A LITTLE PLACE IN THE COUNTRY. 



197 



white roots, and expose them for a couple of hours 

 merely by leaving them uncovered upon the sur- 

 face of the ground. At the end of that time com- 

 pare them with some similar plants which have 

 been protected by their wrapping of sphagnum 

 moss, or by being covered with loose soil. Even 

 the most unpracticed eye can see the change that 

 has been wrought. If this is not sufficient, and to 

 get the fullest possible benefit from one lesson, 

 plant the same roots with all the care and under 

 the same conditions as the others. At the end of 

 the three days, if the ground is moist, or at the 

 end of a week if it is dry, take them up, and it will 

 be seen that they are now gR mtimfliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiif/fiiiiiiii 

 just approaching the condition 

 that they were in before the 

 exposure. 



What is true in this respect 

 with the strawberry is equally 

 true with all other plants. I 

 have only taken the straw- 

 berry as an illustration be- 

 cause the destruction of the 

 spongioles will be more easily 

 apparent to the novice than 

 upon the woodier roots of the 

 cane fruits. But the effect is 

 the same upon both. 



When the plants are wrap- 

 ped in moss it is best to keep 

 this about them, and keep it 

 moist until you are quite 

 ready to put them in the 

 ground. If they are not in 

 moss, put them in boxes or 



baskets of moist earth, or bury the roots in the 

 ground close by the point of operations. 



Second. In the case of cane fruits, such as rasp- 

 berry, blackberry, currant and gooseberry, do not 

 leave a long cane when transplanting. We do not 

 want the force of the plant expended in sending 

 up one long, gaunt cane, but in producing a 

 vigorous root-growth, and sending up from the 

 crown- a few new strong shoots. Only enough of 

 the cane is wanted to mark the spot where the 

 roots are ; six inches is amply sufficient. 

 ■ Third. These small fruit-plants, although they 

 are to give us no return this season, must have 

 just as good care and just as thorough cultivation 

 as any portion of the vegetable garden. It is only 

 by keeping them clean, thrifty and vigorous this 

 year, that we may hope to get some reward for our 

 labor next. 



In determining what proportion of each small 



fruit to plant, we shall naturally be governed 

 mainly by the question of prospective profit. This 

 is contingent upon so many things that no very 

 definite advice can be offered. All crops that we 

 grow are subject to damage or total destruction 

 from frost, drought, blight and insect depredations. 



When one meets with genuine success in straw- 

 berry culture, there are few possible crops which 

 will give greater returns per acre. But to attain 

 success one must have good soil, a constant and 

 abundant supply of fertilizers, unfailing moisture 

 from early spring until the crop is gathered, and 

 good markets near by. I mean that these condi- 



OuR New Raspberry Plantation. 



tions are all essential to the highest pecuniary 

 success. The crop requires rather more work 

 than either raspberries or blackberries, but, on 

 the whols, is ordinarily deserving of more space 

 than either of the others. Especially would this 

 be true at first, as they came into bearing earlier 

 and will be repaying us something while the others 

 are only getting ready to pay, and after two or 

 three crops are taken off, the amount of space de- 

 voted to them can be curtailed, if it is found de- 

 sirable to use. it for other purposes, with less loss 

 than if it had been originally planted with slower- 

 maturing fruits. 



Red raspberries — I would give less space to them 

 than to any other of the cane fruits. I would give 

 rather more to the black-caps, and still more to the 

 very best varieties of blackberries. There are 

 few markets in which good cultivated sorts of the 

 latter fruit are often found in sufficient abundance 



