628 



Small Fruit Growing in Kent. 



[NOV., 



found this nematode, but never, it is true, in very large 

 numbers, and always in those parts of the stock that were 

 more or less decayed. With them a great amount of Fusoma 

 spores has always been found, and at present nothing 

 further can be said on this matter. The too frequent dying 

 back of hops is not understood, and the exact part played by 

 the Tylenchus can be merely a matter of conjecture. It is 

 certainly a subject that requires special investigation. In 

 the cases I have examined there have always been found both 

 the Tylenchus and the Fusoma. I am inclined to think that 

 the Tylenchus precedes the Fusoma, but that the actual cause 

 of disease is the fungus; for the number of worms present 

 in each case was not sufficient to cause any marked symptoms 

 of disease, such as we see in the Tulip-root of oats or the 

 Eelworm disease of onions. A recent case of the dying back 

 of hops from the top investigated at Rainham showed both 

 these organisms in the plants, but in this case neither parasite 

 seemed sufficient to account for the loss of seven acres of 

 young plants. 



SMALL FRUIT GROWING IN KENT. 

 Cecil H. Hooper, M.R.A.C. 



Small fruit, such as raspberries, gooseberries, red and 

 black currants, and also strawberries, are largely grown in 

 nearly all parts of Kent. The system of strawberry culture 

 resembles in many respects that of Llampshire, which has 

 recently been described in this Journal (June, 1909, p. 186), 

 and it is proposed in the present article to confine attention 

 to the other small fruits. 



Preparation of Land for Small Fruits. — To be successful 

 with small fruits, the soil must be good, well situated, fertile, 

 clean from weeds, and well cultivated. A good working soil 

 is a great asset. For strawberries, raspberries, and bush 

 fruit on arable land, the best practice consists in applying 

 some 30 tons of dung per acre, then ploughing seven inches 

 deep with three or four horses, following each furrow with 

 a heavy brake drawn by two horses to subsoil the ground, 

 stirring it some four or five inches deeper. This is the 

 method followed by some of the best growers ; it is almost 



