Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-04-19
FRJITS AND VEGETABLES.
Their Cultivation strongly Recon-.
mended 10 Farmers,

mended 10 Farmers.
One of the moss useful and interesting
lectures in the winter course at the Bur-
lington experiment station was that deliv.
cred by Mr. c. w. Minott. the horticultur-
list of the station. on the above subject
The lecture was strong argument for the
cultivation of fruits and vegetables in con
nection with the other work of the farmer
Mr.. Minott spoke of the benefits of fruit
as an article of diet and, particularizing
SAID that every farmer should raise the
strawberry. Its easy propagation makes
1t possible to grow it on almost any soil,
though good sandy loan is the most de
sirable. In the preparation of the ground.
it is better TO use old land, j. e soil on
which other crops have been grown Barn
ward manure makes good fertilizer, but
bone and potash have been found to be
better. The best time for planting is the
early spring. If the rows are set about
three feet apart pillow can be run between
them. The winter protection should be a
mulch of whatever is most convenient,
hemlock boughs being perhaps the best.
The best time for covering is when the
first snow comes. The proper time for un
covering is when the green leaves first ap
pear. The Crescent and Wilson will dc
well on light soil and the Sharpless, Miner
prolific and the Manchester, on heavy soil
Some varieties, like the Crescent and Viii
son, will run 10 years and give good re-
suits.
The blackberry and red raspberry are
easily propagated by root-cuttings or by
suckers which grow up very freely around
the old plant. 1t is best to set out the
blackberry in the fall so that the soil will
have time to get firmly set around the roots
and the plants, thereby start off better in
the spring There are several ways of set
ting, but the best way seems TO be in hills
about six feet apart. In pruning take out
the centre stem when it is about two feet
high. Other shoots will then grow out.
Continue this process and the bush will
grow up in compact form rather than as
one large dropping stem. The Snyder
seems to he the hardest variety of the
blackberry for this section. The cultva-
ton of all small fruits should cease bv Au.
gust and in this climate sometime in July
would be stll better
of red raspberries the Cuthbert, Turner
and Marlboro seem to be the best varieties.
and the Caroline the best variety of the
yellow In the cultivation of both the red
and the black varieties the same rule in
pruning should be followed as with the
blackberry The black raspberry fills the
space between the strawberry and the red
raspberry, although the currant comes in
very close The best known varieties are
the Sowhegan, Centennial and Mammoth
cluster.
The cultivation of the currant has in 10
creased wonderfully the past few years
and it makes one of the most healthy of
summer fruits. The best soil for its growth
is a sandy loan. If the bushes are set out
from four to six feet apart the cultivator
can he used both ways between them. The
old root should he cut out every few years
and the new shoots will grow the more
rapidly. The best varieties for this sec
tion are the cherry, Fay's prolific and the
white grade.
The treatment for the gooseberry is
about the same as for the currant. The
fruit is not as well liked and therefore not
as common. The common varieties are
Smiths improved and the Downing
OF vegetables that can be grown the
most successfully in the farmers garden,
one of the best is asparagus, which should
be raised in trenches 1t is a vegetable
that is not very commonly grown, proba-
bly, owing 10 the idea that il is difficult
matter to start the plant 1t is our first
vegetable in the spring and very easy of
cultivation after 1t is once started, "a bed
lasting many years. The bed should have
covering of mnlch in the fall and should
be MANFRED in the spring The best vari-
ETY. is perhaps Conover's colossal
Beans should not be planted until the
soil has become thoroughly warm, say when
the Thermometer would register 20 degrees
an inch below the surface, and after all
danger Of late spring has passed because
1t is very tender plant The tendency is
to plant the hills too near together OF the
pole beans the pole horticultural stands at
the head The bush beans are more hardy
than the pole The dwarf horticultural is
one of the best varieties although in some
experiments last year out Of 20 varieties
the dwarf golden marks gave the first
string beans aud the first shell beans
The soil best suited for beets is a sandy
loan. well prepared. Beets will stand
more cold than some other vegetable aud
consequently can be planted-a little earlier.
Winter beets, however should not be plant
ed early as II injuries them 10 remain in the
ground too long The varieties that give