193 
November, 1890. 
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Hints for the Month. 
Strawberries may yet be set out; little is 
gained, however, except to get the work off 
our hands for spring. At the South this is 
the best season for planting and strawberry 
plants should be set out now. It must not 
be forgotten that all newly set plants should 
be covered as soon as hard freezing weather 
sets in, and strawy manure from the stables 
is the best material for the purpose. 
* * 
* 
Raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, cur- 
rants and gooseberries may be safely and 
^ profitably planted up to freezing weather. 
Put a shovelful of well-rotted stable manure 
or compost around each plant when it is set. 
Cut back the canes of the raspberries, black- 
berries and dewberries to within six inches 
of the ground and mound the earth entirely 
over them. Bank the soil around the new- 
ly planted currants and gooseberries in the 
same manner as recommended and shown 
for fruit trees on page 191. 
* * 
*• 
The canes of tender varieties of raspber- 
ries should be laid down and covered with 
earth at the approach of freezing weather. 
It is better to take no risk, and where tlier** 
is the least doubt as to the ability of any va- 
riety to stand the winter’s cold it should be 
protected. In the home garden this is no 
great piece of work to do, and in large 
plantations the canes may be covered by 
throwing a mound of earth over them, from 
each side, with the plow. The canes are 
first cut back one-third and then bent down 
by one person whilst another secures it in 
position with a shovelful of earth placed 
upon the ends. To prevent the canes from 
breaking it is well to throw a good shovel- 
ful of soil against the foot of them and bend 
them carefully over it. The whole patch is 
gone over in this way, pinning the canes to 
the ground, which are afterwards covered 
entirely with the plow or shovel. We have 
described the operation before but it will 
bear repetition here and now. 
* * 
* 
Advantage should be taken of fine weath- 
er to apply manure around plants of all 
the small-fruits; one or two shovelfuls to 
each hill of raspberries, blackberries, etc., 
and around each currant and gooseberry 
bush. Well rotted manure or compost is 
preferable, but rank, coarse manure from 
the barnyard may be used and will become 
disintegrated by the winter’s freezing and 
thawing. A liberal top-dressing of well 
rotted manure or compost should be given 
to strawberry beds or a heavy sprinkling of 
bone-dust. It is not advisable to topdress with 
wood ashes or potash in the fall; better wait 
until spring and apply it then, very early. 
* * 
* 
Be in no haste to cover the strawberry 
bed for winter. It may safely be delayed 
until the ground has frozen hard so that it 
may be driven upon without injury. It 
is well, however, to provide covering ma- 
terial when occasion offers by saving all 
leaves, straw, litter, etc. Leaves do not 
make the best covering. They are, at first, 
apt to be blown away and need weighting 
down with poles to keep in place, and final- 
ly when wet and partly rotted they pack 
down too closely upon the plants, which 
require a light and porous covering rather 
than a dense one. We have found nothing 
better than long, strawy manure, which 
affords both protection and enriching of the 
soil. * 
The Crandall Currant. 
“Please tell us something of the merits ot 
the Crandall Currant, which is claimed to 
be so large and superior to all the black 
varieties.” — T. Wood, Mercer Co., N. J. 
This currant was very fully described in 
the July number of Orchard and Garden, 
to which there is very little to be added. 
It is, as claimed, larger than any of the 
European varieties of black currant now in 
cultivation in this country ; whether it is 
superior to them is a matter of opinion. 
Those who dislike the strong peculiar odor of 
the European black currant will find this 
variety entirely free from it, and it is 
excellent for making pies, jams, etc. It is 
purely native, being a variety of the wild 
Missouri currant ( Bibes aureum). The plant 
is perfectly hardy, forms a bush of about 
four feet, and is very productive. It seems 
exempt from the attacks of the currant 
worm and other insects, and may be regar- 
ded as a very promising new sort, well 
worthy of extensive trial. We have had an 
engraving made of a bearing shoot which 
well illustrates the fruit. 
Ladies’ Pine Strawberry. 
In the August number of Orchard and 
Garden, I offered to send a few plants of 
this variety to those who desired to cross it 
with other sorts. I must now ask the 
readers of Orchard and Garden not to 
send for any more, as there are already 
more applicants than I can supply, and their 
stamps will be returned. And here let me 
state that when I offer anything free, but 
ask to have stamps to prepay postage and 
packing, I don’t expect to furnish a half- 
dozen valuable plants, dig them and pack 
for mailing in moss and oiled paper, just for 
the fun of the thing, as some people seem 
to think when they send a single two cent 
stamp and ask for a few plants each of some 
other kinds also, requesting at the same 
time to be informed how to properly plant 
and cultivate them. Some write for plants 
and fail to send even a single stamp. This 
is “the last straw that breaks the camel’s 
back,” and makes me wish I had never 
offered a thing in this way. But we live 
and learn. — S. Miller. 
Matted Rows versus Hills. 
Comparing the results of the two methods 
of culture, it is found that in nearly all 
varieties the matted rows gave a larger yield 
and generally larger fruit. It has often 
been said in the past that cutting off runners 
and so confining each plant to a single stool 
resulted in giving larger berries, although 
fewer in number. Careful weighings of a 
given number of berries from nearly every 
picking of each variety, this season, gave 
the advantage in size of fruit in nearly every 
case to the matted rows, and the (generally) 
marked increase in yield from this system 
leads us to believe that the matted row plan 
is greatly superior to the other, except with 
a very limited number of varieties. It is 
probably true, that for success with the hill 
system, very rich soil and high culture are 
necessary ; even then it is doubtful if any- 
thing is to be gained by it. — W. H. Bishop, 
Horticulturist of Md. Experiment Station. 
Strawberries in Pennsylvania. 
I fruited the Gandy this season for the first 
time, and found it all you say of it Bubach 
No, 5, did wonders with me ; the one 
hundred plants you sent me were allowed 
to run and make plants, and after digging 
them closely this spring, we picked, at the 
second picking, thirty-six quarts of as nice 
berries as one would wish to see. The 
Monmouth rusted quite badly with me. 
The Pearl has started off in great style, and 
if it holds out I shall use it to pollenize 
Bubach. — E. P. Brotzman, Lackawanna 
Co., Pa. 
Whenever possible, advantage should be 
taken of hedges, screens, buildings and 
shrubbery for protecting plantations of 
raspberries, blackberries and similar fruit. 
A cold drying wind is often more fatal than 
intense freezing weather and on exposed 
situations it is a good investment to provide 
such a shelter. 
