Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-09-14
SMALL FRUITS.
Read before Pomona Grange by
Miss Bessie E. Hunt, and Pub
Iished by Request of the
GRANGE

Grange.
Strawberries gre usually the first to
bear in the class of small fruits. The
vines are set out in the spring as soon as
the soil can be worked. For garden cul-
tivation, set the plants a foot apart, in
/ rows three feet apart: while for field
cultivation and matted rows, set the
vines foot apart and in rows six feet
apart. Keep the bed free from weeds,
and by all means the first year. For
field cultivation, to have a successful
crop, it is better to make new bed every
year, as it will cost more in the fall to
clean out a bed in the matted row sys-
tenn. Again, the berries are always
smaller in size and number the second
year. Mr.. HEWITT, of New Jersey, argues
that after a strawberry plant has pro-
duced a good crop of fruit, it is time TO
start another plant from it. He says:
'In my experience, where plants have
borne a crop of fruit one season, the
roots of the old, exhausted plants become
dead, why, and decay You will notice
all the new roots on an old plant are
near the crown or surface. That is, they
start out at one side Just below the
crown. Still, during the growing season
and autumn months, the foliage may
show all indications of strong vitality in
the plant. Dig up in fall, and inspect
the old plant carefully with a view to
discovering the truth in the root system,
and compare facts with young grown
plant of current seasons growth. | have
tor nine seasons in succession retained
and built up field of Glen Mary, which
has proved to be a prosperous way for a
successful crop from the same soil each
season. Our method of building up the
! Sol 1
About July first we start to cut out with
sharp hoe all plants except in the
original rows. We retain one plant
every twelve inches apart; rows two feet
/ by SIX inches apart. When all plants
are cut out, we start the cultivator
/ through the rows several times to loosen
up the soil. About August first, each
/ plant throws out new runners and makes
new sets. In this way, we renew the
bed or field again with all young, vigor-
Gus plants, full of life and energy, which
become well anchored in the SOIL and
will not heave by severe freezing and
thawing."
The varieties in this locality are most
ly Crescent and Buebach. In field cul-
tivation, every third row should be a
row of Cumberland, Sharpless, Marshall,
or Brandywine for fertilization.
Although blackberries are found in
the wild state in almost all sections of
the country, yet they are so much in
ferior to the cultivated, that it is poor
economy to depend on them for a supply.
Cultivated blackberries comprise varie-
ties not only larger in size, but ripen in
succession throughout the season. The
distance apart to plant blackberries may
be, if in rows, five feet, with the plants
two feet apart in the rows; or, if in sep
arate hills, they may be set five feet
apart each way. In either case they
should be supported by strong stakes
driven into the ground, having a height
of from four to five feet to which the
canes or shoots should be tied. They
may be set either in the fall or in the
spring and if a good growth has been
made, they will give full crop the next
year. That is, if planted in the middle
of April, 1906, or the previous fall, by
the next summer a good crop should be
obtained. After the fruit has been
picked the old canes or shoots should be
cut out to give the new ones a chance to
grow, leaving only about four or five in
a hill. As the new shoots are very vigor-
GUS when they reach height of four or
! five feet, they should be checked by
pinching off the tops. This will give an
| dUuHudhCc vi oluc SiOOts 10 start, WHICH
are to be pinched when about foot long.
This treatment increases the productive
ness of the plants and keeps the fruit
within easy reach for gathering If
rust appears, it may be checked by re-
moving all the rusted young shoots as
they appear. Snyder and Taylor are
considered good varieties of black
! berries.
The culture of the raspberry is almost
the same as that of the black berry, ex-
cept that they may be planted one-third
closer, and that, in some sections, the
raspberry is not quite as hardy. Rasp-
berries are of four colors: red, black,
purple and yellow. Varieties of the red
are; Cuthbert, Miller and Marlboro.
Black: Gregg, Cumberland and Tyler.
Purple: Columbia, Shaffer and Hay
maker. Yellow: Golden Queen.
There is, perhaps, no other small fruit
that will give more weight of crop for
the space it occupies than the currant.
The plants should be set in rows about
four feet apart and three feet between
the plants. The young shoots require to
be pruned in the fall, cutting off about
One-third of the growth and thinning