Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1885-07-23
DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
The Great Value OF Small Fruits to n Farm.
er's Family Industrial Breyities,

small Fruits on the Farm.
| always advise the growing of
plenty of small fruits on the farm,
writes correspondent of Hick's Maqa-
zine, not as matter Of profit in the
way of dollars and cents, but because
| believe that such products are condu-
Give to the health and pleasure of the
family, therefore profitable in the best
meaning of the word In no other
way can so much variety in the line of
fruit be secured. The woman who un-
dertakos to set before family daily.
on farm where little or no attention
is paid to the growing of small fruits,
a bill of fare which shall not lo open
to the charge of monotony, finds her
self often at her wits end to accom-
plish her undertaking, Potatoes,
meat, and bread, and butter are all
good in their way, but we tire of a
repetition of them day after day, and
wish there might be something new"
The skllltul housewife will contrive
various attractive dishes from the linn
tied list Of material which most farms
afford during the winter, but she will
sigh for something new" also, for
every woman knows how much easier
it is to please the palatcs of the "men
folks " when she has variety of ma
tcrial at hand to work with. With
plenty of fruit, canned or dried, at her
disposal, she can concOct pies, pud-
dings, and sauces which will afford the
desired variety, and act as relish"
for the more substantial articles Of
food. But on not one farm IN ten,
think | can safely assert, is there
small fruit enough grown TO supply
the family through the winter. This
is not as it should be,
Some farmers are under the impress
sion that there is a "knack' in grow
ing fruit which prevents any but the
professional grower from succeeding
with II. Others think 1t is "putterngn
work, like gardening, therefore they
never undertake it. Some begin max
ing a collection, but they soon lose
their enthusiasm, and in year or two
tho bushes they sot out are swallowed
up in sea of grass, and they con
clude it doesn't pay to bother with
1t. " II does not pay to bother with
it in that way, but 1t does pay to set
out Strawberries, raspbCrricS, currants,
gOosebcrries, and grapes, and culti-
vate them we'll Tho amount OF space
and labor required is greatly overesti-
mated in the opinions of most persons
who have no practical knowledge of
small-fruit growing. They have no
idea of the amount that can be raised
on small piece of ground well cared
for. The labor of attending to the
plants is small, Give tho plants YOU
set out on an eighth or a quarter OF an
acre of ground the same amount of
care each year that you give your
corn and you can grow small fruits to
perfection. Let the soil be made rich
and mellow to begin with; after that
keep the weeds down, and give the
plants proper pruning or thinning out.
and in some eases protection in win
ter and that is about all you have to
do. You can do all the work at times
when you can not work to advantage
in the fields A half hour now and
then with the hoe will keep the ground
clean and mellow around the currants
and the raspbcrries, and between the
rows and among the strawberries YOU
can use a hand-cutivatOr, thus max
lng the labor easier and more expcdi-
tious. If every farmer would start a
small-fruit garden, ! venture 10 say
his wife would lind some means Of
keeping it cared for, il he did not, be-
fore she would 90 without the pro.
ducts of it.
The expense is small to begin with.
In many ncighborhoods one can pro-
cure all tho plants he cares for by
digging them up, for owners of gar
dens always prefer to give away un-
needed plants rather than throw them
away, and most kinds will need thin
ming out yearly, But if one has to
buy plants the outlay is small, for
dealers grow them so extensively now
adays that they are very cheap.
With such garden you can have
iruit for table use all through the
summer, and there can be enough
canned for winter use with but little
trouble or expense. When fruit is put
up at home you "know all about it,"
if you buy canned goods, you don't
know all about it, 1t may be good
and healthy, and it may not.