266 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
with success and with much profit to themselves and to give to 
the transportation companies a large volume of profitable busi¬ 
ness each year. 
The Bush Fruits are not so well known as the Strawberry 
and it will require a campaign of education among southern 
growers as to varieties, location, soil, culture and the proper 
season for planting. To these cardinal points then we call your 
attention and we will briefly present to you what we have learn¬ 
ed about the handling of this class of fruit and our opinion as 
to the conditions necessary for the commercial success of the 
planting of same in the south. 
VARIETIES 
We consider the selection of the proper varieties for planting 
the most important steps necessary for success. The fruit 
must be firm enough to carry well to destination over the long 
haul to our northern markets. It must also have size sufficient 
to command a fancy price when it reaches our markets for It 
will not pay to ship poor grades that bring only a fair price as 
the cost of the shipping and the overhead expense will eat up 
the profit on all but the very finest kind of fruit. It must like¬ 
wise have quality sufficient to please the palate and to whet the 
appetite of consumers so that there is a continual call for more? 
It must ripen at a season that it can be marketed before the 
home grown fruit is ripe in the territory where shipments are 
made. 
One or two varieties, or types of varieties, only should be 
grown so that the name of the variety of fruit shipped has ad¬ 
vertising value as well as nutritive value. Good grading, full 
measure, neat crates and clean cups must be looked after as a 
matter of course. 
It is a delicate thing for one to come from a certain section 
of country to another and to attempt to give advice, especially 
on a subject of the importance as the naming of varieties nest 
suited for planting, but when you remember that we have dealt 
with your people for more than a quarter of a century and have 
shipped plants to almost every quarter of the south and have had 
reports of varieties and methods of planting from many sources 
and have given much study to select the ones of the most value 
to your section you will then realize that we are in a position to 
know something of what should and should not be planted. 
This is especially true since we are at the most important loca¬ 
tion, the market end and see with our own eyes the kind of fruit 
that our markets will buy and are willing to pay a price that 
will leave a margin of profit to the growers. 
Only last summer we saw a large consignment of fruit from the 
south, poorly graded, poorly packed shipped to a market already 
overloaded with home grown fruit of the same kind. The con¬ 
signment had to be sold at a price that would barely pay trans¬ 
portation on the shipment and it was an honest deal too on the 
part of the commission man, but it was the best that could be 
done under the circumstances and we know the deal was far 
from satisfactory to the shipper. 
It is to avoid just such losses as above that we submit the fol¬ 
lowing list of varieties of Bush Fruits for commercial planting to 
the section of country south of the Ohio River. 
Black Cap Raspberries—Plum Farmer and Cumberland. 
Red Raspberries—King and St. Regis. 
Dewberries—Lucretia and Austin. 
Blackberries—Early Harvest and Eldorado 
Possibly McDonald and Dalles. The two latter varieties are 
not hardy with us but there is a good demand for plants in the 
south and we presume they are of value in some sections but we 
advise much caution in planting them until they are better 
known. 
Currants—Red Cross and London Market 
Gooseberries—Houghton and Downing 
There may be local vaireties unknown to us that are profit¬ 
able for you to plant but of the northern varieties we feel sure 
that the list named will prove the most valuable that can be 
selected. For home use and local markets there are many good 
varieties that may be added to this list but using the list as a 
nucleus for the main commercial planting other kinds can he 
tested and added as they are found of sufficient value to be 
worthy of a place in your plantation. 
LOCATION 
This subject must be treated from two view points. The first 
is related to distance from shipping station and condition of 
market roads. 
In the growing of perishable fruit such as berries the location 
should be near a good shipping point or at least located on a 
good market road so that deliveries can be made quickly and 
over roads that will not injure the fruit in hauling, as one or two 
bad jolts may do more harm than a long ride over a smooth 
road, but certainly no one would be so careless or thoughtless 
as to select a location for fruit growing that is not accessible 
to a good shipping point. 
The other angle to location which we wish to lay more stress 
upon in location of the plant proper relative to protection from 
drying winds and hot sunshine. Fruit is more than 90% water 
and this must be supplied in sufficient quantity to make the pro¬ 
duct plump, juicy and full size; therefore it is necessary to either 
supply water by irrigation or by conserving the rainfall which is 
much the cheaper way. With this end in view we should locat, 
if possible, the berry field where it is surrounded if possible with 
timber or a least timber on the south and west side to protect 
it from drying winds and to break in part the hot rays of the 
sun. It would be suicidal to plant in an open field with no pro¬ 
tection at all. Where the protection of timber is afforded the 
evaporation of the moisture is materially checked and aids great¬ 
ly in bringing a crop to perfection. Select also a location with 
elevation sufficient to insure frost drainage. Many a crop has 
been lost entirely by late frosts by planting in low land where 
frosts settle from surrounding elevations. 
SOIL 
Any fertile soil that is well drained will produce good fruit. 
The most desirable soil is clay with sufficient sand to make it 
friable and easily worked. It is necessary to have in the soil 
elements of fertility necessary to produce the fruit crop, viz 
Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid and potash with sufficient humus to 
allow the feeding roots to readily penetrate it and select proper 
food for the growing crop. 
CULTURE 
This is perhaps the real secret of success after the proper 
varieties are chosen. Clean cultivation is necessary and it must 
be frequent so as to conserve all the moisture possible for the 
period of fruiting. Another successful method is to mulch the 
rows heavily with straw, grass or corn fodder and cultivate only 
the center of the rows. This mulch not only holds the moisture 
but keeps the ground cool and the fruit bright and glossy. 
SEASON OF PLANTING 
Plantings may be sucessfully made in either fall or early 
spring. If in the fall the months of October and November are 
ideal for planting and good stands are assured if the plants are 
mulched carefully on the approach of freezing weather by placing 
one or more forks full of well rotted manure over each hill and 
removing this again in spring as soon as the danger of hard freez¬ 
ing is past. 
If plantings are deferred until spring then if possible plow the 
ground in the fall, disc well in the spring and plant as early as 
possible so as to get the advantages of the early spring rains 
and cool soil. When once the soil becomes thoroughly heated 
and dry it is next to impossible to get plants to live and if they 
do survive they will make but little growth the first season. 
If the directions outlined above are followed we feel sure that 
success will follow the planting of this class of stock. 
The possibilities for such plantings here are wonderful for you 
have cheap lands, plenty of labor for gathering the crop, a mild 
climate and an early season of ripening that puts your fruit on 
an empty market ahead of northern grown fruit. 
We have treated the subject more from a Horticultural stand 
point than from that of the nursery but before nursery stock of 
this class can be sold there must first be an educational cam¬ 
paign put over showing what can be done and the varieties to be 
used to insure success and unless this is done it may be many 
years before much progress is made to develop this industry 
on a scale that will be profitable to nurserymen. 
This is a most satisfactory line of stock to supply customers as 
it brings quick returns to the grower and usually greater profits 
than he anticipated. It makes labor for the entire family as 
children of 10 to 15 years of age become quite expert in gather¬ 
ing berries. Women too find this light employment to their lik- 
