Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-06-11
Essential Points in Small Fruit Culture.

y
as it is almost as impossible to obtain
good results from weak or diseased
plants as from poor seed to get q good
harvest. Having few varieties, your
goods soon become known and you have
less occasion to mix varieties in same
shipment. Keep testing in small
way Cby dozen or hundred) the new
varieties. Fruit must be bright and
smooth ana Of good average size Of its
kind and quality good if not the high
est. You must learn which do best on
YOUR soil under field culture by the side
of older. wall-tried varieties. My
speciality is the Cuthbert raspberry.
Having grown many new kinds by
their side for % years, / have found
none as good for me and my trade.
Some other kinds may be better for
another locality, as Cuthbert will not
do well everywhere.
Provide well-prepared soil and thor
ough cultivation, but not too deep. This
is of much more Importance than an
abundance of fertilizer without it,
though we want a suf1iciency Of we'll
balanced fertilizer; better cut it short
than the cultivation. Give plants
plenty Of room. we are apt to crowd
them by this intense culture, keep
ing top Of ground fine and loose l last
season increased my yield Of potatoes
lC0 bushels per acre above former
Yields though | used no more fertil-
izer. The crop Was p per cent. better
for the extra cultivation. Spraying is
row a necessity. The best fruit cannot
lie grown without it. No matter what
the variety ofsmall fruit, perfect foliage
always prccedes the best. Spraying
must be thorough and at the proper
time to obtain best results. Also the
trimming and thinning must be done
with care No one set Of rules will fit
all cases. Trim ana thin according to
growth Of plant, strength of soil, and
distance between hills or rows. l set
raspberries and biackherres 5X6 feet.
Knowledge Of the best markets is es-
sential to know what is wanted by the
people who are best able to pay for
high priced goods, how best to suit
their tastes or catch the eye in the
market. for usually the best dealers
have not the Zine to praise your
goods. You must make them at
tractive as possible. Much Of the fin
est fruit in the gardens is spoiled in
appearance before it reaches the sight
of the consumer, by careless handling
or packing in inccnvenient shape for
forwarding. Observation is one Of our
best teachers. We must visit the mar
kets occasionally to see what others
are doing and have a talk with the
dealers who usually know best what
will please the public best, especially in
their locality,
Give square dealing. 1t takes many
years to establish reputation and it is
just as essential to keep it, but this
cannot be done withcut the personal
attention to details of the business.
You can lose in a few days by a little
carelessness what cost years to estab-
lish. and once lost you cannot regain
X BE sure that the surface is fair
representation of the entire package or
lot of goods. whether they are graded
III size or not. The grower and dealer
must have a perfect understanding
and work together to obtain best re-
suits. having perfect confidence in
each other. | have never needed much
help from the commission men, and
could sell at the farm or railway sta
ton nearby direct to retailers more
than three times the amount Of fruit
can grow, and usually make the price
myself o b here.
Perseverance or endurance in effort
to raise the best that can be grown is
necessary. l began p years ago with
these intentions and have endured 20
years longer than some Of my friends
and neighbors predicted at the start
n
rocky. heavy clay soil situated $50 to
20 miles from all the best markets. 1t
is very essential that we have a love
for the business, are willing TO work
and are not content to stop short of the
top which is getting higher as competi-
ton increases and the insects and
plant diseases become more difficult to
handle, requiring constant study and
watchfulness through the entire sea- |
son.
The profits of small fruit culture as
in other lines Of business often depend |
much on the supply ana demand. Some |
y years or more ago Hale Bros. We're |
putting up yankee jam from the last |
pickings of their red raspberri6s be- |
cause Of low prices and people getting /
tired of the fruit. / put up nearly a |
ton one year rather than sell the fruit |
at 10 or II cents per quart. The fruit
from one field last season sold at 1914 |
cents net b, and the year before at
III net f b, for the entire crop and
no commission or express to come out
Of il. First shipments brought 20 cents
in Boston and last two crates "a cents
wholesale. This field is six years old.
The foliage was perfect and while the
canes were tied close to the stakes,
shading them completely from the
suns hot rays, the fruit was all on
the surface, so securing all the sunlight
possible to make color and quality per-
feet and quickly crying off after
shower so as to be ready to pick.
Fine red raspberries will be scarce
ana high for some years to come or UNI
til some Of their many enemies can be
overcome. The great difficulty of get
ting plants free from root gall and the
increasing depredations of the wasps
and yellow jackets are discouraging
the smaller growers who grow enough
for their families and the birds, and
sell surplus, One who had been SELL
ing from SIS to 500 worth yearly from
his garden spot told me that if the bees