1ii£^VkArrioc* ^W^^^^^^^^^^^k. from p.h. 3.8 to 5.5. Soils having a higher p.h. 



Diueoernesj, ^^^^^HHBl^^Pl^-- ^ali'^^ should not be used. For small plantings, 



r\_ii_:-.,,c ^^^^^HHHi^^^ large holes may be dug and filled with soil having 



l^eiiuiuub ^^^^^V^H^^ the desired p.h.. with humus in the form of peat 



and Profitable Fruit ^^^ -^— - or leaf moid added. 



