Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1870-03-11
Farmers Column.
Farmers Club.

up and ably handled by Mr.. Speer,
Choat and others.
Mr.. Choat thought the DoOlittle
Black Cap is the most hardy berry,
we can grow in this country. He has
one rew variety under consideration,
called the Kittitany, but does not
know how it will prove.
Mr.. Speer, tried the Lawton some
wears ago, but did not succeed very
we'll with it.
Mr.. Philpot thought the Wild, or
Native, Raspberry better than the
Lawton. He bad tried the Philadel-
phia Raspberry, and liked it well
thought it a perfect berry, being a
good bearer and perfectly hardy.
His varieties are the Black Cap and
Philadelphia. The Philadelphia may
be propagated from the root cuttings.
Mr.. Choat thought that farmers
might be great deal better off than
they are, if they would raise more
fruit and less wheat, and to support
his idea, cited the ease of his neigh
Dor, Mr.. Burlingame, who raised
$500 worth of Fruit on little over
one acre of ground.
Mr.. Tennyson wants to set out some
grape vines this spring, and desired
to know how he shall proceed. as his
soil is sandy but not leachey, and
wanted to know the best variety to
get.
Mr.. Speer said he would recon-
menIShe Concord and Delaware,
but did not know about his sandy
soil. He tried to raise on sandy soil,
but to no purpose. He dug the plants
up and foumd the roots dead 4; thought
the grape wanted compact soil, be-
cause it would not freeze down as
deep as light sandy soil. He thought
a sandy soil might be improved by
drawing peat or mari on 1T in place
Of manure.
Mr.. Choat said he had dug large
hole and filled it with manure, but
does not think it a benefit. Thought
the second year a top dressing OF
good manure should be applied, but
not to close too the vines.
Mr.. Philpot says he has seen a
good growth of grapes ON sand
knoll at Independence, and thinks
grapes may be grown on sandy soil.
Mr.. Choat thought the Delaware
and Concord would bear the most
neglect, but said there were harder
varieties. The Crevelin graves are
very nice. He stated in answer to
questions, that the Crevelin Grape
Vine Cuttings may be obtained of
Mr.. Phenix, of bloomington Nurser-
ry, Bloomington, Ill.
Adjourned.
The next regular meeting will be
held ut Council Hall, Saturday,
March 18th, 1870, at o'clock p. NJ.
RAsPBERRIEs.
The following essay was read by
hr. Choat:
Without pretending to any thing
new, or original, OH the subject o.
the cultivation Of small fruits, the
writer would say few words relat
ing chiefly to his own experience in
that direction.
Few, indeed, are there who do moi
like fruit, and If any such can be
found, they may well be classed with
those of whom Shakespeare speaks
when he says, "He who hath no
music in his SOUL" &c.
There are two strong arguments in
favor of the cultivation Of small fruits
for the growth Of which our soil is
so peculiarly adapted, viz: Health
and Profit. That the cultivation o.
fruit i'm farmers gardens is quite toe
often neglected, need scarcely be re
iterated, and when we consider the
small amount of expense and labor
necessary to the production of some
kinds it, is really astonishing thai
such a state of things should con
tinue to exist. 1t is not an uncom
mon thing to see person give al
the care necessary in the way of en-
riching the ground, clean culture,
&C., to bed Of vegetables, which
when brought to market will prob
ably be drug, and at the same time
neglect his strawberry bed and rasp-
berry bushes, il he have such things,
allowing the grass and weeds to grow
rs they may, indicating by such q
course that he considers the fruit OF
but small account. But let the
strawberries and raspberries receive
the same care and attention that is
given to the vegetables, and | venture
to say, from my own experience, that
the balance of profit will be largely
on the side of the fruit; in proef OF
which, let me state that from piece
of ground in my garden, 20x40 feet,
there were gathered last season four
and half bushels of raspberries,
worth at the market price in Cedar
Falls, 5000; nor was it necessary to
seek customers, as the supply was
far from being equal to the demand.
Knight state, also, that the whole
amount of labor expended on the
plantation, from the time it was
made, five years sgo, up to the pres
ent time, exclusive Of the time occu,
pied in gathering the fruit, would
not exceed three days.
The raspberry crop, from a money
point of view, can probably be made
more profitable in this section oil
country, than that of any other small
fruit. 1t does not require re setting
oftener than once in eight or ten
years, when well fertilized and cult,
waited, and proper attention given tC
thinning out the growing canes
One of the greatest difficulties / met
with in the cultivation of this fruit,
is the care necessary to prevent the
young canes from being broken by
the wind, for to lose them is to lose
ournext years crop. To obviate this
drive stake along side of each
plant, and as soon as the young
shoots are from one and half to tive
feet high, commence to tie loosely te
the stake When tbara Ia ,,tnnt,, n.