VOL. LXIII
INDIANAPOLIS,   JUNE 6, 1908.
PUBLIC LIBRARY
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PROFIT IN BERRIES.
Home Market tbe Bsst.
1st Premium.—Strawberries will grow
s.n almost any kind of soil, but they do
lest on a rich, heavy sand, with a quicksand bottom. This type of soil furnishes
plenty of moisture, not only for the
growth of the plants but also for giving
size to the fruit. The soil should be
thoroughly prepared to a good depth, well
drained and enriched. The greater the
amount of fertilizers, the greater will be
the yield and size of the fruit. Vegetable
manure, muck, rotten turf, wood soil and
ashes are the best. For field culture set
in rows 3 to SY2 feet apart and 18 inches
in rows. For garden, 15 inches apart each
way, leaving pathway every third row.
lt pays to buy good plants, at a fair price
from a reliable dealer. These should be
well rooted, free from disease, and of the
preceding season's growth. For planting,
a round mouth draining spade is inserted
in the ground and moved backwards and
forwards. The roots of the plants are
spread, and planted firmly by pressure of
i lie foot. Cultivation is started at once,
so as to produce a dust mulch as early as
possible. To produce strong growth the
first season, the blossom staks are removed from the mother plants. To produce
hne, large fruit, keep in hills, pinching runners oft as soon as they appear. Ground
should always be kept clean and well cultivated. In winter a covering of leaves,
straw or some kind of litter will protect
the plants. Do not cover them until
ground is frozen, nor so deep as to smother
the plants. Remove covering before
growth starts in spring. Mulching will
keep the fruit clean and the soil in good
condition through the fruiting season.
The matter of pistillate varieties, and
the necessity of mixing them among the
perfect ones, in order to secure pollination, is now too well known to need much
'"inment. Two or three rows of a pistil-
lute variety may be flanked by any numlier of perfect ones. Good shipping char-
ncteristics, uniformity in size, brightness
of color, absence of white tips, and regularity in form are of importance to the
grower of market fruit.
Raspberries  will  do well on  any    soil
tnat will produce a good corn crop.      A
rich, deep, well-drained loam is undoubtedly the best.       Land should be thoroughly
prepared and well enriched; ground bone
is one of the best fertilizers.      Keep well
cultivated and free from weeds and suck-
Pls-       Plant in rows five feet apart, three
feet apart in rows.        Between the rows
'"sh potatoes may be profitably planted
"te first season.       Fall planting is recommended by a majority of growers but our
experiences causes us to believe that they
(,an be most successfully transplanted in
tarly   spring.       Mellow earth should   be
Placed on the plants to allow the young
shoots to reach the surface without dif-
»eulty.        if  properly  pruned,, the  raspberry needs no artificial support      Plants
fed black varieties should,  when two
eet high,    have the terminal bud nipped,
"r the purpose of forcing a lateral growth
•ind thereby increasing the productiveness.
' "ch shoots generally grow in a circle, and
jiinee the plant    when    weighted    with
k      *S "" saoots d" not begin to grow
th       same time, repeated nippings during
e growing season  will  be found neces-
As   soon as they have done bear
ing, cut out the old wood to give more
vigor to the young canes. There are a
number of good varieties. The Cuth-
bert we would recommend of the red, and
Gregg of the black. The following spring,
early in the season, we cut back all laterals with hand pruning shears, leaving
them from one to two feet long, according
to the number and strength of canes in the
hill. After pruning we gather and burn
all debris. Cultivate as often as it is
necessary to keep, them clean, and free
from grass and weeds, up to August, after which I let them rest. It is not a
good plan to cultivate too late in the sea-
and grow fruits to meet it. Make n
home market. Grow berries so large and
tempting they will sell themselves. Pick
strawberries every day, and raspberries
and blackberries every other day. Put
no poor ones in the boxes. Picking is
done iu the morning, so that the fruit can
be taken to the market as early as possible. The berries are kept shaded and
as clean as possible, and the boxes are
picked full. If compelled to ship, make
arrangements before-hand with men whom
you have found in inquiry to be reliable,
f.nd do not disappoint them when they expect a shipment. B. E. K.
Ou Oakwood Stock Farm, L. S.   Fitch,  Prop.,  Laporte County.
sen; you thereby cause them to grow too
late to mature in time for winter.
A clay soil, naturally or artificially well
drained is most favorable to the blackberry.
On such a soil its wood will often pass in
good condition through frosts whicli would
destroy the same variety in low, under-
drained ground. As such soil is often
thin, it should be enriched and deeply
plowed before planting. But for the production of large and luscious fruit, and
to prevent the injurious effects of drought,
annual top dressing between plants in the
rows, of manure, leaves, or straw, should
be given in sufficient quantity to smother
grass and weeds. The rows should oe
six or seven feet apart, three to five feet
in a row. If properly cultivated and
pruned, such rows at the end of the third
year from planting should resemble a well
kept hedge, and barely allow a horse and
plow to pass between without touching.
The backberry does not produce a paying
crop until It has been planted two or three
years. To economize in time and labor,
plant a row of strawberries midway between blackberry rows. They will continue to yield good crops until finally
smothered by the blackberry' plants. Pinch
the canes back when they have reached
four feet in height. Snyder, Wallace
and Taylor's Prolific are good varieties.
A partial shade you would find an advantage for berries of all kinds. Our
patch that does the best is in an old orchard.
We find the home market the most profitable, and would advise all to make every
effort to sell as near home as possible.
Learn what your home   market    requires
Some Choice   Varieties.
2d Premium.--The strawberry is somewhat local in its habits. Eastern varieties, originated on the randy soils of that
'section, do not thrive well on our western
soils; nor do the southern varieties do well
with us. I have a variety of soil ranging from heavy clay and black muck to
the lighter soils, and plant as I think
the plant requires. The very early kinds,
as Michaels, Osceola and Crescent, I grow
on the lighter, while Gleudale, Bubach and
tbat class I put on the heavier soils.
Planting is done either very early in the
spring, or not till after the plant blooms.
In the first method you get a more satis-
fiaCtory bed. If planted at blooming time
jou run no risk of the fruit hurting the
plant, for all bloom stems are removed.
For extra fine berries we plant in August
or early September.
The free growing kinds we plant in field
culture, in rows 5 feet apart and 18 inches
between plants. Kinds slow to make
runners should be put closer in the row.
Let the runners alonss—the first are the
best. Keep the soil clean and loose by
frequent cultivation, till runners interfere
then use hand and hoe thereafter. Mulch
in early winter, with any material free
fiom grass or clover seed.
For many years we have grown our own
seedlings from selected berries, saved at
fmiting time. These seedlings are acclimated to our soils and give us fine,
healthy plant* and good berries, many of
them better than the highly advertised
kinds. The work requires extra care
and patience, but to the    lover of    fine
~.~- ^   T~:	
strawberries it is most gratifying.
Black or purple cap raspberries are
planted four feet apart, in rows 7 feet
apart; in well prepared soil. Beds are
planted two feet apart, in rows 6 feet
apart When new growth of blacks is
18 inches, we pinch the tip, thus forming
lateral growth. Reds are not pinched
back unless growth becomes too rank.
Three or four canes only are allowed to the
hill of reds, and all sucker growth is treated as weeds.
Blackberries are treated as the red raspberry. Our best blacks are sorgum for
early, Cumberland and Eureka for later-
Cardinal is a fine purple variety. In reds,
Miller and King are extra fine. Early
Harvest blackberry is a money maker.
From less than one-quarter last year I sold
.$112 worth of berries of this variety. Snyder, Taylor and Ancient Briton are the
standard late kinds.
How do I market my berries? In the
homes of our own citizens. Ouly the best
are produced, nnd these find a ready market any time. We use clean, new boxes,
put fruit in an attractive form, see that
culls are excluded, and no berries are carried over even one day. The premium on
good berries pays for the extra care.
Ou a bed 110 by 120 feet square, planted with Jersey Queen and Crescent, with
Glendale for a fertilizer, we gathered 44
bushels of fine berries. This is less than
one-third of an acre, and at that ratio 125
bushels can be produced. J. H. H.
Three Condition!.
3d Premium.—In growing berries we
may say that success depends on three
considerations; the nature and condition of
the soil, the varieties, and the care given
them. The soil should be fertile and as
free of weeds as possible. Ground that
has been in clover will usually meet these
requirements. Where this is impracticable, a crop of cow peas plowed under
will put the ground in condition to be
planted to berries the following spring.
Strawberries may be planted any time
during the spring or summer, but I prefer to plant about the middle of May. Usually tbe best place to obtain plants is
from some grower in the immediate vicinity. In this way they can be set out without delay, and less are lost by transplanting. The ground should be well prepared aud thoroughly pulverized. It
sahould not be mellow, as for a seed bed,
and where barnyard manure is used care
should be exercised to obtain that which
is free of weed seeds. We make the rows
four feet apart, and set the plants 18 inches apart in the row. Where practicable the rows should extend north and
south. Some varieties, such as the Senator Dunlap. yield well when planted by
themselves, but the imperfect berries
should be planted in close proximity to the
perfect flowering varieties. It is difficult
to say which varieties are best. There
are a dozen or so that may be selected, all
of which have their good qualites. No mistake will be made in choosing such varieties as the Crescent, Warfield, Jessie, Bubach, Haverland, Gandy, Sharpies, Rough
Rider, Senator Dunlap or Wilson. From
two to four rows of the imperfect varieties may be planted to one of the perfect.
Tho Wilson is a good fertilizer for the early varieties while the Senator Dunlap is
better for the late ones.
When setting the plants out, the roots
should be dipped in water, which will
make it easier to get them down into the
Continued on page 9.