71 
April, 1890. 
*• 
- 
; 
V 
Small Fruits for tlie Farmer. 
April is a busy month for the average 
farmer in preparing for his spring crops 
and attending to the many little details that 
are too often left unt il now ; and yet there 
is no kind of work on the farm of so much 
importance as that it should cause him to 
lose sight of the garden, for, besides the 
cash returns in the shape of money saved, 
there is no spot on the farm that can give 
such genuine happiness and pleasure to old 
and young alike as the few square rods set 
apart and planted to the various choice va- 
rieties of fruits. From the middle of May, 
or earlier in some localities, on throughout 
the scorching heat of Summer, the luscious 
ripe fruit can be had by every farmer, not 
quite “without money and without price,” 
but with comparatively little labor and ex- 
pense after the plants are once set and 
started right. This fact does not seem to 
be well understood by the majority of far- 
mers ; at any rate, it is too often the case 
that farmers supply little or no fruit for 
every-day family use, and so the housewife 
must depend upon the fence corners and 
hedge rows for her supply for the table if 
she has it at all. Too many farmers consider 
fruit a luxury which they cannot afford, 
when in reality it should be a necessity, not 
so much because of its nutritive value as 
because of its gentle laxative action on the 
system which tends to correct the excessive 
yise of fat meats and other highly seasoned 
food. 
Then, again, many farmers “do not have 
the time to fool away on such trifling mat- 
ters,” and “it don't pay anyhow.” Well, 
perhaps it don't pay when managed in 
the usual way. The trouble is, they don’t 
know how to manage it to the best advan- 
tage. The idea that a garden must be shut 
off from all other surroundings by a high 
fence, with no way of getting into it except 
through a narrow gate, and the beds, if 
there be any, raised a foot or more above 
the level of the ground, is one of those old 
erroneous ideas which have been imported 
from a country where land is high in price, 
and where the Summer heat is never so in- 
tense as in the United States. We ridge up 
the soil for sweet potatoes, Lima beans and 
plants of that nature, in order to secure 
more heat near the roots than they would 
ordinarily get in northern latitudes, but 
there is no reason why the ordinary far- 
mer's garden should be raised at all above 
the level. In fact, it is a very simple mat- 
ter to so arrange the fruit garden as to ren- 
der the hand cultivation very slight indeed, 
and at the same time to afford an abundant 
supply of choice fruit for the table. 
WHAT AND HOW TO PLANT. 
In some of the previous numbers of this 
paper we have spoken more in detail of a 
few of the small fruits and their culture. 
now let us group some of them together and 
add a few more, and see how they may and 
ought to be found in every farmer’s garden. 
The space set apart for the fruit garden 
should be located at a convenient distance 
from the house, and it may be surrounded 
by a fence or not, as depends upon existing 
circumstances. The ground should be well 
drained, either naturally or artificially, and 
well enriched with plenty of well-rotted 
stable manure. If it has been in grass for 
some time it will be better to plow and 
plant to corn 'or potatoes and wait a year 
till the sod has become thoroughly rotted. 
The old rule, that “whatever is worth doing 
at all is worth doing well,” is especially ap- 
plicable here. At one side of the plat may 
be planted a dozen or two of blackberries, 
set in rows seven feet apart and four feet in 
the row, using any or all of the following 
varieties : Snyder, Taylor, Erie, Ancient 
Briton, and, if far enough South, Early 
Harvest and Wilson Jr. Next to these, 
place a similar number of raspberries, both 
blackcaps and reds. These rows may be 
placed a little closer. For blackcaps choose 
either or all of the following : Tyler, Hil- 
born, Souhegan, Gregg, if not too cold, and 
Nemaha. For reds, Turner, Brandywine, 
Cuthbert, and, for canning, half a dozen 
plants of Shaffer. Then we shall need 
twelve or fifteen rows, fifty feet long, more 
or less , of a half-dozen varieties of straw- 
berries, planted three feet apart, and these 
may be any varieties known to do well in 
the locality where they are to be planted. 
Warfield, Bubaeli, Logan, Crescent, Capt. 
Jack, Green Prolific, Cumberland, Haver- 
land or Henderson will do well almost any- 
where. A new bed will need to be planted 
every two or three years. Then all well- 
regulated gardens should have about two 
rows fifty feet long of four or five varieties 
of grapes which will give a succession, such 
as Worden and Concord for black, planted 
ten feet apart ; Delaware and Woodruff Red 
for reds, planted a little closer, and Niagara 
and Martha for white. These will need a 
trellis of some kind, and if the rows can 
run North and South it will be all the bet- 
ter, as both sides will then be equally ex- 
posed to the sun. Over next to the fence, 
where they can have plenty of moisture 
and mulch, we shall have a few rows of 
currants and gooseberries, planted about 
four feet apart each way. There is scarcely 
any danger of getting too many currants, 
as they are a healthful acid fruit and can be 
u'ilized in so many different ways that 
there need be no waste. Fay, Red Dutch 
and Cherry will do as well as any. Goose- 
berries are not so universally liked as cur- 
rants, and so the demand will govern the 
supply. Early Orange, Houghton and Down- 
ing will give good satisfaction. 
This will make a good respectable gar- 
den, and will require no more cultivation, 
which can nearly all be done with a horse 
and cultivator, than the corn and potatoes, 
while after the first year the returns will 
be fully as satisfactory. — J. Troop, Experi- 
ment Station, Indiana, 
April Notes. 
Planting cannot safely be deferred later 
than this month and the sooner plants of 
all small-fruits are put in the ground now 
the better. It is essential to their well-do- 
ing that they be quite dormant when trans- 
planted. Strawberries may be planted when 
in full leaf and with care will do well but 
not so with raspberries, blackberries, cur- 
rants, etc. The young shoots from the roots 
start early and are easily broken. Moreover 
at this time the moist, cool weather of 
spring is especially favorable to their growth. 
If stock has not yet been shipped from the 
nursery, order it shipped at once and if not 
quite ready to plant heel it in on a northern 
hill-side, or on the northern side of a build- 
ing and shade from the hot sun. Aim 
to beep all stock perfectly dormant until 
planted. It is worth remembering, too, 
that even though the season be far advanced, 
as at the South, and all else in full leaf, dor- 
mant trees and plants may be safely set out 
and with complete success, not forgetting, 
however, to soak the soil around them and 
mulch. Hence if one has delayed planting 
until very late in the season he should pro- 
cure his plants from as far north as pos- 
sible. 
* * 
* 
It is not an easy matter to determine read- 
ily what varieties of strawberries to plant 
even though one knows just what he wants 
in a variety. Descriptions do not always 
agree and the long list of standard sorts is 
bewildering. The fact is, we are growing 
too many varieties of strawberries. The 
nurseryman is compelled to carry a long 
list in order to accomodate his customers; 
but what is the use of growing three or four 
varieties all of the same general character, 
and season of ripening? Making due allow- 
ance for difference of soil and location we 
might cut down the list, as ordinarily offered 
by nurserymen, fifty per cent- and yet have 
more than enough. For a nearby market 
there are few sorts that will give better re- 
turns than Crescent, Bubaeli (5), Warfield, 
Miner’s Prolific, Mt. Vernon and Cumber- 
land. For shipment one may do well in 
growing Champion, Monmouth, Glendale, 
Gandy, Capt. Jack and James Vick. The 
last two sorts are but medium in size but 
exceedingly firm. For large size and showy 
appearance grow Sharpless, Gandy, Cum- 
berland, Jersey Queen, and Bubach (5 j. The 
home grower prefers for his table such va- 
rieties asChas. Downing, Cumberland, Gan- 
dy, etc., varieties of fine quality and at the 
same time productive. To this list may be 
added for delicious flavor Henderson, Bel- 
mont and Lenig’s White but they are not 
productive under ordinary culture. We. 
name only standard sorts that have been 
fully tested and hence may be planted with- 
out hesitation. 
* * 
* 
The distance apart to plant strawberries 
depends mostly upon the manner in which 
they are to be grown. If in matted rows, 
the distance may be safely made four feet, 
setting the plants a foot apart .in the rows, 
