Vol. LVIL No. 2544. 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 29, 1898. 
SI PER YEAR. 
A SUCCESSFUL RASPBERRY GROWER. 
SATISFIED WHERE OTHERS ARE DISAPPOINTED. 
Some of His Methods. 
I had heard a great deal about the fruit farm of Mr. 
Geo. Huey, of Ionia County, Mich. While the ordinary 
berry grower of our region was getting pretty well 
discouraged, I had learned that Mr. Huey was in¬ 
creasing his planting and going in heavier than ever ; 
so I set off one bright morning in July, for his place, 
to try to learn something about the business. I found 
him in the midst of the blackcap harvest. The farm 
consists of about 40 acres, and is beautifully situated 
about 10 miles southeast of Ionia. “ How did you 
happen to locate in this part of the State ? ” I asked. 
“ I came here 10 years ago. I rented land four years, 
and engaged in general farming. I was superinten¬ 
dent of five acres of blackcaps for a neighbor in 1890 
and 1891, and concluded to go into business indepen- 
dently. Six 
years ago, I 
purchased 4 0 
acres where I 
now reside, for 
$2,400. I first 
planted five 
acres of black¬ 
caps, and the 
next season, I 
planted six 
acres, and the 
following sea¬ 
son five acres 
more, making 
15 acres now in 
bearing. I also 
planted three 
acres last year.” 
“ How do you 
market your 
crop ? ” 
“The team 
leaves every 
morning, and 
we retail 
to farmers 
through the 
country and de¬ 
liver to grocers 
in small vil¬ 
lages, at whole¬ 
sale. I never 
go to Ionia on 
account of the 
famous R. M. 
Kellogg fruit 
farm near 
there. I make 
many contracts before the regular picking season 
opens.” 
“ Do you ever ship to the cities '? ” 
“ No, I have sale for all berries without shipping. 
It is surprising, the demand there is through the 
country.” 
“When did you first conceive of the evaporator 
idea ? ” 
“ One year ago last Summer, but I did not evaporate 
any fruit until last season, and then only by a small 
kitchen-stove dryer as an experiment. I found that 
the dried berries would pay as well as fresh ones.” 
“ How do you keep account with your pickers ? ” 
“ With tickets'of denominations of one, two, three 
and six quarts. Picking stands hold six quarts each.” 
“ How often do you pay ? ” 
“ Every evening.” 
“ Some growers have trouble to hold their help to 
the end of the season where they pay in full every 
night. Do you have difficulty in that direction ? ” 
“No, we have no trouble. German women are em¬ 
ployed, mostly. Many take berries for their pay.” 
“ Do you fear overproduction and low prices ?” 
“ I have no fears in that direction. Low prices are 
only temporary. The cherry crop is at the bottom of 
low prices this season. Neighbors think I am foolish, 
but I intend to set six acres next Spring. One of my 
neighbors has ten acres, another five acres, and sev¬ 
eral have small plantations, but are discouraged.” 
On an average, about 70 pickers are employed. A 
view of one section of the plantation looking north¬ 
west is shown at Fig. 333, page 734. The next morn¬ 
ing, Mr. Huey arose, drove five miles to Westphalia 
village, secured a load of pickers, returned and had 
them at work before 6 A. m. The load ready to return 
to their homes, is shown at Fig. 332. 
Mr. Huey also has 400 peach trees that will yield 
400 bushels this season ; also, 25 swarms of bees that 
have yielded thus far this season 072 pounds of honey. 
He has also, three acres of apple orchard that, under 
his system of culture, bears a generous crop every 
season. h. oscar kelly. 
R. N.-Y.—It seems a little strange that, while east¬ 
ern growers of blackcaps have found the crop increas¬ 
ingly unprofitable during recent years, and even while 
some of the neighbors of Mr. Huey have become dis¬ 
couraged, he finds encouragement to increase his 
plantation. With prices so much lower than formerly, 
greater economy in production is necessary. Lower- 
priced land, the adoption of labor-saving methods, 
cheaper labor, are factors in this economy. Notice the 
fact that much of the fruit is sold throughout the 
country. Many grain growers prefer to buy small 
fruits rather than to grow them. Whatever our 
opinion of this practice may be, it is a good thing for 
the fruit men. Mr. Huey is more fortunate in obtain¬ 
ing efficient pickers'than most berry growers are. 
STRAWBERRY GROWING IN MARYLAND. 
A TALK WITH A LARGE GROWER. 
Rigid Rules and Regulations. 
W. F. Allen, Jr., of Maryland, is, without doubt, the 
largest grower of strawberry plants in the world. 
This year, he has over 90 acres of plants, of which 10 
acres have been reserved for fruit. Naturally, the 
methods employed by such a man will be of interest 
to many strawberry growers, although, of course, they 
may be out of the reach of the smaller grower. We 
asked Mr. Allen what he thought of Mr. Tice’s method 
of growing Marshalls in narrow, matted rows. 
“It is the very best way to grow strawberries,” he 
said. “ While I have never grown many strawberries 
for fruit, I know that the same treatment will not 
profitably answer for both fruit and plants. When 
grown for fruit, they should be kept in narrow, mat¬ 
ted rows, well manured or fertilized with a fertilizer 
rich in potash. 
At the first 
freeze, a mulch 
should be ap¬ 
plied to the 
plants, and 
thorough cul¬ 
ture should be 
given from the 
time the plants 
are set, until 
October 1, 
whether for 
fruit or plants. ” 
“ Well, how 
do you proceed 
when plants 
are wanted ? ” 
“Instead of 
narrow, matted 
rows, we want 
in this case, 
broad, matted 
rows of strong, 
healthy, vigor¬ 
ous plants, and 
of course, we 
fertilize with 
this object in 
view. This 
year, I am 
growing 10 
acres for fruit.” 
“Suppose you 
tell us how the 
ground was 
prepared.” 
“To start 
with, the 
ground was in very bad shape. I had dug plants 
from it, the Spring before, and planted corn after the 
strawberries were off. If I had sown cow peas in¬ 
stead of corn, it would have been in much better con¬ 
dition. Last February, I spread six car-loads of New 
York City stable manure on the 10 acres. I also drilled 
in 800 pounds per acre of Mapes’s Fruit and Vine fer¬ 
tilizer before planting. The rows are 3^ feet apart, 
and the beds will be left about 12 to 15 inches wide. 
The patch has had thorough cultivation, and looks 
well with the exception of a few broken places, caused 
by cut-worms early in the season.” 
“ This brings us up to October 1; what will be done 
now ? ” 
“ About the last of November, I shall put on about 
10 tons per acre of New York City stable manure, fol¬ 
lowed by a heavy mulch of marsh hay, which will 
cover the entire ground. In the Spring, I shall give 
three applications of Bordeaux Mixture, and this will 
A LOAD OF MICHIGAN RASPBERRY PICKERS. Fig. 332. 
