Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1916-02-11

PLANTATION OF THREE-YEAR-OLD BLUE
BERRY HYBRIDS.
latter. not the large seeded huckleber
ry, which offers possibilities for prof
table culture.
At the present stage of the BURBERRY
industry it is best to begin by trans
planting the most promising wild bush
es. selecting them for the size. flavor.
color and earliness of the berry as well
as for the vigor and productiveness Of
the bush. These plants can be propa
gated in various ways which are Gle
scribed in detail in professional pa
per of the United States department of
agriculture. bulletin No. 1874. by Fred.
erick V. COville. The aim Of the cul
tivatOr should be to secure bushes
which will produce large berries. These
cost less to pick than small ones and
bring higher price on the market.
The three fundamental requirements
for successful BURBERRY culture are:
First. an acid soil. especially one com
posed Of peat and sand: second, good
drainage and thorough aeration of the
surface soil. and. third. permanent but
moderate soil moisture. Next in i'm
porlance to these essentials is lOca-
ton such that the berries may reach
the market without delay. The best
prices are obtained about the begin
ming of the wild BURBERRY season The
main crop of wild blueberries comes
from northern New England. Canada
and northern Michigan 4 location to
the south of these areas where the Der.
RIGS will mature earlier is, therefore. to
be desired for the commercial culiiva
tor. One Of the most promising dis
trirts now known is the cranberry re-
Gion of New Jersey. where berries ma
tlre early and the shipping facilities
to the market in Philadelphia. New
York and Boston are gu'i
Another important factor 20 bt con.
sidered in selecting a location for a
blueberry patch is the possibility OF
late spring freezes For this reason
the bottoms of valleys should he avoid
ed Freezing seldom Injuries the blue
berry plant itself. but the fruit crop Is
often destroyed in this way From
past observations it appears that wild
blueherrieS growing in or around bodies
Of water frequently escape the injuri-
Gus effects of late spring freezes. and
it seems. therefore. thai Il flooding
equipment for blueberry plantations
similar to those used for cranberry
boys may. under certain circumstances.
prove commercially advantageous
At the present time. however. only
beginning has been made in blue
berry culture. The yield and profits
in field plantations from improved
bushes have not as yet been ascer-
tanned. There is. however. one small
plantation in Indiana where complete
records have been maintained for the
past six years This plantation was
started in 1889 in natural BURBERRY
bog which was first drained and then
set with wild BURBERRY bushes trans
planted without selection for individ-
ual productiveness or size of berries
On this plantation the yield per acre
has averaged l,741 quarts for the past
six years. This average would have
been somewhat higher except for the
almost total failure of the crop III
1910. due to late spring freezes. An
average of llla cents Il quart has been
received for the berries. and the net
profit per acre Is estimated AZ SIG a
year. In this estimate allowance has
been made for interest. taxes and de-
probation The expense for wedding
cultivation and irrigation is placed at
$40 an acre and the cost Of picking at 8
cents quart.