The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1888-08-25
Good Culture for Fruit.


j. III. Hale. a noted Connecticut hor-
ticulturist, writes as follows about giving
good culture TO fruits, in The Boston
Globe
In all plant-culture it is of incompar
ably less importance to have deep ped
OF IoOsened soil than to have the sur
face, If only for an inch deep, made fine,
open and clear, as soon as he plants We
are cultiyatlng begin TO grow, and keep
ing 1t so until the plants have reached
their full extension. For the subse-
quent development of seed or fruit this
soll-culture Is unnecessary. To give one
example of the truth of this | will quote
our beds of Manchester straw berry,
sort which is ga Il to excel in light. sandy
soils, while all the strawberries are
known to send their numerous roots
down TO great depth. We planted the
Manchester, therefore, with not a
little hesitation upon heavy clay so
tough that Hexamer hoe can DO moth
ing with Its 1rm crust when dried by
spring winds, and even good pick
makes limited penetration Of it. But
the growth and Weld have been first
class, and better in the very heaviest
than IN our lighter soils. In common
with other plants, straw berries make
In the comparatively poor and dry sands,
where the plant has TO use up most of It's
material 10 make roots long and numer
Gus enough TO supply the wants of linn
tied number of leaves. In the clay, on
the contrary, fewer and shorter roots
can supply a luxurlant expansion of
leaves and blossoms. The breaking of
the spring crusts is slow operation in
our soil because Of the time and force
required TO break the cakes and clods,
which must be mauled or rolled TO get
them fine. II left III Jumps they allow
the drying winds to reach the surface
roots where they are nearly or quite
left bare. If, however, the soil has
been stirred late IN the fall, and not
trampled in the spring while so [, it
breaks up like loan, because after be-
ing loOsened up il could absorb and hold
much water, which. freezing, mellows
the soil better than any implement can
do. Our practice with nursery or other
plants that cea,e growing in August or
Septem Der is to allow weeds TO start
then, and turn them under with a shall
low running moulding plough in
November. The soil is then quite
clear of weeds in spring, and be-
sides that, is fed by the decay,
while the stirring of the surface
becomes quite as easy as in fine loan.
With strawberry plants which make
their chief growth after the August rains,
In the cool autumn months, Sept 1mber
Is the month Tor their cleanest. careful
est culture. This late stirring has the
effect too, of rendering the spring stir
ring more easy. The comparatively
very small importance of having finely
mellowed and deep soil for the roots, is
we'll proved by the superior growth of
wheat on new clearings or broken praI
RE, where only the superficial inch or
two is stirred and all below is wholly
unbroken save by roots of plants which
have penetrated it. Note the success,
too, of potato or melon culture without
any digging or ploughing at all, but
merely two or three inches of soil, or
decayed vegetable matter, laid on sod
ground; hard as tramping tor years has
made it; premium crops have been
raised in that way, superior to any
shown from ploushed ground"