SMAL L FRUITS AND HOW HE GROWS THEM 
which can be conserved by surface cultivation 
to tide us over the most protracted drouth. 
IEU.I-T_I VaVeO E AftTFT/ii - i N c ^^ 
DEPTH plowed: 
■ lO INCHES ■ 
.SUB-SOIL: 
lO I NCHES •'. 
One inch cultivated soil so loose water will not rise by 
capillary attraction. Ten inches plowed and firmed so 
water will rise. Ten inches of reservoir in subsoil. 
Water la the soil is moved by two forces. 
First by gravitation which draws the water 
down and second by capillary attraction (see 
engraving-) which returns it to the surface 
again. Capillary means a hair-like tube or 
minute passage. If we enlarge the passage by 
separating the particles of earth too far apart 
it would take so much water to fill the space 
that this force would be overcome by gravita- 
tion and no water would rise. Thus when we 
plow and leave the ground very loose it soon 
dries out. Water cannot come up from below 
and free air finds its way through the openings 
and carries the water off. 
So immediately after plowing, before the 
water has time to get away we go over it with 
a roller and press the particles of earth 
together so as to exclude this circulating air 
and make these passages so small that capillary 
attraction will bring the water up to the sur- 
face. 
Why we cultivate. Now when the water 
comes up if it reaches the surface so as to come 
in contact with the bright sun it will readily 
pass off into the air. We want it to come 
within an inch or so of the surface of the 
ground so as to nourish all the roots of the 
plant. We take the fine tooth cultivator and 
separate the particles of earth, breaking up 
the capillary passages so that gravitation will 
not let the water come any higher and the loose 
earth and dust excludes the sun and wind so 
the water cannot get away, but will collect 
under this dust mulch for the use of the plants 
so that several inches of the upper earth will 
contain much more water than that a foot or so 
below it, and as this will cause the particles of 
earth to settle together again we must cultivate 
every few daj's. 
The manner in which the water comes up 
through the ground might be illustrated by the 
wick of a lamp. The oil comes up the wick by 
capillary action precisely as the water does in 
the soil. We light the lamp and as fast as the 
oil come.s up it is burned. Now blow the flame 
out and the oil comes to the top in such quanti- 
ties that the wick holds all it can. The flame 
of the lamp carries ofi' the oil just as the sun 
and wind does the water that comes clear to the 
surface. When we cultivate, it has the same 
effect as blowing out the light — it keeps the 
water below the surface or loose earth. 
The crust forming after a rain excludes the 
air from the roots and makes capillar^' attrac- 
tion perfect and should always be broken up 
as soon as ground is dry enough to cultivate. 
The cultivator should only go deep enough 
to maintain the dust or loose earth mulch, 
rarely more than two inches are required and 
often one inch is better, depending on the 
texture of the soil. 
The roller. You cannot properly fit land 
without a roller or floater. The plow and har- 
row leaves the ground too loose and does not 
sufficiently exclude free air, and capillary action 
will not bring the water up from below. The 
A Floater. 
particles of earth must be brought near to- 
gether. If you do not have a roller, take three 
two-inch planks about seven feet long and one 
foot wide; bolt or spike the edges together like 
the siding on a house, and hitch a chain to each 
end and load it with as much stone as the team 
can draw, and go over the surface. On many 
soils it will do better work than a roller. Do 
tiot attempt to set plants in loose earth. 
The Makkek. 
Marlcing off the ground. Have your ground 
properly firmed, leveled and rolled so the per- 
fection plant setter will set the plants exactly 
the right depth, or if you use the dibble or spade 
you can determine quickly the right depth for 
setting plants. Mark as lightly as possible 
where the rows are to be. For this purpose we 
take a board about one-half inch thick, eight or 
ten inches wide and long enough to mark four 
rows at a time. Make four short sled runners 
and nail them under the board the distance 
the rows are to be apart, and nail shafts or 
handles on the top to draw it with. A man can 
draw it all day without fatigue. The object of 
using a thin board is to make it bend and 
accommodate itself to the uneven surface of 
the ground. Get the first row perfectly straight 
and let one runner go in the last rtiark as a 
guide. This will make all the rows exactly so 
far apart, .so that late in the season when your 
plants get larger you can adjust the cultivator 
so as to do thorough work by going once in the 
row. 
There are four methods of growing berries— 
