The Works of E. P. Roe

VOLUME SEVENTEEN

SUCCESS WITH SMALL FRUITS

ILLUSTRATED

1881

I Dedicate this Book

TO

MR. CHARLES DOWNING

A Neighbor, Friend, and Horticulturist

FROM WHOM I SHALL ESTEEM IT A PRIVILEGE TO LEARN IN COMING YEARS AS IHAVE IN THE PAST

PREFACE

A book should be judged somewhat in view of what it attempts. One ofthe chief objects of this little volume is to lure men and women backto their original calling, that of gardening. I am decidedly under theimpression that Eve helped Adam, especially as the sun declined. I amsure that they had small fruits for breakfast, dinner and supper, andwould not be at all surprised if they ate some between meals. Even wepoor mortals who have sinned more than once, and must give our mindsto the effort not to appear unnatural in many hideous styles of dress, can fare as well. The Adams and Eves of every generation can have anEden if they wish. Indeed, I know of many instances in which Evecreates a beautiful and fruitful garden without any help from Adam. 

The theologians show that we have inherited much evil from our firstparents, but, in the general disposition to have a garden, can we notrecognize a redeeming ancestral trait? I would like to contribute mylittle share toward increasing this tendency, believing that ashumanity goes back to its first occupation it may also acquire some ofthe primal gardener's characteristics before he listened to temptationand ceased to be even a gentleman. When he brutally blamed the woman, it was time he was turned out of Eden. All the best things of thegarden suggest refinement and courtesy. Nature might have contentedherself with producing seeds only, but she accompanies the prosaicaction with fragrant flowers and delicious fruit. It would be well toremember this in the ordinary courtesies of life. 

Moreover, since the fruit-garden and farm do not develop in astraightforward, matter-of-fact way, why should I write about themafter the formal and terse fashion of a manual or scientific treatise?The most productive varieties of fruit blossom and have some foliagewhich may not be very beautiful, any more than the departures frompractical prose in this book are interesting; but, as a leafless plantor bush, laden with fruit, would appear gaunt and naked, so, to thewriter, a book about them without any attempt at foliage and flowerswould seem unnatural. The modern chronicler has transformed historyinto a fascinating story. Even science is now taught through thecharms of fiction. Shall this department of knowledge, so generallyuseful, be left only to technical prose? Why should we not have aclass of books as practical as the gardens, fields, and crops, concerning which they are written, and at the same time having much ofthe light, shade, color, and life of the out-of-door world? I merelyclaim that I have made an attempt in the right direction, but, like anunskillful artist, may have so confused my lights, shades, and mixedmy colors so badly, that my pictures resemble a strawberry-bed inwhich the weeds have the better of the fruit. 

Liberal outlines of this work appeared in "Scribner's Magazine, " butthe larger scope afforded by the book has enabled me to treat manysubjects for which there was no space in the magazine, and also togive my views more fully concerning topics only touched upon in theserial. As the fruits described are being improved, so in the futureother and more skillful horticulturists will develop the literaturerelating to them into its true proportions. 

I am greatly indebted to the instruction received at various timesfrom those venerable fathers and authorities on all questions relatingto Eden-like pursuits--Mr. Chas. Downing of Newburg, and Hon. MarshallP. Wilder of Boston, Mr. J. J. Thomas, Dr. Geo. Thurber; to suchvaluable works as those of A. S. Fuller, A. J. Downing, P. Barry, J. M. Merrick, Jr. ; and some English authors; to the live horticulturaljournals in the East, West, and South; and, last but not least, tomany plain, practical fruit-growers who are as well informed andsensible as they are modest in expressing their opinions. 

CORNWALL-ON-THE-HUDSON, NEW YORK. 

PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION

On page 315 of this volume will be found the following words: "Toattempt to describe all the strawberries that have been named would bea task almost as interminable as useless. This whole question ofvarieties presents a different phase every four or five years. Therefore I treat the subject in my final chapter in order that I maygive revision, as often as there shall be occasion for it, withoutdisturbing the body of the book. A few years since certain varietieswere making almost as great a sensation as the Sharpless. They are nowregarded as little better than weeds in most localities. " Now that mypublishers ask me to attempt this work of revision, I find that Ishrink from it, for reasons natural and cogent to my mind. Possiblythe reader may see them in the same light. The principles ofcultivation, treatment of soils, fertilizing, etc. , remain much thesame; My words relating to these topics were penned when knowledge--the result of many years of practical experience--was fresh in memory. Subsequent observation has confirmed the views I then held, and, whatis of far more weight in my estimation, they have been endorsed by thebest and most thoroughly informed horticulturists in the land. I wrotewhat I then thought was true; I now read what has been declared trueby highest authorities. I have more confidence in their judgment thanin my own, and, having been so fortunate as to gain their approval, Ifear to meddle with a record which, in a sense, has become theirs aswell as mine. Therefore I have decided to leave the body of the bookuntouched. 

When I read the lists of varieties I found many that have becomeobsolete, many that were never worthy of a name. Should I revise theselists, as I fully expected to do, from time to time? At present I haveconcluded that I will not, for the following reasons:

When, between six and seven years ago, I wrote the descriptions of thevarious kinds of fruit then in vogue, I naturally and inevitablyreflected the small-fruit world as it then existed. The picture mayhave been imperfect and distorted, but I gave it as I saw it. With allits faults I would like to keep that picture for future reference. Thetime may come when none of the varieties then so highly praised andvalued will be found in our fields or gardens. For that very reason Ishould like to look back to some fixed and objective point which wouldenable me to estimate the mutations which had occurred. Originators ofnew varieties are apt to speak too confidently and exultantly of theirnovelties; purchasers are prone to expect too much of them. Both mightobtain useful lessons by turning to a record of equally laudednovelties of other days. Therefore I would like to leave that sketchof varieties as seen in 1880 unaltered. To change the figure, therecord may become a landmark, enabling us to estimate future progressmore accurately. Should the book still meet with the favor which hasbeen accorded to it in the past, there can be frequent revisions ofthe supplemental lists which are now given. Although no longer engagedin the business of raising and selling plants, I have not lost myinterest in the plants themselves. I hope to obtain much of myrecreation in testing the new varieties offered from year to year. Inengaging in such pursuits even the most cynical cannot suspect anyother purpose than that of observing impartially the behavior of thevarieties on trial. 

I will maintain my grasp on the button-hole of the reader only longenough to state once more a pet theory--one which I hope for leisureto test at some future time. Far be it from me to decry thedisposition to raise new seedling varieties; by this coursesubstantial progress has been and will be made. But there is anothermethod of advance which may promise even better results. 

In many of the catalogues of to-day we find many of the fine oldvarieties spoken of as enfeebled and fallen from their first estate. This is why they decline in popular favor and pass into oblivion. Little wonder that these varieties have become enfeebled, when weremember how ninety-nine hundredths of the plants are propagated. Iwill briefly apply my theory to one of the oldest kinds still inexistence--Wilson's Albany. If I should set out a bed of Wilson'sthis spring, I would eventually discover a plant that surpassed theothers in vigor and productiveness--one that to a greater degree thanthe others exhibited the true characteristics of the variety. I shouldthen clear away all the other plants near it and let this one plantpropagate itself, until there were enough runners for another bed. From this a second selection of the best and most characteristicplants would be made and treated in like manner. It appears to mereasonable and in accordance with nature that, by this careful andcontinued selection, an old variety could be brought to a point ofexcellence far surpassing its pristine condition, and that the higherand better strain would become fixed and uniform, unless it was againtreated with the neglect which formerly caused the deterioration. Bythis method of selection and careful propagation the primal vigorshown by the varieties which justly become popular may be but thestarting-point on a career of well-doing that can scarcely be limited. Is it asked, "Why is not this done by plant-growers?" You, my dearreader, may be one of the reasons. You may be ready to expend even adollar a plant for some untested and possibly valueless novelty, andyet be unwilling to give a dollar a hundred for the best standardvariety in existence. If I had Wilsons propagated as I have described, and asked ten dollars a thousand for them, nine out of ten would writeback that they could buy the variety for two dollars per thousand. Sothey could; and they, could also buy horses at ten dollars each, andno one could deny that they were horses. One of the chief incentivesof nurserymen to send out novelties is that they may have some plantsfor sale on which they can make a profit. When the people are educatedup to the point of paying for quality in plants and trees as they arein respect to livestock, there will be careful and capable men readyto supply the demand. 

Beginning on page 349, the reader will find supplemental bits ofvarieties which have appeared to me worthy of mention at the presenttime. I may have erred in my selection of the newer candidates forfavor, and have given some unwarranted impressions in regard to them. Let the reader remember the opinion of a veteran fruit-grower. "Notrue, accurate knowledge of a variety can be had, " he said, "until ithas been at least ten years in general cultivation. "

I will now take my leave, in the hope that when I have somethingfurther to say, I shall not be unwelcome. E. P. R. 

 CORNWALL-ON-THE-HUDSON, N. Y. _January 16, 1886. _

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. PRELIMINARY PARLEY

II. THE FRUIT GARDEN

III. SMALL FRUIT FARMING AND ITS PROFITS

IV. STRAWBERRIES: THE FIVE SPECIES AND THEIR HISTORY

V. IDEAL STRAWBERRIES VERSUS THOSE OF THE FIELD AND MARKET

VI. CHOICE OF SOIL AND LOCATION

VII. PREPARING AND ENRICHING THE SOIL

VIII. PREPARATION OF SOIL BY DRAINAGE

IX. THE PREPARATION OF SOILS COMPARATIVELY UNFAVORABLE--CLAY, SAND, ETC

X. COMMERCIAL AND SPECIAL FERTILIZERS

XI. OBTAINING PLANTS AND IMPROVING OUR STOCK

XII. WHEN SHALL WE PLANT?

XIII. WHAT SHALL WE PLANT? VARIETIES, THEIR CHARACTER AND ADAPTATIONTO SOILS

XIV. SETTING OUT PLANTS

XV. CULTIVATION

XVI. A SOUTHERN STRAWBERRY FARM, AND METHODS OF CULTURE IN THE SOUTH

XVII. FORCING STRAWBERRIES UNDER GLASS

XVIII. ORIGINATING NEW VARIETIES--HYBRIDIZATION

XIX. RASPBERRIES--SPECIES, HISTORY, PROPAGATION, ETC

XX. RASPBERRIES--PRUNING--STAKING--MULCHING--WINTER PROTECTION, ETC

XXI. RASPBERRIES--VARIETIES OF THE FOREIGN AND NATIVE SPECIES

XXII. RUBUS OCCIDENTALS--BLACK-CAP AND PURPLE-CANE RASPBERRIES

XXIII. THE RASPBERRIES OF THE FUTURE

XXIV. BLACKBERRIES--VARIETIES, CULTIVATION, ETC. 

XXV. CURRANTS--CHOICE OF SOIL, CULTIVATION, PRUNING, ETC. 

XXVI. CURRANTS, CONTINUED--PROPAGATION, VARIETIES

XXVII. GOOSEBERRIES

XXVIII. DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES OF SMALL FRUITS

XXIX. PICKING AND MARKETING

XXX. IRRIGATION

XXXI. SUGGESTIVE EXPERIENCES FROM WIDELY SEPARATED LOCALITIES

XXXII. A FEW RULES AND MAXIMS

XXXIII. VARIETIES OF STRAWBERRIES

XXXIV. VARIETIES OF OTHER SMALL FRUITS

XXXV. CLOSING WORDS

APPENDIX

INDEX

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY PARLEY

In the ages that were somewhat shadowed, to say the least, when Natureindulged her own wild moods in man and the world he trampled on ratherthan cultivated, there was a class who in their dreams and futileefforts became the unconscious prophets of our own time--theAlchemists. For centuries they believed they could transmute basemetals into gold and silver. Modern knowledge enables us to workchanges more beneficial than the alchemist ever dreamed of; and itshall be my aim to make one of these secrets as open as the sunlightin the fields and gardens wherein the beautiful mutations occur. Toturn iron into gold would be a prosaic, barren process that mightresult in trouble to all concerned, but to transform heavy black earthand insipid rain-water into edible rubies, with celestial perfume andambrosial flavor, is indeed an art that appeals to the entire race, and enlists that imperious nether organ which has never lost its powerover heart or brain. As long, therefore, as humanity's mouth waters atthe thought of morsels more delicious even than "sin under thetongue, " I am sure of an audience when I discourse of strawberries andtheir kindred fruits. If apples led to the loss of Paradise, thereader will find described hereafter a list of fruits that will enablehim to reconstruct a bit of Eden, even if the "Fall and all our woe"have left him possessed of merely a city yard. But land in thecountry, breezy hillsides, moist, sheltered valleys, sunny plains--what opportunities for the divinest form of alchemy are here affordedto hundreds of thousands!

Many think of the soil only in connection with the sad words of theburial service--"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes. " Let us, while wemay, gain more cheerful associations with our kindred dust. For a timeit can be earth to strawberry blossoms, ashes to bright red berries, and their color will get into our cheeks and their rich subacid juicesinto our insipid lives, constituting a mental, moral, and physicalalterative that will so change us that we shall believe in evolutionand imagine ourselves fit for a higher state of existence. One maydelve in the earth so long as to lose all dread at the thought ofsleeping in it at last; and the luscious fruits and bright-huedflowers that come out of it, in a way no one can find out, may teachour own resurrection more effectually than do the learned theologians. 

We naturally feel that some good saints in the flesh, even though theyare "pillars of the church, " need more than a "sea-change" before theycan become proper citizens of "Jerusalem the Golden;" but havingcompared a raspberry bush, bending gracefully under its deliciousburden, with the insignificant seed from which it grew, we are readyto believe in all possibilities of good. Thus we may gather more thanberries from our fruit-gardens. Nature hangs thoughts and suggestionson every spray, and blackberry bushes give many an impressive scratchto teach us that good and evil are very near together in this world, and that we must be careful, while seeking the one, to avoid theother. In every field of life those who seek the fruit too rashly arealmost sure to have a thorny experience, and to learn that prickingsare provided for those who have no consciences. 

He who sees in the world around him only what strikes the eye lives ina poor, half-furnished house; he who obtains from his garden only whathe can eat gathers but a meagre crop. If I find something besidesberries on my vines, I shall pick it if so inclined. The scientifictreatise, or precise manual, may break up the well-rooted friendshipof plants, and compel them to take leave of each other, after thearbitrary fashion of methodical minds, but I must talk about them verymuch as nature has taught me, since, in respect to out-of-door life, my education was acquired almost wholly in the old-fashioned way atthe venerable "dame's school. " Nay more, I claim that I have warrantto gather from my horticultural texts more than can be sent to thedining table or commission merchant. Such a matter-of-fact plant asthe currant makes some attempt to embroider its humble life withornament, and in April the bees will prove to you that honey may begathered even from a gooseberry bush. Indeed, gooseberries are likesome ladies that we all know. In their young and blossoming days theyare sweet and pink-hued, and then they grow acid, pale, and hard; butin the ripening experience of later life they become sweet again andtender. Before they drop from their places the bees come back forhoney, and find it. 

In brief, I propose to take the reader on a quiet and extended rambleamong the small fruits. It is much the same as if I said, "Let us goa-strawberrying together, " and we talked as we went over hill andthrough dale in a style somewhat in harmony with our wanderings. Verymany, no doubt, will glance at these introductory words, and declineto go with me, correctly feeling that they can find better company. Other busy, practical souls will prefer a more compact, straightforward treatise, that is like a lesson in a class-room, rather than a stroll in the fields, or a tour among the fruit farms, and while sorry to lose their company, I have no occasion to findfault. 

I assure those, however, who, after this preliminary parley, decide togo further, that I will do my best to make our excursion pleasant, andto cause as little weariness as is possible, if we are to return withfull baskets. I shall not follow the example of some thrifty peoplewho invite one to go "a-berrying, " but lead away from fruitful nooks, proposing to visit them alone by stealth. All the secrets I know shallbecome open ones. I shall conduct the reader to all the "good places, "and name the good things I have discovered in half a lifetime ofresearch. I would, therefore, modestly hint to the practical reader--to whom "time is money, " who has an eye to the fruit only, and withwhom the question of outlay and return is ever uppermost--that he may, after all, find it to his advantage to go with us. While we stop togather a flower, listen to a brook or bird, or go out of our wayoccasionally to get a view, he can jog on, meeting us at every pointwhere we "mean business. " These points shall occur so often that hewill not lose as much time as he imagines, and I think he will find mybusiness talks business-like--quite as practical as he desires. 

To come down to the plainest of plain prose, I am not a theorist onthese subjects, nor do I dabble in small fruits as a rich and fancifulamateur, to whom it is a matter of indifference whether hisstrawberries cost five cents or a dollar a quart. As a farmer, milkmust be less expensive than champagne. I could not afford a fruit farmat all if it did not more than pay its way, and in order to win theconfidence of the "solid men, " who want no "gush" or side sentiment, even though nature suggests some warrant for it, I will give a bit ofpersonal experience. Five years since, I bought a farm of twenty-threeacres that for several years had. Been rented, depleted, and sufferedto run wild. Thickets of brushwood extended from the fences well intothe fields, and in a notable instance across the entire place. Oneportion was so stony that it could not be plowed; another so wet andsour that even grass would not grow upon it; a third portion was notonly swampy, but liable to be overwhelmed with stones and gravel twicea year by the sudden rising of a mountain stream. There was no fruiton the place except apples and a very few pears and grapes. Nearly allof the land, as I found it, was too impoverished to produce a decentcrop of strawberries. The location of the place, moreover, made itvery expensive--it cost $19, 000; and yet during the third year ofoccupancy the income from this place approached very nearly to theoutlay, and in 1878, during which my most expensive improvements weremade, in the way of draining, taking out stones, etc. , the income paidfor these improvements, for current expenses, and gave a surplus ofover $1, 800. In 1879, the net income was considerably larger. In orderthat these statements may not mislead any one, I will add that in myjudgment only the combined business of plants and fruit would warrantsuch expenses as I have incurred. My farm is almost in the midst of avillage, and the buildings upon it greatly increased its cost. Thosewho propose to raise and sell fruit only should not burden themselveswith high-priced land. Farms, even on the Hudson, can be bought atquite moderate prices at a mile or more away from centres, and yetwithin easy reach of landings and railroad depots. 

Mr. Charles Downing, whose opinions on all horticultural questions areso justly valued, remarked to me that no other fruit was so affectedby varying soils and climates as the strawberry. I have come to theconclusion that soil, locality, and climate make such vast differencesthat unless these variations are carefully studied and indicated, books will mislead more people than they help. A man may write atreatise admirably adapted to his own farm; but if one living athousand, a hundred, or even one mile away, followed the same method, he might almost utterly fail. While certain general and foundationprinciples apply to the cultivation of each genus of fruit, importantmodifications and, in some instances, almost radical changes of methodmust be made in view of the varied conditions in which it is grown. 

It is even more important to know what varieties are best adapted todifferent localities and soils. While no experienced and candidauthority will speak confidently and precisely on this point, muchvery useful information and suggestion may be given by one who, instead of theorizing, observes, questions, and records facts as theyare. The most profitable strawberry of the far South will producescarcely any fruit in the North, although the plant grows well; andsome of our best raspberries cannot even exist in a hot climate orupon very light soils. In the preparation of this book it has been myaim to study these conditions, that I might give advice useful inFlorida and Canada, New York and California, as well as at Cornwall. Ihave maintained an extensive correspondence with practical fruitgrowers in all sections, and have read with care contributions to thehorticultural press from widely separated localities. Not content withthis, I have visited in person the great fruit-growing centres of NewJersey, Norfolk and Richmond, Va. ; Charleston, S. C. ; Augusta andSavannah, Ga, ; and several points in Florida. Thus, from actualobservation and full, free conversation, I have familiarized myselfwith both the Northern and Southern aspects of this industry, while mycorrespondence from the far West, Southwest, and California will, Ihope, enable me to aid the novice in those regions also. 

I know in advance that my book will contain many and varied faults, but I intend that it shall be an expression of honest opinion. I donot like "foxy grapes" nor foxy words about them. 

CHAPTER II

THE FRUIT GARDEN

_Raison d'etre_

Small fruits, to people who live in the country, are like heaven--objects of universal desire and very general neglect. Indeed, in aland so peculiarly adapted to their cultivation, it is difficult toaccount for this neglect if you admit the premise that Americans arecivilized and intellectual. It is the trait of a savage and inferiorrace to devour . With immense gusto a delicious morsel, and then trustto luck for another. People who would turn away from a dish of"Monarch" strawberries, with their plump pink cheeks powdered withsugar, or from a plate of melting raspberries and cream, would beregarded as so eccentric as to suggest an asylum; but the number ofprofessedly intelligent and moral folk who ignore the simple means ofenjoying the ambrosial viands daily, for weeks together, is so largeas to shake one's confidence in human nature. A well-maintained fruitgarden is a comparatively rare adjunct of even stylish and pretentioushomes. In June, of all months, in sultry July and August, there arisesfrom innumerable country breakfast tables the pungent odor of a meatinto which the devils went but out of which there is no proof theyever came. From the garden under the windows might have been gatheredfruits whose aroma would have tempted spirits of the air. The cabbage-patch may be seen afar, but too often the strawberry-bed even if itexists is hidden by weeds, and the later small fruits struggle forbare life in some neglected corner. Indeed, an excursion into certainparts of Hew England might suggest that many of its thrifty citizenswould not have been content in Eden until they had put its best landinto onions and tobacco. Through the superb scenery of Vermont thereflows a river whose name, one might think, would secure an unfailingtide from the eyes of the inhabitants. The Alpine strawberry growswild in all that region, but the puritan smacked his lips over anothergift of nature and named the romantic stream in its honor. To accountfor certain tastes or tendencies, mankind must certainly have fallen alittle way, or, if Mr. Darwin's view is correct, and we are on aslight up-grade, a dreadful hitch and tendency to backslide has beenapparent at a certain point ever since the Hebrews sighed for the"leeks and onions of Egypt. "

Of course, there is little hope for the rural soul that "loathes" thelight manna of small fruits. We must leave it to evolution for anothercycle or two. But, as already indicated, we believe that humanity inthe main has reached a point where its internal organs highly approveof the delicious group of fruits that strayed out of Paradise, andhave not yet lost themselves among the "thorns and thistles. " Indeed, modern skill--the alchemy of our age--has wrought such wonders thatEden is possible again to all who will take the trouble to form Eden-like tastes and capacities. 

The number who are doing this is increasing every year, The largedemand for literature relating to out-of-door life, horticulturaljournals, like the fruits of which they treat, flourishing in regionsnew and remote, are proof of this. The business of supplying fruit-trees, plants, and even flowers, is becoming a vast industry. I havebeen informed that one enterprising firm annually spends thousands inadvertising roses only. 

But while we welcome the evidences that so many are ceasing to bebucolic heathen, much observation has shown that the need of furtherenlightenment is large indeed. It is depressing to think of the numberof homes about which fruits are conspicuous only by their absence--homes of every class, from the laborer's cottage and pioneer's cabinto the suburban palace. Living without books and pictures is only alittle worse than living in the country without fruits and flowers. Wemust respect to some extent the old ascetics, who, in obedience tomistaken ideas of duty, deprived themselves of the good things Godprovided, even while we recognize the stupidity of such a course. Little children are rarely so lacking in sense as to try to pleasetheir father by contemptuously turning away from his best gifts, or bytreating them with indifference. Why do millions live in the country, year after year, raising weeds and brambles, or a few coarsevegetables, when the choicest fruits would grow almost as readily?They can plead no perverted sense of duty. 

It is a question hard to answer. Some, perhaps, have the delusion thatfine small fruits are as difficult to raise as orchids. They classthem with hot-house grapes. Others think they need so little attentionthat they can stick a few plants in hard, poor ground and leave themto their fate. One might as well try to raise canary-birds and kittenstogether as strawberries and weeds. There is a large class who believein small fruits, and know their value. They enjoy them amazingly at afriend's table, and even buy some when they are cheap. , A littlegreater outlay and a little intelligent effort would give them anabundant supply from their own grounds. In a vague way they are awareof this, and reproach themselves for their negligence, but time passesand there is no change for the better. Why? I don't know. There aremen who rarely kiss their wives and children. For them the birds singunheeded and even unheard; flowers become mere objects, and sunsetssuggest only "quitting time. " In theory they believe in all thesethings. What can be said of them save that they simply jog on to-dayas they did yesterday, ever dimly hoping at some time or other "tolive up to their privileges"? But they usually go on from bad toworse, until, like their neglected strawberry-beds, they are "turnedunder. "

In cities not a hundred miles from my farm there are abodes of wealthwith spacious grounds, where, in many instances, scarcely any place isfound for small fruits. "It is cheaper and easier to buy them, " it issaid. This is a sorry proof of civilization. There is no economy inthe barbaric splendor of brass buttons and livery, but merely a littletrouble (I doubt about money) is saved on the choicest luxuries of theyear. The idea of going out of their rural paradises to buy half-stalefruit! But this class is largely at the mercy of the "hired man, " orhis more disagreeable development, the pretentious smatterer, who, sofar from possessing the knowledge that the English, Scotch, or Germangardeners acquire in their long, thorough training, is a compound ofignorance and prejudice. To hide his barrenness of mind he gives hissoul to rare plants, clipped lawns, but stints the family in allthings save his impudence. If he tells his obsequious employers thatit is easier and cheaper to buy their fruit than to raise it, ofcourse there is naught to do but go to the market and pick up whatthey can; and yet Dr. Thurber says, with a vast deal of force, that"the unfortunate people who buy their fruit do not know what astrawberry is. "

In all truth and soberness it is a marvel and a shame that so manysane people who profess to have passed beyond the habits of thewilderness will not give the attention required by these unexactingfruits. The man who has learned to write his name can learn to raisethem successfully. The ladies who know how to keep their homes neatthrough the labors of their "intelligent help, " could also learn tomanage a fruit garden even though employing the stupidest oaf thatever blundered through life. The method is this: First learn howyourself, and then let your laborer thoroughly understand that he getsno wages unless he does as he is told. In the complicated details of aplant farm there is much that needs constant supervision, but the workof an ordinary fruit garden is, in the main, straightforward andsimple. The expenditure of a little time, money, and, above allthings, of seasonable labor, is so abundantly repaid that one wouldthink that bare self-interest would solve invariably the simpleproblem of supply. 

As mere articles of food, these fruits are exceedingly valuable. Theyare capable of sustaining severe and continued labor. For monthstogether we might become almost independent of butcher and doctor ifwe made our places produce all that nature permits. Purple grapes willhide unsightly buildings; currants, raspberries, and blackberries willgrow along the fences and in the corners that are left to burdocks andbrambles. I have known invalids to improve from the first day thatberries were brought to the table, and thousands would exchange theirsallow complexions, sick headaches, and general ennui for a breezyinterest in life and its abounding pleasures, if they would only takenature's palpable hint, and enjoy the seasonable food she provides. Belles can find better cosmetics in the fruit garden than on theirtoilet tables, and she who paints her cheeks with the pure, healthfulblood that is made from nature's choicest gifts, and the exercise ofgathering them, can give her lover a kiss that will make him wish foranother. 

The famous Dr. Hosack, of New York City, who attended AlexanderHamilton after he received his fatal wound from Burr, was anenthusiast on the subject of fruits. It was his custom to terminatehis spring course of lectures with a strawberry festival. "I must letthe class see, " he said, "that we are practical as well astheoretical. Linnaeus cured his gout and protracted his life by eatingstrawberries. "

"They are a dear article, " a friend remarked, "to gratify theappetites of so many. "

"Yes, indeed, " replied the doctor, "but from our present mode ofculture they will become cheap. "

It is hard to realize how scarce this fruit was sixty or seventy yearsago, but the prediction of the sagacious physician has been verifiedeven beyond his imagination. Strawberries are raised almost asabundantly as potatoes, and for a month or more can be eaten as acheap and wholesome food by all classes, even the poorest. By a properselection of varieties we, in our home, feast upon them six weekstogether, and so might the majority of those whose happy lot is castin the country. The small area of a city yard planted with a fewchoice kinds will often yield surprising returns under sensibleculture. 

If we cultivate these beautiful and delicious fruits we always havethe power of giving pleasure to others, and he's a churl and she apale reflection of Xantippe who does not covet this power. The facesof our guests brighten as they snuff from afar the delicate aroma. Ourvines can furnish gifts that our friends will ever welcome; and bymeans of their products we can pay homage to genius that will be farmore grateful than commonplace compliments. I have seen a letter fromthe Hon. Wm. C. Bryant, which is a rich return for the fewstrawberries that were sent to him, and the thought that they gave himpleasure gives the donor far more. They are a gift that one can bestowand another take without involving any compromise on either side, since they belong to the same category as smiles, kind words, and theuniversal freemasonry of friendship. Faces grow radiant over a basketof fruit or flowers that would darken with anger at other gifts. 

If, in the circle of our acquaintance, there are those shut up to theweariness and heavy atmosphere of a sick-room, in no way can we send aray of sunlight athwart their pallid faces more effectually than byplacing a basket of fragrant fruit on the table beside them. Eventhough the physician may render it "forbidden fruit, " their eyes willfeast upon it, and the aroma will teach them that the world is notpassing on, unheeding and uncaring whether they live or die. 

The Fruit and Flower Mission of New York is engaged in a beautiful andmost useful charity. Into tenement-houses and the hot close wards ofcity hospitals, true sisters of mercy of the one Catholic church oflove and kindness carry the fragrant emblems of an Eden that was lost, but may be regained even by those who have wandered farthest from itsbeauty and purity. Men and women, with faces seemingly hardened andgrown rigid under the impress of vice, that but too correctly revealthe coarse and brutal nature within, often become wistful and tenderover some simple flower or luscious fruit that recalls earlier andhappier days. These are gifts which offend no prejudices, andinevitably suggest that which is good, sweet, wholesome and pure. Fora moment, at least, and perhaps forever, they may lead stained anddebased creatures to turn their faces heavenward. There are littlesuffering children also in the hospitals; there are exiles fromcountry homes and country life in the city who have been swept downnot by evil but the dark tides of disaster, poverty, and disease, andto such it is a privilege as well as a pleasure to send gifts thatwill tend to revive hope and courage. That we may often availourselves of these gracious opportunities of giving the equivalent ofa "cup of cold water, " we should plant fruits and flowers inabundance. 

One of the sad features of our time is the tendency of young people toleave their country homes. And too often one does not need to look farfor the reason. Life at the farm-house sinks into deep ruts, andbecomes weary plodding. There are too many "one-ideaed" farmers andfarms. It is corn, potatoes, wheat, butter, or milk. The stapleproduction absorbs all thought and everything else is neglected. Nature demands that young people should have variety, and furnishes itin abundance. The stolid farmer too often ignores nature and thecravings of youth, and insists on the heavy monotonous work of hisspecialty, early and late, the year around, and then wonders why inhis declining years there are no strong young hands to lighten histoil. The boy who might have lived a sturdy, healthful, independentlife among his native hills is a bleached and sallow youth measuringribbons and calicoes behind a city counter. The girl who might havebeen the mistress of a tree-shadowed country house disappears undermuch darker shadows in town. But for their early home life, so meagreand devoid of interest, they might have breathed pure air all theirdays. 

Not the least among the means of making a home attractive would be awell-maintained fruit garden. The heart and the stomach have beenfound nearer together by the metaphysicians than the physiologists, and if the "house-mother, " as the Germans say, beamed often at herchildren over a great dish of berries flanked by a pitcher ofunskimmed milk, not only good blood and good feeling would bedeveloped, but something that the poets call "early ties. "

There is one form of gambling or speculation that, within properlimits, is entirely innocent and healthful--the raising of newseedling fruits and the testing of new varieties. In these pursuitsthe elements of chance, skill, and judgment enter so evenly that theyare an unfailing source of pleasurable excitement. The catalogues ofplant, tree, and seed dealers abound in novelties. The majority ofthem cannot endure the test of being grown by the side of our well-known standard kinds, but now and then an exceedingly valuablevariety, remarkable for certain qualities or peculiarly adapted tospecial localities and uses, is developed. There is not only anunfailing pleasure in making these discoveries, but often a largeprofit. If, three or four years ago, a country boy had bought a dozenSharpless strawberry plants, and propagated from them, he might nowobtain several hundred dollars from their increased numbers. Time onlycan show whether this novelty will become a standard variety, but atpresent the plants are in great demand. 

The young people of a country home may become deeply interested inoriginating new seedlings. A thousand strawberry seeds will produce athousand new kinds, and, although the prospects are that none of themwill equal those now in favor, something very fine and superior may beobtained. Be this as it may, if these simple natural interests preventboys and girls from being drawn into the maelstrom of city life untilcharacter is formed, each plant will have a value beyond silver orgold. 

One of the supreme rewards of human endeavor is a true home, andsurely it is as stupid as it is wrong to neglect some of the simplestand yet most effectual means of securing this crown of earthly life. Ahome is the product of many and varied causes, but I have yet to seethe man who will deny that delicious small fruits for eight months ofthe year, and the richer pleasure even of cultivating and gatheringthem, may become one of the chief contributions to this result. I usethe words "eight months" advisedly, for even now, January 29, we areenjoying grapes that were buried in the ground last October. I supposemy children are very material and unlike the good little people who donot live long, but they place a white mark against the days on whichwe unearth a jar of grapes. 

CHAPTER III

SMALL FRUIT FARMING AND ITS PROFITS

A farm without a fruit garden may justly be regarded as proof of a lowstate of civilization in the farmer. No country home should be withoutsuch simple means of health and happiness. For obvious reasons, however, there is not, and never can be, the same room for fruitraising as there is for grain, grass, and stock farming. Nevertheless, the opportunities to engage with profit in this industry on a largescale are increasing every year. From being a luxury of a few, thesmall fruits have become an article of daily food to the million. Eventhe country village must have its supply, and the number of cratesthat are shipped from New York city to neighboring towns isastonishingly large. As an illustration of the rapidly enlargingdemand for these fruits, let us consider the experience of one Westerncity, Cincinnati. Mr. W. H. Corbly, who is there regarded as one ofthe best informed on these subjects, has gathered the followingstatistics: "In 1835 it was regarded as a most wonderful thing that100 bushels of strawberries could be disposed of on the Cincinnatimarket in one day, and was commented on as a great event. A closeestimate shows that during the summer of 1879 eighty to eighty-fivethousand bushels of strawberries were sold in Cincinnati. Of course, alarge part of these berries were shipped away, but it is estimatedthat nearly one half were consumed here. About the year 1838 thecultivation of black raspberries was commenced in this county by JamesGallagher and F. A. McCormick of Salem, Anderson township. The firstyear, Gallagher's largest shipment in one day was six bushels, andMcCormick's four. When they were placed on the market, McCormick soldout at 6 1/4 cents per quart, and Gallagher held off till McCormickhad sold out, when he put his on sale and obtained 8 1/8 cents perquart, and the demand was fully supplied. It is estimated that thecrop for the year 1879, handled in Cincinnati, amounted to fromseventy-five thousand to eighty thousand bushels--the crop being afairly good one--selling at an average of about two dollars perbushel. " It has been stated in "The Country Gentleman" that about$5, 000, 000 worth of small fruits were sold in Michigan in one year;and the same authority estimates that $25, 000, 000 worth are consumedannually in New York city. In the future it would seem that thisdemand would increase even more rapidly; for in every fruit-growingregion immense canning establishments are coming into existence, towhich the markets of the world are open. Therefore, in addition to thethousands already embarked in this industry, still larger numbers willengage in it during the next few years. 

Those who now for the first time are turning their attention towardthis occupation may be divided mainly into two classes. The firstconsists of established farmers, who, finding markets within theirreach, extend their patches of raspberries, currants, or strawberriesto such a degree that they have a surplus to sell. To the extent thatsuch sales are remunerative, they increase the area of fruits, untilin many instances they become virtually fruit farmers. More often afew acres are devoted to horticulture, and the rest of the farm iscarried on in the old way. 

The second class is made up chiefly of those who are unfamiliar withthe soil and its culture--mechanics, professional men, who hope toregain health by coming back to nature, and citizens whose ill-successor instincts suggest country life and labors. From both these classes, and especially from the latter, I receive very many letters, containing all kinds of questions. The chief burden on most minds, however, is summed up in the words, "Do small fruits pay?" To meet theneeds of these two classes is one of the great aims of this work; andit is my most earnest wish not to mislead by high-colored pictures. 

Small fruits pay many people well; and unless location, soil, orclimate is hopelessly against one, the degree of profit will dependchiefly upon his skill, judgment and industry. The raising of smallfruits is like other callings, in which some are getting rich, moreearning a fair livelihood, and not a few failing. It is a business inwhich there is an abundance of sharp, keen competition; and ignorance, poor judgment, and shiftless, idle ways will be as fatal as in theworkshop, store, or office. 

Innumerable failures result from inexperience. I will give one extremeexample, which may serve to illustrate, the sanguine mental conditionof many who read of large returns in fruit culture. A young man whohad inherited a few hundred dollars wrote me that he could hire apiece of land for a certain amount, and he wished to invest thebalance--every cent--in plants, thus leaving himself no capital withwhich to continue operations, but expecting that a speedy crop wouldlift him at once into a prosperous career. I wrote that under thecircumstances I could not supply him--that it would be about the sameas robbery to do so; and advised him to spend several years with apractical and successful fruit grower and learn the business. 

Most people enter upon this calling in the form of a wedge; but onlytoo many commence at the blunt end, investing largely at once ineverything, and therefore their business soon tapers down to nothing. The wise begin at the point of the wedge and develop their callingnaturally, healthfully--learning, by experience and carefulobservation, how to grow fruits profitably, and which kinds pay thebest. There ought also to be considerable capital to start with, andan absence of the crushing burden of interest money. No fruits yieldany returns before the second or third year; and there are oftenUnfavorable seasons and glutted markets. Nature's prizes are won bypatient, persistent industry, and not by Wall Street sleight of hand. 

Location is very important. A fancy store, however well-furnished, would be a ruinous investment at a country crossroad. The fruit farmmust be situated where there is quick and cheap access to goodmarkets, and often the very best market may be found at a neighboringvillage, summer resort, or canning establishment. Enterprise andindustry, however, seem to surmount all obstacles. The Rev. Mr. Knoxshipped his famous "700" strawberries (afterward known to be theJucunda, a foreign variety) from Pittsburgh to New York, securinglarge returns; and, take the country over, the most successful fruitfarms seem to be located where live men live and work. Still, if onewere about to purchase, sound judgment would suggest a very carefulchoice of locality with speedy access to good markets. Mr. J. J. Thomas, editor of "The Country Gentleman, " in a paper upon the Outlookof Fruit Culture, read before the Western N. Y. HorticulturalSociety, laid down three essentials to success: 1. Locality--a regionfound by experience to be adapted to fruit growing. 2. Wise selectionof varieties of each kind. 3. Care and culture of these varieties. Hecertainly is excellent authority. 

These obvious considerations, and the facts that have been instanced, make it clear that brains must unite with labor and capital. Aboveall, however, there must be trained, practical skill. Those succeedwho learn how; and to add a little deftness to unskilled hands is theobject of every succeeding page. At the same time, I frankly admitthat nothing can take the place of experience. I once asked an eminentphysician if a careful reading of the best medical text-books andthorough knowledge of the materia medica could take the place of dailystudy of actual disease and fit a man for practice, and heemphatically answered, "No!" It is equally true that an intelligentman can familiarize himself with every horticultural writer from theclassic age to our own and yet be outstripped in success by anignorant Irish laborer who has learned the little he knows in theschool of experience. The probabilities are, however, that the laborerwill remain such all his days, while the thoughtful, reading man, whois too sensible to be carried away by theories, and who supplementshis science with experience, may enrich not only himself but theworld. 

Still, there is no doubt that the chances of success are largely infavor of the class I first named, --the farmers who turn theirattention in part or wholly toward fruit growing. They are accustomedto hard out-of-door work and the general principles of agriculture. The first is always essential to success; and a good farmer can soonbecome equally skillful in the care of fruits if he gives his mind totheir culture. The heavy, stupid, prejudiced plodder who thinks athing is right solely because his grandfather did it, is a bucolicmonster that is receding so fast into remote wilds before thehorticultural press that he scarcely need be taken into account. Therefore, the citizen or professional man inclined to engage in fruitfarming should remember that he must compete with the hardy, intelligent sons of the soil, who in most instances are crowning theirpractical experience with careful reading. I do not say this todiscourage any one, but only to secure a thoughtful and adequateconsideration of the subject before the small accumulations of yearsare embarked in what may be a very doubtful venture. Many have beenmisled to heavy loss by enthusiastic works on horticulture; I wish mylittle book to lead only to success. 

If white-handed, hollow-chested professional men anxious to acquiremoney, muscle, and health by fruit raising, --if citizens disgustedwith pavements and crowds are willing to take counsel of common-senseand learn the business practically and thoroughly, why should they notsucceed? But let no one imagine that horticulture is the final resortof ignorance, indolence, or incapacity, physical or mental. Impostorspalm themselves off on the world daily; a credulous public takespoisonous nostrums by the ton and butt; but Nature recognizes errorevery time, and quietly thwarts those who try to wrong her, eitherwilfully or blunderingly. 

Mr. Peter Henderson, who has been engaged practically in vegetablegardening for over a quarter of a century, states, as a result of hisexperience, that capital, at the rate of $300 per acre, is required instarting a "truck farm, " and that the great majority fail who make theattempt with less means. In my opinion, the fruit farmer would requirecapital in like proportion; for, while many of the small fruits can begrown with less preparation of soil and outlay in manure, the returnscome more slowly, since, with the exception of strawberries, none ofthem yield a full crop until the third or fourth year. I advise mosturgently against the incurring of heavy debts. Better begin with threeacres than thirty, or three hundred, from which a large sum ofinterest money must be obtained before a penny can be used for otherpurposes. Anything can be raised from a farm easier than a mortgage. 

Success depends very largely, also, on the character of the soil. Ifit is so high and dry as to suffer severely from drought two years outof three, it cannot be made to pay except by irrigation; if so low asto be wet, rather than moist, the prospects are but little better. Those who are permanently settled must do their best with such land asthey have, and in a later chapter I shall suggest how differing soilsshould be managed. To those who can still choose their location, Iwould recommend a deep mellow loam, with a rather compact subsoil, --moist, but capable of thorough drainage. Diversity of soil andexposure offer peculiar advantages also. Some fruits thrive best in astiff clay, others in sandy upland. Early varieties ripen earlier on asunny slope, while a late kind is rendered later on a northernhillside, or in the partial shade of a grove. In treating each fruitand variety, I shall try to indicate the soils and exposures to whichthey are best adapted. 

_Profits_. --The reader will naturally wish for some definitestatements of the profits of fruit farming; but I almost hesitate tocomply with this desire. A gentleman wrote to me that he sold from anacre of Cuthbert raspberries $800 worth of fruit. In view of thisfact, not a few will sit down and begin to figure, --"If one acreyielded $800, ten acres would produce $8, 000; twenty acres $16, 000, "etc. Multitudes have been led into trouble by this kind of reasoning. The capacity of an engine with a given motor power can be measured, and certain and unvarying results predicted; but who can measure theresources of an acre through varying seasons and under differingculture, or foretell the price of the crops? In estimating futureprofits, we can only approximate; and the following records are givenmerely to show what results have been secured, and therefore may beobtained again, and even surpassed. "The Country Gentleman" gives awell-authenticated instance of a fruit grower who "received more than$2, 000 from three acres of strawberries. " In contrast, however, itcould be shown that many fields have not paid expenses. I once hadsuch an experience. The market was "glutted, " and the variety yieldedberries so small and poor that they did not average five cents perquart. Occasionally we hear of immense shipments from the South beingthrown into the dock. 

Mr. William Parry, a veteran fruit grower in New Jersey, states thetruth I wish to convey very clearly, and gives a fair mean betweenthese two extremes:

"YIELD AND PROFIT

"There are so many circumstances connected with strawberry growing, such as varieties, soil, climate, location, markets, and the skill andmanagement of the grower, that the results of a few cases cannot berelied on for general rules. 

"We have grown over two hundred bushels per acre here, and realizedupward of six hundred dollars per acre for the crop; but that is muchabove the general average. Having kept a careful record, for fourteenyears past, of the yield per acre and price per quart at which ourstrawberries have been sold, we find the average to be about 2, 500quarts per acre, and the price eleven cents per quart in market, giving the following results:

 "Commissions, 10 per cent $27. 50 Picking 2, 500 quarts, at 2c. Per quart 50. 00 Manure 17. 50 Use of baskets 10. 00 Cultivation, etc 25. 00 Net profits per acre 145. 00

 "Gross proceeds, 2, 500 quarts at 11e $275. 00"

In the year 1876 the same gentleman had ten acres of Brandywineraspberries that yielded about eighty-two bushels to the acre, givinga clear profit of $280, or of $2, 800 for the entire area. This crop, so far from being the average, was awarded a premium as the mostprofitable that year in the section. 

J. R. Gaston & Sons, of Normal, Ill. , have given the following recordof a plantation of Snyder blackberries: "We commenced to pick a fieldof seven acres July 12th, and finished picking August 22. The totalamount gathered was 43, 575 quarts, equal to 1, 361 bushels and 22quarts. The average price was eight cents per quart, making the grossproceeds equal to $3, 486. We paid for picking $435. 75. The cost oftrimming and cultivating was about $400; cost of boxes, crates, andmarketing was $1, 307. 25, leaving a net profit of $1, 343. "

A gentleman in Ulster Co. , N. Y. , stated that 200 bushes of the Cherrycurrant yielded him in one season 1, 000 lbs. Of fruit, which was soldat an average of eight cents per pound. His gross receipts were $80from one-fourteenth of an acre, and at the same ratio an acre wouldhave yielded $1, 120. Is this an average yield? So far from it, thereare many acres of currants and gooseberries that do not pay expenses. Thus it can be seen that the scale ranges from marvellous prizes downto blanks and heavy losses; but the drawing is not a game of chance, but usually the result of skill and industry, or their reverse. 

I might have given many examples of large, and even enormously large, profits obtained under exceptional circumstances; but they tend tomislead. I write for those whose hearts prompt them to co-work withnature, and who are most happy when doing her bidding in the breezyfields and gardens, content with fair rewards, instead of beingconsumed by the gambler's greed for unearned gold. At the same time, Iam decidedly in favor of high culture, and the most generous enrichingof the soil; convinced that fruit growers and farmers in general wouldmake far more money if they spent upon one acre what they usuallyexpend on three. In a later chapter will be found an instance of anexpenditure of $350 per acre on strawberry land, and the net profitsobtained were proportionately large. 

CHAPTER IV

STRAWBERRIES: THE FIVE SPECIES AND THEIR HISTORY

The conscientious Diedrich Knickerbocker, that venerated historianfrom whom all good citizens of New York obtain the first impressionsof their ancestry, felt that he had no right to chronicle thevicissitudes of Manhattan Island until he had first accounted for theuniverse of which it is a part. Equally with the important bit of landnamed, the strawberry belongs to the existing cosmos, and might betraced back to "old chaos. " I hasten to re-assure the dismayed reader. I shall not presume to follow one who could illumine his page withgenius, and whose extensive learning enabled him to account for theuniverse not merely in one but in half a dozen ways. 

It is the tendency of the present age to ask what is, not what hasbeen or shall be. And yet, on the part of some, as they deliberatelyenjoy a saucer of strawberries and cream, --it is a pleasure that weprolong for obvious reasons, --a languid curiosity may arise as to theorigin and history of so delicious a fruit. I suppose Mr. Darwin wouldsay, "it was evolved. " But some specimens between our lips suggestthat a Geneva watch could put itself together quite as readily. At thesame time, it must be said that our "rude forefathers" did not eatMonarch or Charles Downing strawberries. In few fruits, probably, havethere been such vast changes or improvements as in this. Therefore, Ishall answer briefly and as well as I can, in view of the meagre dataand conflicting opinions of the authorities, the curiosity, that Ihave imagined on some faces. Those who care only for the strawberry ofto-day can easily skip a few pages. 

If there were as much doubt about a crop of this fruit as concerningthe origin of its name, the outlook would be dismal, indeed. In oldSaxon, the word was streawberige or streowberrie; and was so named, says one authority, "from the straw-like stems of the plant, or fromthe berries lying strewn upon the ground. " Another authority tells us:"It is an old English practice" (let us hope a modern one also) "tolay straw between the rows to preserve the fruit from rotting on thewet ground, from which the name has been supposed to be derived;although more probably it is from the wandering habit of the plant, straw being a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon strae, from which we havethe English verb stray. " Again tradition asserts that in the oldentimes children strung the berries on straws for sale, and hence thename. Several other causes have been suggested, but I forbear. I havenever known, however, a person to decline the fruit on the ground ofthis obscurity and doubt. (Controversialists and sceptics please takenote. )

That the strawberry should belong to the rose family, and that itsbotanical name should be fragaria, from the Latin fragro, to smellsweetly, will seem both natural and appropriate. 

While for his knowledge of the plant I refer the reader to everyhillside and field (would that I might say, to every garden!), thereis a peculiarity in the production of the fruit which should not passunnoted. Strictly speaking, the small seeds scattered over the surfaceof the berry are the fruit, and it is to perfect these seeds that theplants blossom, the stamens scatter, and the pistils receive thepollen on the convex receptacle, which, as the seeds ripen, greatlyenlarges, and becomes the pulpy and delicious mass that is popularlyregarded as the fruit. So far from being the fruit, it is only "themuch altered end of the stem" that sustains the fruit or seeds; and soit becomes a beautiful illustration of a kindly, genuine courtesy, which renders an ordinary service with so much grace and graciousnessthat we dwell on the manner with far more pleasure than on the serviceitself. The innumerable varieties of strawberries that are now inexistence appear, either in their character or origin, to belong tofive great and quite distinct species. The first, and for a long timethe only one of which we have any record, is the Fragaria vesca, orthe "Alpine" strawberry. It is one of the most widely spread fruits ofthe world, for it grows, and for centuries has grown, wild throughoutNorthern and Central Europe and Asia, following the mountains far tothe south; and on this continent, from time immemorial, the Indianchildren have gathered it, from the Northern Atlantic to the Pacific. In England this species exhibits some variation from the Alpine type, and was called by our ancestors the Wood strawberry. The chiefdifference between the two is in the form of the fruit, the Woodvarieties being round and the Alpine conical. They are also subdividedinto white and red, annual and monthly varieties, and those thatproduce no runners, which are known to-day as Bush Alpines. 

[Illustration: SEEDS AND PULP OF THE STRAWBERRY]

The Alpine, as we find it growing wild, was the strawberry of theancients. It is to it that the suggestive lines of Virgil refer:--

 "Ye boys that gather flowers and strawberries, Lo, hid within the grass an adder lies. "

There is no proof, I believe, that the strawberry was cultivatedduring any of the earlier civilizations. Some who wrote mostexplicitly concerning the fruit culture of their time do not mentionit; and Virgil, Ovid, and Pliny name it but casually, and with noreference to its cultivation. It may appear a little strange that theluxurious Romans, who fed on nightingales' tongues, peacocks' brains, and scoured earth and air for delicacies, should have given but littleattention to this fruit. Possibly they early learned the fact thatthis species is essentially a wildling, and like the trailing arbutus, thrives best in its natural haunts. The best that grew could begathered from mountain-slopes and in the crevices of rocks. Moreover, those old revellers became too wicked and sensual to relish Alpinestrawberries. 

Its congener, the Wood strawberry, was the burden of one of the Londonstreet cries four hundred years ago; and to-day the same cry, in somelanguage or other, echoes around the northern hemisphere as one of theinevitable and welcome sounds of spring and early summer. 

But few, perhaps, associate this lovely little fruit, that is almostas delicate and shy as the anemone, with tragedy; and yet its chiefpoetical associations are among the darkest and saddest that can beimagined. Shakespeare's mention of the strawberry in the play ofRichard III. Was an unconscious but remarkable illustration of thesecond line already quoted from Virgil:--

 "Lo, hid within the grass an adder lies. "

The bit of history which is the occasion of this allusion is given inthe quaint old English of Sir Thomas More, who thus describes theentrance to the Council of the terrible "Protector, " from whom nothinggood or sacred could be protected. He came "fyrste about IX of theclocke, saluting them curtesly, and excusing himself that he had beenfrom them so long, saieing merily that he had been a slepe that day. And after a little talking with them he said unto the bishop of Elye, my lord, You have very good strawberries at your gardayne in Holberne, I require you let us have a messe of them. " He who has raised finefruit will know how eagerly the flattered bishop obeyed. Accordingto the poet, the dissembler also leaves the apartment, with hisunscrupulous ally, Buckingham. 

 "Where is my lord protector? I have sent For these strawberries, "

said the Bishop of Ely, re-entering. 

Lord Hastings looks around with an air of general congratulation, andremarks:--

 "His grace looks cheerfully and smooth this morning; There's some conceit or other likes him well. "

The serpent is hidden, but very near. A moment later, Gloster enters, black as night, hisses his monstrous charge, and before noon of thatsame day poor Hastings is a headless corpse. 

Far more sad and pitiful are the scenes recalled by the words of thefiendish Iago, --type for all time of those who transmute love intojealousy:--

 "Tell me but this-- Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief, Spotted with strawberries, in your wife's hand?" "I gave her such a one; 'twas my first gift. "

was the answer of a man whom the world will never forgive, in spite ofhis immeasurable remorse. 

From the poet Spenser we learn that to go a-strawberrying was one ofthe earliest pastimes of the English people. In the "Faerie Queen" wefind these lines:--

 "One day, as they all three together went To the green wood to gather strawberries, There chaunst to them a dangerous accident. "

Very old, too is the following nursery rhyme, which, nevertheless, suggests the true habitat of the F. Vesca species:--

 "The man of the wilderness asked me How many strawberries grew in the sea; I answered him, as I thought good, 'As many red herrings as grew in the wood. '"

The ambrosial combination of strawberries and cream was first named bySir Philip Sidney. Old Thomas Tusser, of the 16th century, in hiswork, "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry united to as many of GoodHousewifery, " turns the strawberry question over to his wife, anddoubtless it was in better hands than his, if his methods of culturewere as rude as his poetry:--

 "Wife, into the garden, and set me a plot With strawberry roots, of the best to be got; Such, growing abroad, among thorns in the wood, Well chosen and picked prove excellent good. "

Who "Dr. Boteler" was, or what he did, is unknown, but he made asententious remark which led Izaak Walton to give him immortality inhis work, "The Compleat Angler. " "Indeed, my good schollar, " theserene Izaak writes, "we may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said ofstrawberries, 'Doubtless God could have made a better berry, butdoubtless God never did;' and so if I might be judge, God never didmake a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling. " If thiswas true of the wild Wood strawberry, how much more so of many of ouraromatic rubies of to-day. 

John Parkinson, the apothecary-gardener of London, whose quaint workwas published in 1629, is not so enthusiastic. He says of the wildstrawberry: "It may be eaten or chewed in the mouth without any mannerof offense; it is no great bearer, but those it doth beare are set atthe toppes of the stalks, close together, pleasant to behold, and fitfor a gentlewoman to wear on her arme, &c. , as a raritie instead of aflower. "

In England, the strawberry leaf is part of the insignia of high rank, since it appears in the coronets of a duke, marquis, and earl. "Heaspires to the strawberry leaves" is a well-known phrase abroad, andthe idea occurs several times in the novels of Disraeli, the presentBritish Premier. Thackeray, in his "Book of Snobs, " writes: "Thestrawberry leaves on her chariot panels are engraved on her ladyship'sheart. "

After all, perhaps it is not strange that the Alpine species should beallied to some dark memories, for it was the only kind known when theage was darkened by passion and crime. 

The one other allusion to the strawberry in Shakespeare is peculiarlyappropriate to the species under consideration. In the play of HenryV. , an earlier Bishop of Ely says:--

 "The strawberry grows underneath the nettle, And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best Neighbored by fruit of baser quality. "

And this, probably, is still true, for the Alpine and Woodstrawberries tend to reproduce themselves with such unvaryingexactness that cultivation makes but little difference. 

All these allusions apply to the F. Vesca or Alpine species, andlittle advance was made in strawberry culture in Europe until afterthe introduction of other species more capable of variation andimprovement. Still, attempts were made from time to time. As theAlpine differed somewhat from the Wood strawberry, they were broughtto England about 200 years later than the tragedy of Lord Hastings'death, which has been referred to. 

In connection with the White and Red Wood and Alpine strawberries, wefind in 1623 the name of the "Hautbois" or Haarbeer strawberry, theFragaria elatior of the botanists. This second species, a native ofGermany, resembles the Alpine in some respects, but is a larger andstockier plant. Like the Fragaria vesca, its fruit-stalks are erectand longer than the leaves, but the latter are larger than the foliageof the Alpine, and are covered with short hairs, both on the upper andunder surface, which give them a rough appearance. As far as I canlearn, this species still further resembles the Alpines in possessinglittle capability of improvement and variation. Even at this late daythe various named kinds are said to differ from each other butslightly. There is a very marked contrast, however, between the fruitof the Hautbois and Alpine species, for the former has a peculiarmusky flavor which has never found much favor in this country. It is, therefore, a comparatively rare fruit in our gardens, nor do we findmuch said of it in the past. 

There is scarcely any record of progress until after the introductionof the two great American species. It is true that in 1660 a fruitgrower at Montreuil, France, is "said to have produced a new varietyfrom the seed of the Wood strawberry, " which was called the "Cappron, "and afterward the "Fressant. " It was named as a distinct variety onehundred years later, but it may be doubted whether it differed greatlyfrom its parent. Be this as it may, it is said to be the firstimproved variety of which there is any record. 

Early in the 17th century, intercourse with this continent led to theintroduction of the most valuable species in existence, the"Virginian" strawberry (Fragaria Virginiana), which grows wild fromthe Arctic regions to Florida, and westward to the Rocky Mountains. Itis first named in the catalogue of Jean Robin, botanist to LouisXIII. , in 1624. During the first century of its career in England, itwas not appreciated, but as its wonderful capacity for variation andimprovement--in which it formed so marked a contrast to the Woodstrawberry--was discovered, it began to receive the attention itdeserved. English gardeners learned the fact, of which we are makingso much to-day, that by simply sowing its seeds, new and possiblybetter varieties could be produced. From that time and forward, thetendency has increased to originate, name and send out innumerableseedlings, the majority of which soon pass into oblivion, while a fewsurvive and become popular, usually in proportion to their merit. 

The Fragaria Virginiana, therefore, the common wild strawberry that isfound in all parts of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, isthe parent of nine-tenths of the varieties grown in our gardens; andits improved descendants furnish nearly all of the strawberries of ourmarkets. As we have seen, the Fragaria vesca, or the Alpine species ofEurope, is substantially the same to-day as it was a thousand yearsago. But the capacity of the Virginian strawberry for change andimprovement is shown by those great landmarks in the American cultureof this fruit, --the production of Hovey's Seedling by C. M. Hovey, ofCambridge, Mass. , forty-five years since; of the Wilson's AlbanySeedling, originated by John Wilson, of Albany, N. Y. , about twenty-five years ago, and, in our own time, of the superb varieties, Monarchof the West, Seth Boyden, Charles Downing, and Sharpless. 

As in the Alpine species there are two distinct strains, --the Alpineof the Continent, and the Wood strawberry of England, --so in the wildVirginian species there are two branches of the family, --the Easternand the Western. The differences are so marked that some writers haveasserted that there are two species; but we have the authority ofProfessor Gray for saying that the Western, or Fragaria Illincensis, is "perhaps" a distinct species, and he classifies it as only a verymarked variety. 

There are but two more species of the strawberry genus. Of the firstof these, the Fragaria Indica, or "Indian" strawberry, there is littleto say. It is a native of Northern India, and differs so much from theother species that it was formerly named as a distinct genus. It hasyellow flowers, and is a showy house-plant, especially for window-baskets, but the fruit is dry and tasteless. It is said by ProfessorGray to have escaped cultivation and become wild in some localities ofthis country. 

Fragaria Chilensis is the last great species or subdivision that wenow have to consider. Like the F. Virginiana, it is a native of theAmerican continent, and yet we have learned to associate it almostwholly with Europe. It grows wild on the Pacific slope, from Oregon toChili, creeping higher and higher up the mountains as its habitatapproaches the equator. "It is a large, robust species, with veryfirm, thick leaflets, soft and silky on the under side. " The flowersare larger than in the other species; the fruit, also, in its nativecondition, averages much larger, stands erect instead of hanging, ripens late, is rose-colored, firm and sweet in flesh, and does notrequire as much heat to develop its saccharine constituents; but itlacks the peculiar sprightliness and aroma of the Virginia strawberry. It has become, however, the favorite stock of the European gardeners, and seems better adapted to transatlantic climate and soil than toours. The first mention of the Fragaria Chilensis, or South Americanstrawberry, says Mr. Fuller, "is by M. Frezier, who, in 1716, in hisjourney to the South Sea, found it at the foot of the Cordilleramountains near Quito, and carried it home to Marseilles, France. " Atthat time it was called the Chili strawberry, and the Spaniards saidthat they brought it from Mexico. 

From Mr. W. Collett Sandars, an English antiquarian, I learned thatseven plants were shipped from Chili and were kept alive during thevoyage by water which M. Frezier saved from his allowance, muchlimited owing to a shortness of supply. He gave two of the plants toM. De Jessieu, "who cultivated them with fair success in the royalgardens. " In 1727, the Chili strawberry was introduced to England, butnot being understood it did not win much favor. 

Mr. Fuller further states: "We do not learn from any of the old Frenchworks that new varieties were raised from the Chili strawberry for atleast fifty years after its introduction. " Duchesne, in 1766, saysthat "Miller considered its cultivation abandoned in England onaccount of its sterility. The importations from other portions ofSouth America appeared to have met with better success; and, early inthe present century, new varieties of the F. Chilensis, as well asof the Virginiana, became quite abundant in England and on theContinent. "

If we may judge from the characteristics of the varieties imported tothis country of late years, the South American species has taken thelead decidedly abroad, and has become the parent stock from whichforeign culturists, in the main, are seeking to develop the idealstrawberry. But in all its transformations, and after all the attemptsto infuse into it the sturdier life of the Virginian strawberry, itstill remembers its birthplace, and falters and often dies in thesevere cold of our winters, or, what is still worse, the heat anddrought of our summers. As a species, it requires the high and carefulculture that they are able and willing to give it in Europe. Themajority of imported varieties have failed in the United States, but afew have become justly popular in regions where they can be grown. TheTriomphe de Gand may be given as an example, and were I restricted toone variety I should take this. The Jucunda, also, is one of the mostsuperb berries in existence; and can be grown with great profit inmany localities. 

Thus the two great species which to-day are furnishing ninety-ninehundredths of the strawberries of commerce and of the garden, both inthis country and abroad, came from America, the Fragaria Chilensisreaching our Eastern States by the way of Europe, and in the form ofthe improved and cultivated varieties that have won a name abroad. Weare crossing the importations with our own native stock. PresidentWilder's superb seedling, which has received his name, is an exampleof this blending process. This berry is a child of the La Constanteand Hovey's Seedling, and, therefore, in this one beautiful and mostdelicious variety we have united the characteristics of the two chiefstrawberry species of the world, the F. Virginiana and F. Chilensis. 

It will be seen that the great law of race extends even to strawberryplants. As in the most refined and cultivated peoples there is astrain of the old native stock, which ever remains, a source ofweakness or strength, and will surely show itself in certainemergencies, so the superb new varieties of strawberries, the latestproducts of horticultural skill, speedily indicate in the rough-and-tumble of ordinary culture whether they have derived their life fromthe hardy F. Virginiana or the tender and fastidious F. Chilensis. TheMonarch of the West and the Jucunda are the patricians of the garden, and on the heavy portions of my land at Cornwall I can scarcely say towhich I give the preference. But the Monarch is Anglo-Saxon and theJucunda is of a Latin race; or to drop metaphor, the former comes of aspecies that can adapt itself to conditions extremely varied, and evenvery unfavorable, and the latter cannot. 

CHAPTER V

IDEAL STEAWBERRIES VERSUS THOSE OF THE FIELD AND MARKET

There are certain strong, coarse-feeding vegetables, like corn andpotatoes, that can be grown on the half-subdued and comparatively poorsoil of the field; but no gardener would think of planting the finerand more delicate sorts in such situations. There are but few who donot know that they can raise cauliflowers and egg-plants only on deep, rich land. The parallel holds good with this fruit. There arestrawberries that will grow almost anywhere, and under anycircumstances, and there is another class that demands the best groundand culture. But from the soil of a good garden, with a little pains, we can obtain the finest fruit in existence; and there is no occasionto plant those kinds which are grown for market solely because theyare productive, and hard enough to endure carriage for a longdistance. The only transportation to be considered is from the gardento the table, and therefore we can make table qualities our chiefconcern. If our soil is light and sandy, we can raise successfully oneclass of choice, high-flavored varieties; if heavy, another class. Many worry over a forlorn, weedy bed of some inferior variety thatscarcely gives a week's supply, when, with no more trouble than isrequired to obtain a crop of celery, large, delicious berries might beenjoyed daily, for six weeks together, from twenty different kinds. 

The strawberry of commerce is a much more difficult problem. Thepresent unsatisfactory condition of affairs was admirably expressed inthe following editorial in the "Evening Post" of June 12, 1876, fromthe pen of the late William Cullen Bryant:--

STRAWBERRIES "In general, an improvement has been observed of late inthe quality of fruit. We have more and finer varieties of apple; thepear is much better in general than it was ten years since; of thegrape there are many new and excellent varieties which the market knewnothing of a few years ago, and there are some excellent varieties ofthe raspberry lately introduced. But the strawberry has decidedlydeteriorated, and the result is owing to the general culture ofWilson's Albany for the market. Wilson's Albany is a sour, crudeberry, which is not fully ripe when it is perfectly red, and even whenperfectly ripe is still too acid. When it first makes its appearancein the market, it has an exceedingly harsh flavor and very little ofthe agreeable aroma which distinguishes the finer kinds of the berry. If not eaten very sparingly, it disagrees with the stomach, and youwake with a colic the next morning. Before Wilson's strawberry cameinto vogue there were many other kinds which were sweeter and of amore agreeable flavor. But the Wilson is a hard berry, which bearstransportation well; it is exceedingly prolific and altogether hardy, --qualities which give it great favor with the cultivator, but forwhich the consumer suffers. The proper way of dealing in strawberriesis to fix the prices according to the quality of the sort. This is theway they do in the markets of Paris. A poor sort, although the berrymay be large, is sold cheap; the more delicate kinds--the sweet, juicy, and high-flavored--are disposed of at a higher price. Here theWilson should be sold the cheapest of all, while such as the Jucundaand the President Wilder should bear a price corresponding to theirexcellence. We hope, for our part, that the Wilsons will, as soon astheir place can be supplied by a better berry, be banished from themarket. It can surely be no difficult thing to obtain a sort bycrossing, which shall bear transportation equally well, and shall notdeceive the purchaser with the appearance of ripeness. "

The reader will perceive that Mr. Bryant has portrayed both the eviland the remedy. The public justly complains of the strawberry ofcommerce, but it has not followed the suggestion in the editorial anddemanded a better article, even though it must be furnished at ahigher price. 

In spite, however, of all that is said and written annually againstthe Wilson, it still maintains its supremacy as the market berry. Those who reside near the city and can make, to some extent, specialarrangements with enlightened customers, find other varieties moreprofitable, even though the yield from them is less and some are lostfrom lack of keeping qualities. But those who send from a considerabledistance, and must take their chances in the general market, persistin raising the "sour, crude berry, " which is red before it is ripe, and hard enough to stand the rough usage which it is almost certain toreceive from the hands through which it passes. I do not expect to seethe day when the Wilson, or some berry like it, is not the staplesupply of the market; although I hope and think it will be improvedupon. But let it be understood generally that they are "Wilsons, "--thecheap vin ordinaire of strawberries. Cities will ever be flooded withvarieties that anybody can grow under almost any kind of culture; andno doubt it is better that there should be an abundance of such fruitrather than none at all. But a delicately organized man, like Mr. Bryant, cannot eat them; and those who have enjoyed the genuinestrawberries of the garden will not. The number of people, however, with the digestion of an ostrich, is enormous, and in multitudes ofhomes Wilsons, even when half-ripe, musty, and stale, are devouredwith unalloyed delight, under the illusion that they are strawberries. 

If genuine strawberries are wanted, the purchaser must demand them, pay for them, and refuse "sour, crude berries. " The remedy is solelyin the hands of the consumers. 

If people would pay no more for Seckel than for Choke pears, Chokepears would be the only ones in market, for they can be furnished withthe least cost and trouble. It is the lack of discrimination thatleaves our markets so bare of fine-flavored fruit. What the grower andthe grocer are seeking is a hard berry, which, if not sold speedily, will "keep over. " Let citizens clearly recognize the truth, --thatthere are superb, delicious berries, like the Triomphe, Monarch, Charles Downing, Boyden, and many others, and insist on being suppliedwith them, just as they insist on good butter and good meats, and theproblem is solved. The demand will create the supply; the fruitmerchant will write to his country correspondents: "You must sendfine-flavored berries. My trade will not take any others, and I canreturn you more money for half the quantity of fruit if it is good. "The most stolid of growers would soon take such a hint. Moreover, letthe patrons of high-priced hotels and restaurants indignantly orderaway "sour, crude berries, " as they would any other inferior viand, and caterers would then cease to palm off Wilsons for first-classstrawberries. If these suggestions were carried out generally, thecharacter of the New York strawberry market would speedily be changed. It is my impression that, within a few years, only those who are ableto raise large, fine-flavored fruit will secure very profitablereturns. Moreover, we are in a transition state in respect tovarieties, and there are scores of new kinds just coming before thepublic, of which wonderful things are claimed. I shall test nearly ahundred of these during the coming season, but am satisfied in advancethat nine-tenths of them will be discarded within a brief period. Indeed, I doubt whether the ideal strawberry, that shall concentrateevery excellence within its one juicy sphere, ever will be discoveredor originated. We shall always have to make a choice, as we do infriends, for their several good qualities and their power to pleaseour individual tastes. 

There is, however, one perfect strawberry in existence, --thestrawberry of memory, --the little wildlings that we gathered perhaps, with those over whom the wild strawberry is now growing. We will admitno fault in it, and although we may no longer seek for this favoritefruit of our childhood, with the finest specimens of the garden beforeus we sigh for those berries that grew on some far-off hillside inyears still farther away. 

CHAPTER VI

CHOICE OF SOIL AND LOCATION

The choice that Tobias Hobson imposed on his patrons when he compelledthem to take "the horse nearest to the stable-door" or none at all, isone that, in principle, we often have to make in selecting ourstrawberry-ground. We must use such as we have, or raise no berries. And yet it has been said that "with no other fruit do soil andlocality make so great differences. " While I am inclined to think thatthis is truer of the raspberry, it is also thoroughly established thatlocation and the native qualities of the soil are among the first andchief considerations in working out the problem of success withstrawberries. 

Especially should such forethought be given in selecting a soil suitedto the varieties we wish to raise. D. Thurber, editor "AmericanAgriculturist, " states this truth emphatically. In August, 1875, hewrote: "All talk about strawberries must be with reference toparticular soils. As an illustration of this, there were exhibited inour office windows several successive lots of the Monarch of the West, which were immense as to size and wonderful as to productiveness. Thissame Monarch behaved in so unkingly a manner on our grounds (verylight and sandy in their nature) that he would have been deposed hadwe not seen these berries, for it was quite inferior to either CharlesDowning, Seth Boyden, or Kentucky. "

It is a generally admitted fact that the very best soil, and the oneadapted to the largest number of varieties, is a deep sandy loam, moist, but not wet in its natural state. All the kinds with which I amacquainted will do well on such land if it is properly deepened andenriched. Therefore, we should select such ground if we have it on ourplaces, and those proposing to buy land with a view to this industrywould do well to secure from the start one of the best conditions ofsuccess. 

It is of vital importance that our strawberry fields be near goodshipping facilities, and that there be sufficient population in theimmediate vicinity to furnish pickers in abundance. It will be farbetter to pay a much higher price for land--even inferior land--near avillage and a railroad depot, than to attempt to grow these perishablefruits in regions too remote. A water communication with market is, ofcourse, preferable to any other. Having considered the question ofharvesting and shipping to market, then obtain the moist, loamy landdescribed above, if possible. 

Such ground will make just as generous and satisfactory returns in thehome garden, and by developing its best capabilities the amateur canattain results that will delight his heart and amaze his neighbors. 

Shall the fact that we have no such soil, and cannot obtain it, discourage us? Not at all! There are choice varieties that will growin the extremes of sand or clay. More effort will be required, butskill and information can still secure success; and advantages oflocation, climate, and nearness to good markets may more thancounterbalance natural deficiencies in the land. Besides, there isalmost as solid a satisfaction in transforming a bit of the wildernessinto a garden as in reforming and educating a crude or evil specimenof humanity. Therefore if one finds himself in an unfavorable climate, and shut up to the choice of land the reverse of a deep, moist, sandyloam, let him pit his brain and muscle against all obstacles. 

If the question were asked, "Is there anything that comes from thegarden better liked than a dish of strawberries?" in nine instancesout of ten the answer would be, "Nothing, " even though sour Wilsonswere grown; and yet, too often the bed is in a neglected corner andhalf shaded by trees, while strong-growing vegetables occupy themoist, open spaces. It is hardly rational to put the favorite of thegarden where, at best, a partial failure is certain. Let it be wellunderstood that strawberries cannot be made to do well on groundexhausted by the roots and covered by the shade of trees. 

On many farms and even in some gardens there are several varieties ofsoil. Within the area of an acre I have a sandy loam, a gravellyhillside, low, black, alluvial land, and a very stiff, cold, wet clay. Such diversity does not often occur within so limited a space, but onmultitudes of places corresponding differences exist. In suchinstances, conditions suited to every variety can be found, andreading and experience will teach the cultivator to locate his severalkinds just where they will give the best results. Moreover, by placingearly kinds on warm, sunny slopes, and giving late varieties moist, heavy land, and cool, northern exposures, the season of this deliciousfruit can be prolonged greatly. The advantage of a long-continuedsupply for the family is obvious, but it is often even more importantto those whose income is dependent on this industry. It frequentlyoccurs that the market is "glutted" with berries for a brief time inthe height of the season. If the crop matures in the main at such atime, the one chance of the year passes, leaving but a small margin ofprofit; whereas, if the grower had prolonged his season, by a carefulselection of soils as well as of varieties, he might sell a largeportion of his fruit when it was scarce and high. 

Climate is also a very important consideration, and enters largelyinto the problem of success from Maine to Southern California. Eachregion has its advantages and disadvantages, and these should beestimated before the purchaser takes the final steps which commit himto a locality and methods of culture which may not prove to his taste. In the far North, sheltered situations and light, warm land should bechosen for the main crop; but in our latitude, and southward, itshould always be our aim to avoid that hardness and dryness of soilthat cut short the crops and hopes of so many cultivators. 

CHAPTER VII

PREPARING AND ENRICHING THE SOIL

Having from choice or necessity decided on the ground on which ourfuture strawberries are to grow, the next step is to prepare the soil. The first and most natural question will be: What is the chief need ofthis plant? Many prepare their ground in a vague, indefinite way. Letus prepare for strawberries. 

Whether it grows North or South, East or West, the strawberry plant isthe same, and has certain constitutional traits and requirements, which should be thoroughly fixed in our minds. Modifications oftreatment made necessary by various soils and climates are then notonly easily learned but also easily understood. 

When asked, on one occasion, what was the chief requirement insuccessful strawberry culture, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder repliedsubstantially in the following piquant manner:--

"In the first place, the strawberry's chief need is a great deal ofwater. 

"In the second place, it needs more water. 

"In the third place, I think I would give it a great deal more water. "

The more extended and full my experience becomes, the lessexaggeration I find in his words. The following strong confirmation ofPresident Wilder's opinion may be found in Thompson's "Gardener'sAssistant, " a standard English work:--

"Ground that is apt to get very dry from the effects of only ten days'or a fortnight's drought is not suitable, on account of the enormousquantity of water that will be necessary; and if once the plants beginto flag for want of moisture, the crop is all but lost. A soil that isnaturally somewhat moist, but not too wet, answers well; and where theland has admitted of irrigation, we have seen heavy crops producedevery year. "

If this be true in England, with its humid climate, how much moreemphatically should we state the importance of this requirement in ourland of long droughts and scorching suns. 

Moisture, then, is the strawberry's first and chief need. Without it, the best fertilizers become injurious rather than helpful. Therefore, in the preparation of the soil and its subsequent cultivation, thereshould be a constant effort to secure and maintain moisture, and thefailure to do this is the chief cause of meagre crops. And yet, veryprobably, the first step absolutely necessary to accomplish this willbe a thorough system of underdrainage. I have spent hundreds ofdollars in such labors, and it was as truly my object to enable theground to endure drought as to escape undue wetness. Let it beunderstood that it is _moist_ and not _wet_ land that the strawberryrequires. If water stands or stagnates upon or a little below thesurface, the soil becomes sour, heavy, lifeless; and if clay ispresent, it will bake like pottery in dry weather, and suggest theSlough of Despond in wet. Disappointment, failure, and miasma are thecertain products of such unregenerate regions, but, as is often thecase with repressed and troublesome people, the evil traits of suchsoil result from a lack of balance, and a perversion of what is good. 

The underdrain restores the proper equilibrium; the brush-hook and axecut away the rank unwholesome growth which thrives best in abnormalconditions. Sun, air, and purifying frosts mellow and sweeten thedamp, heavy malarious ground, as the plowshare lifts it out of its lowestate. A swamp, or any approach to one, is like a New York tenement-house district, and requires analogous treatment. 

If, however, we have mellow upland with natural drainage, let us firstput that in order that we may have a remunerative crop as soon aspossible. In suggesting, therefore, the best methods of preparing andenriching the ground, I will begin by considering soils that arealready in the most favorable conditions, and that require the leastlabor and outlay. Man received his most essential agriculturalinstruction in the opening chapter of Genesis, wherein he is commandedto "subdue the earth. " Even the mellow western prairie is at first awild, untamed thing, that must be subdued. This is often a simpleprocess, and in our gardens and the greater part of many farms hasalready been practically accomplished. Where the deep, moist loam, just described, exists, the fortunate owner has only to turn it up tothe sun and give it a year of ordinary cultivation, taking from it, inthe process, some profitable hoed crop that will effectually kill thegrass, and his land is ready for strawberries. If his ground is incondition to give a good crop of corn, it will also give a fair cropof berries. If the garden is so far "subdued" as to yield kitchenvegetables, the strawberry may be planted at once, with the prospectof excellent returns, unless proper culture is neglected. 

Should the reader be content with mediocrity, there is scarcelyanything to be said where the conditions are so favorable. But supposeone is not content with mediocrity. Then this highly favored soil isbut the vantage-ground from which skill enters on a course of thoroughpreparation and high culture. A man may plow, harrow, and set withstrawberries the land that was planted the previous year in corn, andprobably secure a remunerative return, with little more trouble orcost than was expended on the corn. Or, he may select half the areathat was in corn, plow it deeply in October, and if he detects tracesof the white grub, cross-plow it again just as the ground is beginningto freeze. Early in the spring he can cover the surface with somefertilizer--there is nothing better than a rotted compost of muck andbarn-yard manure--at the proportion of forty or fifty tons to theacre. Plow and cross-plow again, and in each instance let the firstteam be followed by a subsoil or lifting plow, which stirs and loosensthe substratum without bringing it to the surface. The half of thefield prepared in such a thorough manner will probably yield threetimes the amount of fruit that could be gathered from the whole areaunder ordinary treatment; and if the right varieties are grown, and agood market is within reach, the money received will be in a higherratio. 

The principle of generous and thorough preparation may be carriedstill further in the garden, and its soil, already rich and mellow, may be covered to the depth of several inches with well-rotted compostor any form of barn-yard manure that is not too coarse and full ofheat, and this may be incorporated with the earth by trenching to thedepth of two feet. Of this be certain, the strawberry roots will go asdeeply as the soil is prepared and enriched for them, and the resultin abundant and enormous fruit will be commensurate. English gardenersadvise trenching even to the depth of three feet, where the groundpermits it. 

Few soils can be found so deep and rich by nature that they cannot beimproved by art; and the question for each to decide is, how far thereturns will compensate for extra preparation. Very often land forstrawberries receives but little more preparation than for wheat, andsuch methods must pay or they would not be continued. Many who followthese methods declare that they are the most profitable in the longrun. I doubt it. 

If our market is one in which strawberries are sold simply as such, without much regard to flavor or size, there is not the sameinducement to produce fine fruit. But even when quantity is the chiefobject, deeply prepared and enriched land retains that essentialmoisture of which we have spoken, and enables the plant not only toform, but also to develop and mature, a great deal of fruit. In themajority of markets, however, each year, size and beauty count formore, and these qualities can be secured, even from a favorable soil, only after thorough preparation and enriching. I find that everywriter of experience on this subject, both American and European, insists vigorously on the value of such careful pulverization anddeepening of the soil. 

Having thus considered the most favorable land in the best conditionpossible, under ordinary cultivation, I shall now treat of that lesssuitable, until we finally reach a soil too sterile and hopelessly badto repay cultivation. 

I will speak first of this same deep, moist loam, in its unsubduedcondition; that is, in stiff sod, trees, or brush-wood. Of course, thelatter must be removed, and, as a rule, the crops on new land--whichhas been undisturbed by the plow for a number of years and, perhaps, never robbed of its original fertility--will amply repay for the extralabor of clearing. Especially will this be the case if the brush andrubbish are burned evenly over the surface. The finest of wildstrawberries are found where trees have been felled and the brushburned; and the successful fruit grower is the one who makes the bestuse of such hints from nature. 

The field would look better and the cultivation be easier if all thestumps could be removed before planting, but this might involve toogreat preliminary expense, and I always counsel against debt except inthe direst necessity. A little brush burned on each stump willeffectually check new growth, and, in two or three years, theseunsightly objects will be so rotten that they can be pried out, andeasily turned into ashes, one of the best of fertilizers. In themeantime, the native strength of the land will cause a growth whichwill compensate for the partial lack of deep and thorough cultivationwhich the stumps and roots prevent. Those who have travelled West andSouth have seen fine crops of corn growing among the half-burnedstumps, and strawberries will do as well. 

But where trees or brush have grown very thickly, the roots and stumpsmust be eradicated. The thick growth on the sandy land of Florida isgrubbed out at the cost of about $30 per acre, and I know of agentleman who pays at the rate of $25 per acre in the vicinity ofNorfolk, Va. I doubt whether it can be done for less elsewhere. 

In some regions they employ a stump extractor, a rude but strongmachine, worked by blocks and pulleys, with oxen as motor power. Fromthe "Farmer's Advocate" of London, Ont. , I learn that an expert withone of these machines, aided by five men and two yoke of oxen, was inthe habit of clearing fifty acres annually. 

I have cleaned hedge-rows and stony spots on my place in the followingthorough manner: A man commences with pick and shovel on one side ofthe land and turns it steadily and completely over by hand to thedepth of fourteen to eighteen inches, throwing on the surface behindhim all the roots, stumps and stones, and stopping occasionally toblast when the rocks are too large to be pried out. This, of course, is expensive, and cannot be largely indulged in; but, whenaccomplished, the work is done for all time, and I have obtained atonce by this method some splendid soil, in which the plow sinks to thebeam. A drought must be severe, indeed, that can injure such land. 

There is a great difference in men in the performance of this work. Ihave one who, within a reasonable time, would trench a farm. Indeed, in his power to obey the primal command to "subdue the earth, " my man, Abraham, is a hero--although, I imagine, he scarcely knows what theword means and would as soon think of himself as a hippopotamus. Hisfortunes would often seem as dark as himself to those who "takethought for the morrow;" and that is saying much, for Abraham is"colored" as far as man can be. 

I doubt whether his foresight often reaches further than bedtime, andto that hour he comes with an honest right to rest. He is a familyman, and has six or seven children, under eight years of age, whom heshelters in a wretched little house that appears tired of standing up. But to and from this abode Abraham passes daily, with a face as sereneas a May morning. In that weary old hovel I am satisfied that he andhis swarming little brood have found what no architect can build--ahome. Thither he carries his diurnal dollar, when he can get it, andon it they all manage to live and grow fat. He loses timeoccasionally, it is true, through illness, but no such triflingmisfortune can induce him, seemingly, to take a long, anxious lookinto the future. Only once--it was last winter--have I seen himdismayed by the frowning fates. The doctor thought his wife would die, and they had nothing to eat in the house. When Abraham appeared beforeme at that time, "his countenance was fallen, " as the quaint, stronglanguage of Scripture expresses it. He made no complaints, however, and indulged in no Byronic allusions to destiny. Indeed, he said verylittle, but merely drooped and cowered, as if the wolf at the door andthe shadow of death within it were rather more than he could face atone and the same time. It soon became evident, however, that his wifewould "pull through, " as he said, and then the wolf didn't trouble hima mite. He installed himself as cook, nurse, and house man-of-all-work, finding also abundant leisure to smoke his pipe withinfinite content. One morning he was seen baking buckwheat cakes forthe children; each one in turn received an allowance on a tin plate, and squatted here and there on the floor to devour it; and, from themaster of ceremonies down, there was not an indication that all wasnot just as it should be. A few days later I met him coming back tohis work with his pipe in the corner of his mouth, and the oldconfident twinkle in his eye as he said, "Mornin', Bossie. " Now, Abraham carries his peculiar characteristics into grubbing. If Ishould set him at a hundred-acre field full of stumps and stones, andtell him to clear it to the depth of two feet, he would begin withoutany apparent misgiving, and with no more thought for the magnitude ofhis task than he has for the tangled and stubborn mysteries of life ingeneral, or the dubious question of "what shall be on the morrow" inhis own experience. He would see only the little strip that heproposed to clear up that day, and would go to work in a way all hisown. 

Although not talkative to other people, he is very social withhimself, and, in the early days of our acquaintance, I was constantlymisled into the belief that somebody was with him, and that he was aman of words rather than work. As soon, however, as I reached a pointfrom which I could see him, there he would be, alone, bending to histask with the steady persistence that makes his labor so effective;but, at the same time, until he saw me he would continue discussingwith equal vigor whatever subject might be uppermost in his mind. Isuppose he scarcely ever takes out a stone or root withoutapostrophizing, adjuring, and berating it in tones and vernacular soqueer that one might imagine he hoped to remove the refractory objectby magic rather than by muscle. When the sun is setting, however, andAbraham has complacently advised himself, "Better quit, for de day'sdone gone, and de ole woman is arter me, afeared I've kivered myselfup a-grubbin', " one thing is always evident--a great many stones androots are "unkivered, " and Abraham has earned anew his right to thetitle of champion grubber. 

But, as most men handle the pick and shovel, the fruit grower must bechary in his attempts to subdue the earth with those old-timeimplements. It is too much like making war with the ancient Romanshort sword in an age of rifled guns. I agree with that practicalhorticulturist, Peter Henderson, that there are no implements equal tothe plow and subsoiler, and, in our broad and half-occupied country, we should be rather shy of land where these cannot be used. 

The cultivator whose deep moist loam is covered by sod only, insteadof rocks, brush, and trees, may feel like congratulating himself onthe easy task before him; and, indeed, where the sod is light, strawberries, and especially the larger small fruits, are oftenplanted on it at once with fair success. I do not recommend thepractice; for, unless the subsequent culture is very thorough andfrequent, the grass roots will continue to grow and may become sointertwined with those of the strawberry that they cannot beseparated. Corn is probably the best hoed crop to precede thestrawberry. Potatoes too closely resemble this fruit in their demandfor potash, and exhaust the soil of one of the most needed elements. Adressing of wood ashes, however, will make good the loss. Buckwheat isone of the most effective means of subduing and cleaning land, and twocrops can be plowed under in a single summer. Last spring I had somevery stiff marsh sod turned over and sown with buckwheat, which, inour hurry, was not plowed under until considerable of the seed ripenedand fell. A second crop from this came up at once, and was plowedunder when coming into blossom, as the first should have been. Thestraw, in its succulent state, decayed in a few days, and by autumn myrough marsh sod was light, rich, and mellow as a garden, ready foranything. 

If it should happen that the land designed for strawberries was inclover, it would make an admirable fertilizer if turned under whilestill green, and I think its use for this purpose would pay betterthan cutting it for hay, even though there is no better. Indeed, wereI about to put any sod land, that was not very stiff and unsubdued, into small fruits, I would wait till whatever herbage covered theground was just coming into flower, and then turn it under. Theearlier growth that precedes the formation of seed does not tax thesoil much, but draws its substance largely from the atmosphere, andwhen returned to the earth while full of juices, is valuable. In ourlatitude this can usually be done by the middle of June, and if onthis sod buckwheat is sown at once, it will hasten the decay, loosenand lighten the soil in its growth, and in a few weeks be ready itselfto increase the fertility of the field by being plowed under. Inregions where farmyard manure and other fertilizers are scarce andhigh, this plowing under of green crops is one of the most effectiveways both of enriching and preparing the land; and if the reader hasno severer labors to perform than this, he may well congratulatehimself. 

But let him not be premature in his self-felicitation, for he may findin his sod ground, especially if it be old meadow land, an obstacleworse than stumps and stones--the Lachnosterna fusca. 

This portentous name may well inspire dread, for the thing itself canrealize one's worst fears. The deep, moist loam which we areconsidering is the favorite haunt of this hateful little monster, andhe who does not find it lying in wait when turning up land that hasbeen long in sod, may deem himself lucky. The reader need not draw asigh of relief when I tell him that I mean merely the "white grub, "the larva of the May-beetle or June-bug, that so disturbs our slumbersin early summer by its sonorous hum and aimless bumping against thewall. This white grub, which the farmers often call the "potato worm, "is, in this region, the strawberry's most formidable foe, and, bydevouring the roots, will often destroy acres of plants. If the plowturns up these ugly customers in large numbers, the only recourse isto cultivate the land with some other crop until they turn intobeetles and fly away. This enemy will receive fuller attention in alater chapter. 

It is said that this pest rarely lays its eggs in plowed land, preferring sod ground, where its larvae will be protected from thebirds, and will find plenty of grass roots on which to feed. Naturesees to it that white grubs are taken care of, but our Monarchstrawberries need our best skill and help in their unequal fight; andif "Lachnos" and tribe should turn out in force, Alexander himselfwould be vanquished. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PREPARATION OF SOIL BY DRAINAGE

Excessive moisture will often prevent the immediate cultivation of ourideal strawberry land. Its absence is fatal, its excess equally so. Let me suggest some of the evil effects. Every one is aware thatclimate--that is the average temperature of the atmosphere throughoutthe year--has a most important influence on vegetation. But a greatmany, I imagine, do not realize that there is an underground climatealso, and that it is scarcely less important that this should beadapted to the roots than that the air should be tempered to thefoliage. Water-logged land is cold. The sun can bake, but not warm itto any extent. Careful English experiments have proved that well-drained land is from 10 to 20 degrees warmer than wet soils; and Mr. Parkes has shown, in his "Essay on the Philosophy of Drainage, " thatin "draining the 'Red Moss' the thermometer in the drained land rosein June to 66 degrees at seven inches below the surface, while in theneighboring water-logged land it would never rise above 47 degrees--anenormous gain. "

In his prize essay on drainage, Dr. Madden confirms the above, andexplains further, as follows: "An excess of water injures the soil bydiminishing its temperature in summer and increasing it in winter--atransformation of nature most hurtful to perennials, because the vigorof a plant in spring depends greatly on the lowness of temperature towhich it has been subjected during the winter (within certain limits, of course), as the difference of temperature between winter and springis the exciting cause of the ascent of the sap. " In other words, toomuch water in the soil may cause no marked difference between theunderground climate of winter and spring. 

Dr. Madden shows, moreover, that excess of water keeps out the airessential not only in promoting chemical changes in the soil itselfand required by the plants, but also the air which is directly neededby the roots. Sir H. Davy and others have proved that oxygen andcarbonic acid are absorbed by the roots as well as by the foliage, andthese gases can be brought to them by the air only. 

Again, drainage alters the currents which occur in wet soil. Inundrained land, evaporation is constantly bringing up to the roots thesour, exhausted water of the subsoil, which is an injury rather than abenefit. On the other hand, the rain just fallen passes freely througha drained soil, carrying directly to the roots fresh air andstimulating gases. 

Wet land also produces conditions which disable the foliage of plantsfrom absorbing carbonic acid, thus greatly decreasing its atmosphericsupply of food. Other reasons might be given, but the reader who isnot satisfied had better set out an acre of strawberries on water-logged land. His empty pocket will out-argue all the books. 

The construction of drains may be essential, for three causes: 1st. Land that is dry enough naturally may lie so as to collect and holdsurface water, which, accumulating with every rain and snow storm, atlast renders the soil sour and unproductive. 2nd. Comparatively levelland, and even steep hillsides, may be so full of springs as to renderdrains at short intervals necessary. 3rd. Streams, flowing perhapsfrom distant sources, may find their natural channel across ourgrounds. If these channels are obstructed or inadequate, we find ourland falling into the ways of an old soaker. 

It should here be stated, however, that if we could cause streams tooverflow our land in a shallow, sluggish current, so that a sedimentwould be left on the surface after a speedy subsidence, the resultwould be in miniature like the overflow of the Nile in Egypt, mostbeneficial, that is, if means for thorough subsequent drainage wasprovided. 

If there is an abundance of stone on one's place suitable for theconstruction of drains, it can often be used to advantage, as I shallshow; but for all ordinary purposes of drainage, round tile withcollars are now recommended by the best authorities. It is said thatthey are cheaper than stone, even where the latter is right at hand;and the claim is reasonable, since, instead of the wide ditch requiredby stone, a narrow cut will suffice for tile; thus a great saving isat once effected in the cost of digging. Tile also can be laidrapidly, and are not liable to become obstructed if properly protectedat points of discharge by gratings, so that vermin cannot enter. Theyshould not be laid near willow, elm, and other trees of likecharacter, or else the fibrous roots will penetrate and fill thechannel. If one has a large problem of drainage to solve, he shouldcarefully read a work like Geo. E. Waring's "Drainage for Profit andfor Health;" and if the slope or fall of some fields is very slight, say scarcely one foot in a hundred, the services of an engineer shouldbe employed and accurate grades obtained. By a well-planned system, the cost of draining a place can be greatly reduced, and the watermade very useful. 

On my place at Cornwall I found three acres of wet land, each in turnillustrating one of the causes which make drainage necessary. I usedstone, because, in some instances, no other material would haveanswered, in others partly because I was a novice in the science ofdrainage, and partly because I had the stones on my place, and did notknow what else to do with them. I certainly could not cart them on myneighbors' ground without having a surplus of hot as well as coldwater, so I concluded to bury them in the old-fashioned box-drains. Indeed, I found rather peculiar and difficult problems of drainage, and the history of their solution may contain useful hints to thereader. 

In front of my house there is a low, level plot of land, containingabout three acres. Upon this the surface water ran from all sides, andthere was no outlet. The soil was, in consequence, sour, and incertain spots only a wiry marsh grass would grow. And yet itrequired, but a glance to see that a drain, which could carry off thissurface water immediately, would render it the best land on the place. I tried, in vain, the experiment of digging a deep, wide ditch acrossthe entire tract, in hopes of finding a porous subsoil. Then Iexcavated great, deep holes, but came to a blue clay that held waterlike rubber. The porous subsoil, in which I knew the region abounded, and which makes Cornwall exceptionally free from all miasmatictroubles, eluded our spades like hidden treasures. I eventually foundthat I must obtain permission of a neighbor to carry a drain acrossanother farm to the mountain stream that empties into the Hudson atCornwall Landing. The covered drain through the adjoining place wasdeep and expensive, but the ditch across my land (marked A on the map)is a small one, walled with stone on either side. It answers mypurpose, however, giving me as good strawberry land as I could wish. On both sides of this open ditch, and at right angles with it, I hadthe ground plowed into beds 130 feet long by 21 wide. The shallowdepressions between these beds slope gently toward the ditch, andthus, after every storm, the surface water, which formerly often, covered the entire area, is at once carried away. I think my simple, shallow, open drain is better than tile in this instance. 

[Illustration: Map showing experiments in the drainage of a strawberryfarm]

As may be seen from the map, my farm is peculiar in outline, andresembles an extended city lot, being 2, 550 feet long, and only 410wide. 

The house, as shown by the engraving, stands on quite an elevation, inthe rear of which the land descends into another swale or basin. Thedrainage of this presented a still more difficult problem. Not onlydid the surface water run into it, but in moist seasons the ground wasfull of springs. The serious feature of the case was that there seemedto be no available outlet in any direction. Unlike the mellow, sandyloam in front of the house, the swale in the rear was of the stiffestkind of clay--just the soil to retain and be spoiled by water. Duringthe first year of our residence here this region was sometimes a pond, sometimes a quagmire, while again, under the summer sun, it baked intoearthenware. It was a doubtful question whether this stubborn acrecould be subdued, and yet its heavy clay gave me just the diversity ofsoil I needed. Throughout the high gravelly knoll on which the housestands, the natural drainage is perfect, and a sagacious neighborsuggested that if I cut a ditch across the clayey swale into thegravel of the knoll, the water would find a natural outlet anddisappear. 

The ditch was dug eight feet wide and five feet deep, for I decided toutilize the surface of the drain as a road-bed. Passing out of theclay and hard-pan, we came into the gravel, and it seemed porousenough to carry off a fair-sized stream. I concluded that my difficultproblem had found a cheap and easy solution, and to make assurancedoubly sure, I directed the men to dig a deep pit and fill it withstones. When they had gone about nine feet below the surface, Ihappened to be standing on the brink of the excavation, watching thework. A laborer struck his pick into the gravel, when a stream gushedout which in its sudden abundance suggested that which flowed in thewilderness at the stroke of Moss's rod. The problem was nowcomplicated anew. So far from finding an outlet, I had dug a wellwhich the men could scarcely bail out fast enough to permit of itsbeing stoned up. 

My neighbors remarked that my wide ditch reminded them of the Eriecanal, and my wife was in terror lest the children should be drownedin it. Now something had to be done, and I called in the services ofMr. Caldwell, city surveyor of Newburgh, and to his map I refer thereader for a clearer understanding of my tasks. 

Between the upper and lower swales, the ridge on which the housestands slopes to its greatest depression along its western boundary, and I was shown that if I would cut deep enough, the open drain in thelower swale could receive and carry off the water from the upperbasin. This appeared Tobe the only resource, but with my limited meansit was like a ship-canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The old deviceof emptying my drains into a hole that practically had no bottom, suggested itself to me. It would be so much easier and cheaper that Iresolved once more to try it, though with hopes naturally dampened bymy last moist experience. I directed that the hole (marked B on themap) should be oblong, and in the direct line of the ditch, so that ifit failed of its purpose it could become a part of the drain. Down wewent into as perfect sand and gravel as I ever saw, and the deeper wedug the dryer it became. This time, in wounding old "Mother Earth, " wedid not cut a vein, and there seemed a fair prospect of our creating anew one, for into this receptacle I decided to turn my largest drainand all the water that the stubborn acre persisted in keeping. 

I therefore had a "box-drain" constructed along the western boundaryof the place (marked C) until it reached the lowest spot in the upperswale. This drain was simply and rapidly constructed, in the followingmanner: a ditch was first dug sufficiently deep and wide, and with, afall that carried off the water rapidly. In the bottom of this ditchthe men built two roughly faced walls, one foot high and eight inchesapart. Comparatively long, flat stones, that would reach from wall towall, were easily found, and thus we had a covered water-course, eightby twelve inches, forming the common box-drain that will usually lasta lifetime. 

The openings over the channel were carefully "chinked" in with smallstones and all covered with inverted sods, shavings, leaves, oranything that prevented the loose soil from sifting or washing downinto the water-course. 

At the upper end of the box-drain just described, a second and smallerreceptacle was dug (marked D), and from this was constructed anotherbox-drain (E), six inches square, across the low ground to the end ofthe canal in which we had found the well (F). This would not onlydrain a portion of the land but would also empty the big ditch (G), and prevent the water of the well from rising above a certain point. This kind of stone-work can be done rapidly; two men in two shortwinter days built thirteen rods with a water-course six inches in theclear. 

To the upper and further end of the canal (G), I constructed anotherand cheaper style of drain. In the bottom of this ditch (H), twostones were placed on their ends or edges and leaned together so as toform a kind of arch, and then other stones were thrown over and aroundthem until they reached a point eighteen inches from the surface. Overthese stones, as over the box-drains also, was placed a covering ofany coarse litter to keep the earth from washing down; and then theconstruction of one or two short side-drains, the refilling theditches and levelling the ground completed my task. 

It will be remembered that this entire system of drainage ended in theexcavation (B) already described. The question was now whether such atheory of drainage would "hold water. " If it would, the hole I had dugmust not, and I waited to see. It promised well. Quite a steady streampoured into it and disappeared. By and by there came a heavy Marchstorm. When I went out in the morning, everything was afloat. The bigcanal and the well at its lower end were full to overflowing. Thestubborn acre was a quagmire, and alas! the excavation which I hadhoped would save so much trouble and expense was also full. I ploddedback under my umbrella with a brow as lowering as the sky. Thereseemed nothing for it but to cut a "Dutch gap" that would make a likechasm in my bank account. By noon it cleared off, and I went down totake a melancholy survey of the huge amount of work that now seemednecessary, when, to my great joy, the oblong cut, in which so manyhopes had seemingly been swamped, was entirely empty. From the box-drain a large stream poured into it and went down--to China, for allthat I knew. I went in haste to the big canal and found it empty, andthe well lowered to the mouth of the drain. The stubborn acre was nowunder my thumb, and I have kept it there ever since. During the pastsummer, I had upon its wettest and stiffest portion two beds ofJucunda strawberries that yielded at the rate of one hundred andninety bushels to the acre. The Jucunda strawberry is especiallyadapted to heavy land requiring drainage, and I think an enterprisingman in the vicinity of New York might so unite them as to make afortune. The hole was filled with stones and now forms a part of mygarden, and the canal answers for a road-bed as at first intended. Inthe fortuitous well I have placed a force-pump, around which aregrown and watered my potted plants. The theory of carrying drains intogravel does hold water, and sometimes holes can be dug at a slightexpense, that practically have no bottom. I have no doubt that in thisinstance tile would have been better and cheaper than the small stonedrains that I have described. 

In the rear of my place there was a third drainage problem verydifferent from either of the other two. My farm runs back to the riseof the mountain, whose edge it skirts for some distance. It thusreceives at times much surface water. At the foot of the mountain-slope, there are about three acres of low alluvial soil, that wasformerly covered with a coarse, useless herbage of the swamp. Betweenthe meadow and the slope of the mountain, "the town" built a"boulevard" (marked II on the map), practically "cribbing" an acre ortwo of land. Ahab, who needed Naboth's vineyard for public purposes, is the spiritual father of all "town boards. "

At the extreme end of the farm, and just beyond the alluvial ground, was the channel of a brook (marked J). Its stony bed, through whichtrickled a rill, had a very innocent aspect on the October day when welooked the farm over and decided upon its purchase. The rill ran alittle way on my grounds, then crept under the fence and skirted mywestern boundary for several hundred yards. On reaching a rise ofland, it re-entered my place and ran obliquely across it. It thusenclosed three sides of the low, bushy meadow I have named. Its lowerchannel across the place had been stoned up with the evident purposeof keeping it within limits; but the three or four feet of spacebetween the walls had become obstructed by roots, bushes, vines anddebris in general. With the exception of the stony bed where itentered the farm, most of its course was obscured by overhangingbushes and the sere, rank herbage of autumn. 

In a vague way I felt that eventually something would have to be doneto direct this little child of the mountain into proper ways, and tosubdue the spirit of the wilderness that it diffused on every side. Ihad its lower channel across the place (K K) cleared out, thinkingthat this might answer for the present; and the gurgle of the littlestreamlet along the bottom of the ditch seemed a low laugh at the ideaof its ever filling the three square feet of space above it. Deceitfullittle brook! Its innocent babble contained no suggestion of itshoarse roar on a March day, the following spring, as it tore its wayalong, scooping the stones and gravel from its upper bed andscattering them far and wide over the alluvial meadow. Instead of atiny rill, I found that I would have to cope at times with a mountaintorrent. At first, the task was too heavy, and the fitful-temperedbrook, and the swamp-like region it encompassed, were left for yearsto their old wild instincts. At last the increasing demands of mybusiness made it necessary to have more arable land, and I saw that, if I could keep it from being overwhelmed with water and gravel, thealluvial meadow was just the place for strawberries. 

I commenced at the lowest point where it finally leaves my grounds, and dug a canal (K K), twelve feet wide by four or five deep, acrossmy place, stoning up its walls on either side. An immense amount ofearth and gravel was thrown on the lower side so as to form a high, strong embankment in addition to the channel. Then, where it enteredthe farm above the meadow, I had a wide, deep ditch excavated, throwing all the debris between it and the land I wished to shield. Throughout the low meadow, two covered box-drains (L and M) wereconstructed so that the plow could pass over them. On the side of themeadow next to the boulevard and mountain, I had an open drain (N N)dug and filled with stones even with the ground. It was designed tocatch and carry off the surface water, merely, from the long extent ofmountain-slope that it skirted. The system of ditches to protect anddrain the partial swamp, and also to manage the deceitful brook, wasnow finished, and I waited for the results. During much of the summerthere was not a drop of water in the wide canal, save where a livingspring trickled into it. The ordinary fall rains could scarcely morethan cover the broad, pebbly bottom, and the unsophisticated laughedand said that I reminded them of a general who trained a forty-poundgun on a belligerent mouse. I remembered what I had seen, and bided mytime. 

But I did not have to wait till March. One November day it began torain, and it kept on. All the following night there was a steady rushand roar of falling water. It was no ordinary pattering, but a gustyoutpouring from the "windows of heaven. " The two swales in the frontand rear of the house became great muddy ponds, tawny as the "yellowTiber, " and through intervals of the storm came the sullen roar of thelittle brook that had been purring like a kitten all summer. Towardnight, Mature grew breathless and exhausted; there were sobbing gustsof wind and sudden gushes of rain, that grew less and less frequent. It was evident she would become quiet in the night and quite sereneafter her long, tempestuous mood. 

As the sun was setting I ventured out with much misgiving. Thedeepening roar as I went down the lane increased my fears, but I wasfairly appalled by the wild torrent that cut off all approach to thebridge. The water had not only filled the wide canal, but also, at apoint a little above the bridge, had broken over and washed away thehigh embankment. I skirted along the tide until I reached the part ofthe bank that still remained intact, and there beneath my feet rusheda flood that would have instantly swept away horse and rider. Indeed, quite a large tree had been torn up by its roots, and carried downuntil it caught in the bridge, which would also have gone had not theembankment above given way. 

The lower part of the meadow was also under water. It had been plowed, and therefore would wash readily. Would any soil be left? A fewmoments of calm reflection, however, removed my fears. The treacherousbrook had not beguiled me during the summer into inadequate provisionfor this unprecedented outbreak. I saw that my deep, wide cut had keptthe flood wholly from the upper part of the meadow, which contained avery valuable bed of high-priced strawberry plants, and that theslowly moving tide which covered the lower part was little more thanbackwater and overflow. The wide ditches were carrying off swiftly andharmlessly the great volume that, had not such channels been provided, would have made my rich alluvial meadow little else than a stony, gravelly waste. And the embankment had given way at a point too lowdown to permit much damage. 

The two swales in the front and rear of the house appeared like mill-ponds. In the former instance, the water had backed up from themountain stream into which my drain emptied, and, therefore, it couldnot pass off; and in the latter instance I could scarcely expect mylittle underground channel to dispose at once of the torrents that forforty hours had poured from the skies. I must give it at least a nightin which to catch up. And a busy night it put in, for by morning ithad conveyed to depths unknown the wide, discolored pond, thatotherwise would have smothered the plants it covered. As soon, also, as the mountain stream fell below the mouth of the lower drain, itemptied at once the water resting on the lower swale. Throughout theday came successive tales of havoc and disaster, of dams scooped out, bridges swept away, roads washed into stony gulches, and fields andgardens overwhelmed with debris. The Idlewild brook, that the poetWillis made so famous, seemed almost demoniac in its power and fury. Not content with washing away dams, roads, and bridges, it swept aheavy wall across a field as if the stones were pebbles. 

My three diverse systems of drainage had thus practically stood theseverest test, perhaps, that will ever be put upon them, and mygrounds had not been damaged to any extent worth naming. The cost hadbeen considerable, but the injury caused by that one storm would haveamounted to a larger sum had there been no other channels for thewater than those provided by nature. 

My readers will find, in many instances, that they have land whichmust be or may be drained. If it can be done sufficiently, the veryideal strawberry soil may be secured--moist and deep, but not wet. 

CHAPTER IX

THE PREPARATION OF SOILS COMPARATIVELY UNFAVORABLE--CLAY, SAND, ETC. 

We have now reached a point at which we must consider land which inits essential character is unfavorable to strawberries, and yet whichmay be the best to be had. The difficulties here are not merelyaccidental or remediable, such as lack of depth or fertility, thepresence of stones or stumps, undue wetness of soil, etc. Any or allof these obstacles may be found, but in addition there are evilsinseparable from the soil, and which cannot be wholly eradicated. Thebest we can hope in such a case is to make up by art what is lackingin nature. 

This divergence from the deep, moist sandy loam, the ideal strawberryland, is usually toward a stiff, cold, stubborn clay, or toward adroughty, leachy sand that retains neither fertility nor moisture. Ofcourse, these opposite soils require in most respects differenttreatment. 

We will consider first the less objectionable, that is, the heavyclay. To call clay more favorable for strawberries than sandy land mayseem like heresy to many, for it is a popular impression that lightsoils are the best. Experience and observation have, however, convinced me of the contrary. With the clay you have a stablefoundation. Your progress may be slow, but it can be made sure. Thecharacter of a sandy foundation was taught centuries ago. Moreover, all the fine foreign-blooded varieties, as well as our best nativeones, grow far better on heavy land, and a soil largely mixed withclay gives a wider range in the choice of varieties. 

If I had my choice between a farm of cold, stiff clay or light, leachyland, I would unhesitatingly take the former, and I would overcome itsnative unfitness by the following methods: If at all inclined to bewet, as would be natural from its tenacious texture, I should firstunderdrain it thoroughly with tile. Then, if I found a fair amount ofvegetable matter, I would give it a dressing of air-slaked lime, andplow it deeply late in the fall, leaving it unharrowed so as to exposeas much of the soil as possible to the action of frost. Early in thespring, as soon as the ground was dry enough to work and all danger offrost was over, I would harrow in buckwheat and plow it under as itcame into blossom; then sow a second crop and plow that under also. Itis the characteristic of buckwheat to lighten and clean land, and thereader perceives that it should be our constant aim to impartlightness and life to the heavy soil. Lime, in addition to itsfertilizing effects, acts chemically on the ground, producing thedesired effect. It may be objected that lime is not good forstrawberries. That is true if crude lime is applied directly to theplants, as we would ashes or bone-dust; but when it is mixed with thesoil for months, it is so neutralized as to be helpful, and in themeantime its action on the soil itself is of great value. It must beused for strawberries, however, in more limited quantities than formany other crops, or else more time must be given for it to becomeincorporated with the soil. 

The coarse green straw of the buckwheat is useful by its mechanicaldivision of the heavy land, while at the same time its decompositionfills the soil with ammonia and other gases vitally necessary to theplant. A clay soil retains these gases with little waste. It is thuscapable of being enriched to almost any extent, and can be made astorehouse of wealth. 

Where it can be procured, there is no better fertilizer for clay landthan the product of the horse-stable, which, as a rule, can be plowedunder in its raw, unfermented state, its heat and action in decayproducing the best results. Of course, judgment and moderation must beemployed. The roots of a young, growing plant cannot feed in a mass offermenting manure, no matter what the soil may be. The point I wish tomake is that cold, heavy land is greatly benefited by having theseheating, gas-producing processes take place beneath its surface. Afterthey are over, the tall, rank foliage and enormous fruit of theJucunda strawberry (a variety that can scarcely grow at all in sand)will show the capabilities of clay. 

Heavy land is the favorite home of the grasses, and is usually coveredwith a thick, tenacious sod. This, of course, must be thoroughlysubdued before strawberries are planted, or else you will have a hay-field in spite of all you can do. The decay of this mass of roots, however, furnishes just the food required, and a crop of buckwheatgreatly hastens decomposition, and adds its own bulk and fertilitywhen plowed under. I think it will scarcely ever pay to plantstrawberries directly on the sod of heavy land. 

While buckwheat is a good green crop to plow under, if the cultivatorcan wait for the more slowly maturing red-top clover, he will find it_far better_, both to enrich and to lighten up his heavy soil; for itis justly regarded as the best means of imparting the mellowness andfriability in which the roots of strawberries as well as all otherplants luxuriate. 

There are, no doubt, soils fit for bricks and piping only, but in mostinstances, by a judicious use of the means suggested, they can be madeto produce heavy and long-continued crops of the largest fruit. 

These same principles apply to the small garden-plot as well as to theacre. Instead of carting off weeds, old pea vines, etc. , dig themunder evenly over the entire space, when possible. Enrich with warm, light fertilizers, and if a good heavy coat of hot strawy manure istrenched in the heaviest, stickiest clay, in October or November, strawberries or anything else can be planted the following spring. Thegardener, who thus expends a little thought and farsighted labor willat last secure results that will surpass his most sanguine hopes, andthat, too, from land that would otherwise be as hard as Pharaoh'sheart. 

Before passing from this soil to that of an opposite character, let meadd a few words of caution. Clay land should never be stirred wheneither very wet or very dry, or else a lumpy condition results thatinjures it for years. It should be plowed or dug only when itcrumbles. When the soil is sticky, or turns up in great hard lumps, let it alone. The more haste the worst speed. 

Again, the practice of fall plowing, so very beneficial in latitudeswhere frosts are severe and long continued, is just the reverse in thefar South. There our snow is rain, and the upturned furrows are washeddown into a smooth, sticky mass by the winter storms. On steephillsides, much of the soil would ooze away with every rain, or slidedownhill en masse. In the South, therefore, unless a clay soil is tobe planted at once, it must not be disturbed in the fall, and it iswell if it can be protected by stubble or litter, which shields itfrom the direct contact of the rain and from the sun's rays. But cow-peas, or any other rank-growing green crop adapted to the locality, isas useful to Southern clay as to Northern, and Southern fields mightbe enriched rapidly, since their long season permits of plowing underseveral growths. 

Lime and potash in their various forms, in connection with greencrops, would give permanent fertility to every heavy acre of Southernland. In my judgment, however, barnyard manure is not surpassed invalue by any other in any latitude. If one owned clay land from whichhe could not secure good crops after the preparation that has beensuggested, he had better either turn it into a brick-yard or emigrate. 

_Sandy Ground. _--Suppose that, in contrast, our soil is a light sand. In this case the question of cultivation is greatly simplified, butthe problem of obtaining a heavy crop is correspondingly difficult. The plow and the cultivator run readily enough, and much less labor isrequired to keep the weeds in subjection, but as a rule, light landyields little fruit; and yet under favorable circumstances I have seenmagnificent crops of certain varieties growing on sand. If sufficientmoisture and fertility can be maintained, many of our best varietieswill thrive and produce abundantly; but to do this is the very pith ofour difficulty. Too often a sandy soil will not retain moisture andmanure. Such light land is generally very deficient in vegetablematter; and therefore, whenever it is possible, I would turn undergreen crops. If the soil could be made sufficiently fertile toproduce a heavy crop of clover, and this were plowed under in June, and then buckwheat harrowed in and its rank growth turned under inAugust, strawberries could be planted as soon as the heat of decay wasover, with excellent prospects of fine crops for the three succeedingyears. Did I propose to keep the land in strawberries, I would thengive it another year of clover and buckwheat, adding bone-dust, potash, and a very little lime in some form. The green crop, whendecayed, is lighter than clay, and renders its tenacious texture morefriable and porous; it also benefits the sandy soil by supplying theabsent humus, or vegetable mould, which is essential to all plantlife. This mould is also cool and humid in its nature, and aids inretaining moisture. 

With the exception of the constant effort to place green vegetablematter under the surface, my treatment of sandy ground would be thereverse of that described for clay. Before using the product of thehorse-stable, I would compost it with at least an equal bulk ofleaves, muck, sods, or even plain earth if nothing better could befound. A compost of stable manure with clay would be most excellent. If possible, I would not use any manure on light ground until allfermentation was over, and then I would rather _harrow_ than plowit in. This will leave it near the surface, and the rains will leachit down to the roots--and below them, also--only too soon. Fertilitycannot be stored up in sand as in clay, and it should be our aim togive our strawberries the food they need in a form that permits of itsimmediate use. Therefore, in preparing such land, I would advise deepplowing while it is moist, if possible, soon after a rain; then theharrowing in of a liberal top-dressing of rotted compost, or of mucksweetened by the action of frost and the fermentation of manure, or, best of all, the product of the cow-stable. Decayed leaves, sods, andwood-ashes also make excellent fertilizers. 

In the garden, light soils can be given a much more stable andproductive character by covering them with clay to the depth of one ortwo inches every fall, and then plowing it in. The winter's frost andrains mix the two diverse soils, to their mutual benefit. Carting sandon clay is rarely remunerative; the reverse is decidedly so, and top-dressings of clay on light land are often more beneficial than equalamounts of manure. 

As practically employed, I regard quick, stimulating manures, likeaguno, very injurious to light soils. I believe them to be the curseof the South. They are used "to make a crop, " as it is termed; andthey do make it for a few years, but to the utter impoverishment ofthe land. The soil becomes as exhausted as a man would be should heseek to labor under the support of stimulants only. In both instances, an abundance of food is needed. A quinine pill is not a dinner, and adusting of guano or phosphate cannot enrich the land. 

And yet, by the aid of these stimulating commercial fertilizers, thepoorest and thinnest soil can be made to produce fine strawberries, ifsufficient moisture can be maintained. Just as a physician can rallyan exhausted man to a condition in which he can take and bestrengthened by food, so land, too poor and light to sprout a pea, canbe stimulated into producing a meagre green crop of some kind, which, plowed under, will enable the land to produce a second and heavierburden. This, in turn, placed in the soil, will begin to give asuggestion of fertility. Thus, poor or exhausted soils can be made, byseveral years of skilful management, to convalesce slowly intostrength. 

Whether such patient outlay of time and labor will pay on a continentabounding in land naturally productive is a very dubious question. 

Coarse, gravelly soils are usually even worse. If we must grow ourstrawberries on them, give the same general treatment that I have justsuggested. 

On some peat soils the strawberry thrives abundantly; on others itburns and dwindles. Under such conditions I should experiment withbone-dust, ashes, etc. , until I found just what was lacking. 

No written directions can take the place of common-sense, judgment, and, above all, experience. Soils vary like individual character. Ihave yet to learn of a system of rules that will teach us how to dealwith every man we meet. It is ever wise, however, to deal justly andliberally. He that expects much from his land must give it much. 

I have dwelt at length on the preparation and enrichment of the land, since it is the cornerstone of all subsequent success. Let me close byemphasizing again the principle which was made prominent at first. Though we give our strawberry plants everything else they need, ourcrop of fruit will yet be good or bad in the proportion that we areable to maintain abundant moisture during the blossoming and fruitingseason. If provision can be made for irrigation, it may increase theyield tenfold. 

CHAPTER X

COMMERCIAL AND SPECIAL FERTILIZERS

In preparing and enriching the soil, and especially in subsequentcultivation, concentrated fertilizers are very useful and oftenessential. In dealing with this subject, however, I think we treadupon uncertain ground. There is a great deal of apparent accuracy offigures and analyses, carried carefully into decimals, but a wonderfuldeal of vagueness, uncertainty, and contradiction in the experiencesand minds of cultivators. 

It is well known that many commercial fertilizers are scandalouslyadulterated, and those who have suffered from frauds are hostile tothe entire class. In their strong prejudice, they will neitherdiscriminate nor investigate. There are others who associateeverything having a chemical sound with "book farming, " and thereforedismiss the whole subject with a sniff of contempt. This clique ofhorticulturists is rapidly diminishing, however, for the fruit growerwho does not read is like the lawyer who tries to practice with barelya knowledge of the few laws revealed by a limited experience. Incontrast, there are others who read and theorize too exclusively, andare inclined to assert that concentrated fertilizers supersede allothers. They scout the muck swamp, the compost heap, and even thebarnyard, as old-fashioned, cumbrous methods of bringing to the soil, in tons of useless matter, the essentials which they can deliver in afew sacks or barrels. On paper, they are scientific and accurate. Thecrop you wish to raise has constituents in certain proportions. Supplythese, they say, and you have the chemical compound, or crop. A fieldor garden, however, is not a sheet of blank paper, but a combinationat which nature has been at work, and left full of obscurities. Theresults which the agricultural chemist predicted so confidently do notalways follow, as they ought. Nature is often very indifferent tolearned authorities. 

There is yet another class--a large one, too--who regard thesefertilizers as they do the drugs of an apothecary. They occasionallygive their land a dose of them as they take medicine themselves, whenindisposed or imagining themselves so. La either case there is almostentire ignorance of the nature of the compound or of definite reasonsfor its usefulness. Both the man and the field were "run down, " andsome one said that this, that, or the other thing was good. Thereforeit was tried. Such haphazard action is certainly not the surest methodof securing health or fertility. 

In no other department of horticulture is there more room for common-sense, accurate knowledge, skill, and good management, than in the useof all kinds of fertilizers, and, in my judgment, close and continuedobservation is worth volumes of theory. The proper enrichment of thesoil is the very cornerstone of success, and more fail at this pointthan at any other. While I do not believe that accurate and completedirections for the treatment of every soil can be written, it isundoubtedly true that certain correct principles can be laid down, andinformation, suggestion, and records of experience given which will bevery useful. With such data to start with, the intelligent cultivatorcan work out the problem of success in the peculiar conditions of hisown farm or garden. 

It must be true that land designed for strawberries requires thoseconstituents which are shown to compose the plant and fruit, and thatthe presence of each one in the soil should be in proportion to thedemand for it. It is also equally plain that the supply of theseessential elements should be kept up in continued cultivation. Therefore, the question naturally arises, what are strawberry plantsand fruit made of? Modern wine, we know, can be made without any grapejuice whatever, but as Nature compounds strawberries in the opensunlight, instead of in back rooms and cellars, she insists on all theproper ingredients before she will form the required combination. 

"The Country Gentleman" gives a very interesting letter from Prof. S. W. Johnson, of the Connecticut Experiment Station, containing thefollowing careful analysis made by J. Isidore Pierre, a French writer. "Pierre, " says the professor, "gives a statement of the composition, exclusive of water, of the total yield per hectare of fruit, taken upto June 30, and of leaves, stems and runners, taken up to the middleof August. These results, calculated in pounds per acre, are thefollowing (the plants contained 62. 3 per cent of water and fruit 90per cent):

Composition of the water-free strawberry crop (except roots), at themiddle of August, in pounds per acre, according to Pierre:

 Plants Fruits TotalsOrganic matter, exclusive of nitrogen 4268. 4 1053. 5 5321. 9Nitrogen 88. 5 16. 0 104. 5Silica, iron and manganese oxides 43. 3 1. 5/3. 8 48. 6Phosphoric acid 35. 3 5. 4 40. 7Lime 102. 7 7. 9 110. 6Magnesia 16. 1 . 7 16. 8Potash 89. 1 19. 7 108. 8Soda 6. 4 . 9 7. 3Other matters 120. 9 8. 8 129. 7

Dry substance 4770. 7 1118. 2 5888. 9"

These are the constituents that, to start with, must be in the soil, and which must be kept there. This array of what to many are butobscure chemicals need not cause misgivings, since in most instancesnature has stored them in the virgin soil in abundant proportions. Even in well-worn, long cultivated fields, some of them may exist insufficient quantity. Therefore, buying a special fertilizer is oftenlike carrying coals to Newcastle. Useless expenditure may be incurred, also, by supplying some, but not all, of the essential ingredients. Afarmer applied six hundred pounds of superphosphate to a plat of corn-land, and three hundred pounds to an adjacent plat wherein theconditions were the same. The yield of the first plat was scarcely inexcess of that of the second, and in neither case was there asufficient increase to repay for the fertilizer. It does not followthat the man used an adulterated and worthless article. Analysis showsthat corn needs nitrogen and potash in large proportions; and if thesehad been employed with the superphosphate, the result probably wouldhave been very different. Superphosphate contains nitrogen, but not insufficient degree. These considerations bring us to the soundconclusion that in enriching our land it would be wise to use completefertilizers as far as possible; that is, manures containing all, ornearly all, the essential ingredients of the strawberry plant andfruit. If we could always know just what elements are lacking in oursoils, we could merely supply these; but frequent analyses areexpensive, and often misleading, at best. The safest plan is always tokeep within reach of the plants the food we know they require, and theroots, with unerring instinct, will attend to the proportions. Hencethe value of barnyard manure in the estimation of plain common-sense. A sensible writer has clearly shown that from twenty-three cows andfive horses, if proper absorbents are used, $5. 87 worth of nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid can be obtained every twenty-four hours, estimating these vitally important elements of plant-food at theirwholesale valuation. In addition, there are the other constituents ofthe yard manure which, if not so valuable, are still very useful. Topermit the waste of any fertilizer that can be saved or made upon ourplaces, and then buy the same thing with the chance of being cheated, is thus shown to be wretched economy. Commercial fertilizers can neversupersede the compost heap, into which should go everything which willenable us to place in the soil organic matter and the other elementsthat were given in the analysis; and if all the sewage and waste ofthe dwelling and the products of the stable, stys and poultry-housewere well composted with muck, sod, leaves, or even common earth, andused liberally, magnificent and continued crops of strawberries couldbe raised from nearly all soils. 

In many instances, however, home-made composts are wholly inadequateto supply the need, and stable manures are too costly or not to beobtained. The fruit grower should then go to those manufacturers offertilizers who have the best reputation, and who give the bestguarantees against deception. There are perfectly honest dealers, andit is by far the cheapest in the end to pay them their price for agenuine article. If such concentrated agents are used in connectionwith a green crop like clover, land can be made, and kept productivecontinuously. In the use of commercial fertilizers, there should be aconstant and intelligent effort to keep up a supply of _all_ theessential ingredients. Wood-ashes is a specific for strawberries. Ihave never found any one thing so good, and yet it is substantiallybut one thing, potash, and I should remember that the plant alsorequires nitrogen, which guano, or some form of animal manure, wouldfurnish; lime, which is best applied to the strawberry in the form ofbone meal, etc. The essential phosphoric acid is furnished in bonemeal, the superphosphates, and also in wood-ashes. By referring to ananalysis of the ash of red clover, it will be found to contain nearlyeverything that the strawberry requires. 

The man who reads, observes, and experiments carefully, will find thathe can accomplish much with lime and salt. If one has land full ofvegetable or organic matter, an application of lime will render thismatter fit for plant food, and the lime itself, in the course of ayear or less, will be rendered harmless in the process. It alsosweetens and lightens heavy, sour land, and thus, _in time_ renders itbetter adapted to the strawberry; but lime should not be applieddirectly, in any considerable quantity, to strawberry plants, norshould it be used on very light soils deficient in vegetable matter. The judicious use of salt in _small_ quantities will, I think, provevery beneficial, especially on light upland. It tends to preventinjury from drought, and to clear the land of the larvae of insects. Iam inclined to think that much can be accomplished with this agent, and hope to make some careful experiments with it. But it should beused very cautiously, or it will check or destroy growth. 

I have received a letter from Mr. J. H. Hale, of South Glastonbury, Conn. , that is such a clear and interesting record of experience onthis subject that I am led to give it almost entire:

"We have always used Peruvian guano, fish scrap, and ground bone tosome extent, but until the past five years have depended mainly uponstable manure brought from New York city on boats, using about fifteencords per acre yearly, and always with satisfactory results, the onlyobjection being the expense. The price ranged from $8 to $12 per cord, or on an average of $150 per acre; and in trying to reduce thisexpense we commenced testing different fertilizers, planting, in 1874, one acre of strawberries manured with two tons of fish scrap, at $20per ton, and one hundred bushels of unleached wood-ashes, at 30 centsper bushel; making a total cost of $70. The result was a strong, rapidgrowth of plants early in the summer, but in September and Octoberthey began to show signs of not having plant food enough, and then wesaw our mistake in using fish in place of bone, or some other slow-acting fertilizer that the plants could not have taken up so greedilyearly in the summer, but would have had to feed on slowly all throughthe season. The fruit crop the following year, as might have beenexpected, was not a success, being only about half a crop. In 1875, weplanted another acre, using one ton of ground bone and one hundredbushels of wood-ashes, at a total cost of $73; the result was a fine, even growth of plants all through the season, and a perfect crop offruit the following year, fully equal to that on adjoining acres thathad been manured with stable manure at a cost of $150 per acre, to saynothing of the carting of such a great bulk of manure. In the springof 1876, being so well pleased with the appearance of our one acremanured with bone and ashes, we planned to fertilize all of our fruitsin the same way. Then the question arose, where were we to get theashes? We could buy enough for an acre or two, but not enough for ourwhole farm. What were we to do? Potash we must have, as that is theleading element of plant food required by small fruits of all kinds. We found we must look to the German potash salts for what we wanted, and we therefore bought several tons of High Grade (80 per cent)muriate of potash at $40 per ton, using 1, 000 pounds per acre, and oneton of bone at $35, making a total cost of only $55 per acre. Theplants did not grow quite as well early in the season as those on thefields where ashes were used, but later in the season they made a veryfine growth, and at fruiting time, in 1877, we harvested a full andabundant crop of strawberries and raspberries. Since that time we haveused nothing but ground bone and muriate of potash to manure all ofour berry fields with, and continue to get fully as satisfactoryresults as in former years, when we depended upon stable manure atmore than double the cost per acre. Some parties who have been lookinginto the matter suggest that possibly our satisfactory results areowing not so much to the fertilizers as to the liberal supply ofstable manure used in former years. Yet the past season we picked 143bushels of Charles Downings per acre, from a field manured with boneand potash, so poor and worn-out that two years before it would onlyproduce six bushels of rye per acre. That land had no stable manure onit, and if it was not the bone and potash that furnished food for theberries, we would like to know what it was. The one mistake we havemade is, I think, in not using six or eight hundred pounds of fishscrap or guano, and only 1, 500 pounds of bone. The fish or guano, being such quick-acting fertilizers, would give the plants a muchbetter start early in the season than would be the case if only thebone and potash were used. We shall try it the coming spring. Inapplying the potash great care should be taken to have it thoroughlyincorporated with the soil, it being only about 55 per cent actualpotash; the balance, being largely composed of salt, would, of course, kill the roots of young plants if brought directly in contact withthem. In fields where we have used the potash, we have been troubledwith white grubs only to a very limited extent, while portions of thesame field where stable manure had been used were badly infested withthem, and while I do not think salt will drive them ail out of thesoil, I do believe it will do so to some extent. Besides thefertilizers I have named, we have in the past six years experimentedin a small way with many others. Among them Stockbridge's strawberrymanure and Mapes' fruit and vine manures, but have never had as goodreturns for the money invested as from the bone and potash; and yet, while they have proved of such great value to us, I would not adviseyou or any one to give up stable manure for them if you can get it atthe same cost per acre, but if you cannot, then I say try bone dustand potash in a small way, until you learn just what _your soil_wants, and then supply it, whether it be 500, 1, 000, or 2, 000 poundsper acre. "

Mr. Hale adds:

"The most of our soil is a sandy loam. We have some heavy loam and afew acres of clay gravel, and we have always had good results from theuse of bone and potash on all of these soils. 

"We have never used lime on our berry fields at the time of planting, and yet, as you know, all of our New England soils are deficient inlime. We use some indirectly, as we grow clover to plow under, andusually give at that time a good dressing of lime. As we try to have anew clover field every year, we get all around the farm in six oreight years, and we therefore get a dressing of lime all around oncein that time, and have never been able to see any ill effects from it. In fact, we believe it a positive benefit in helping to keep downsorrel, if nothing more. "

There would be very few worn-out farms, or poverty-stricken farmers, if all followed the example of the Hale brothers. 

The value of potash and bone meal is thus clearly shown, but thelatter does not contain nitrogen in sufficient quantity. I think Mr. Hale is correct in the opinion that he can secure better results byusing at the same time some nitrogenous manure, like fish scrap, guano, etc. If he had heavy, cold, clay land to deal with, it ispossible that he might find the stable manure the cheapest and best inthe long run, even at its increased cost. 

Mr. W. L. Ferris, of Poughkeepsie, writes to me that he has foundgreat advantage in the use of the Mapes & Stockbridge specialfertilizers. "My experience, " he says, "is only as to strawberries, and on them I would say that the result of applying equal values ofmanure--stable and commercial--as to cost, would be from ten totwenty-five per cent in favor of the commercial, as a stimulant toapply in the spring, or, in small quantities, to plants firststarting. This does not apply to the first preparation of the ground. In this direction I propose to experiment. I have heretofore appliedfertilizers early in spring by hand, distributing it along the rows. "

Records of varying experiences, and the discussion of commercialfertilizers, might be continued indefinitely, but enough has beensaid, I think, to suggest to each cultivator unacquainted with thesubject in what directions he should seek success. If I were askedwhat is the one special manure in which the strawberry especiallydelights, I should answer unhesitatingly, the well decayed andcomposted production of the cow-stable, and if the reader had seen Mr. Durand's beds of the Great American variety in bearing, after beingenriched with this material, he would be well satisfied to use it whenit could be obtained. The vines of even this fastidious berry, thatfalters and fails in most soils, averaged one foot in height, and wereloaded with enormous fruit. The subject may be summed up by an extractfrom a letter of Mr. Alexander Hyde to the "New York Times":

"Nitrates, phosphates, and ammonia are good fertilizers, and just thechemicals which most lands need, but plants require a good bed as wellas good food. The physical condition of the soil, as well as thechemical, must receive attention; and we know of nothing superior to awell-made compost for furnishing both the chemical and physicalconditions necessary for the development of our crops. "

CHAPTER XI

OBTAINING PLANTS AND IMPROVING OUR STOCK

Having prepared and enriched our ground, we are ready for the plants. They can often be obtained from a good neighbor whose beds we havewatched across the fence, and whose varieties we have sampled to oursatisfaction. But the most liberal neighbors may not be able tofurnish all we need, or the kinds we wish. Moreover, in privategardens, names and varieties are usually in a sad tangle. We must goto the nurseryman. At this point, perhaps, a brief appeal to thereader's common-sense may save much subsequent loss anddisappointment. 

In most of our purchases, we see the article before we take it, andcan estimate its value. Just the reverse is usually true of plants. Weknow--or believe--that certain varieties are valuable, and we orderthem from a distance, paying in advance. When received, the mostexperienced cannot be sure that the plants are true to the names theybear. We must plant them in our carefully prepared land, expend uponthem money, labor, and, above all, months and years of our brieflives, only to learn, perhaps, that the varieties are not what weordered, and that we have wasted everything on a worthless kind. Theimportance of starting right, therefore, can scarcely beoverestimated. It is always best to buy of men who, in the main, growtheir own stock, and therefore know about it, and who have establisheda reputation for integrity and accuracy. The itinerant agent flitsfrom Maine to California, and too often the marvellous portraits offruits that he exhibits do not even resemble the varieties whose namesthey bear. It is best to buy of those who have a "local habitation anda name, " and then, if anything is wrong, one knows where to look forredress. 

Even if one wishes to be accurate, it is difficult to know that one'sstock is absolutely pure and true to name. The evil of mixed plants ismore often perpetuated in the following innocent manner than by anyintentional deception: For instance, one buys from a trustworthysource, as he supposes, a thousand "Monarch" strawberry plants, andsets them out in the spring. All blossoms should be picked off thefirst year, and, therefore, there can be no fruit as a test of puritythat season. But by fall there are many thousands of young plants. Thegrower naturally says: "I bought these for the Monarch, therefore theyare Monarchs, " and he sells many plants as such. When coming intofruit the second summer, he finds, however, that not one in twenty isa Monarch plant. As an honest man, he now digs them under in disgust;but the mischief has already been done, and scattered throughout thecountry are thousands of mixed plants which multiply with the vigor ofevil. Nurserymen should never take varieties for granted, no matterwhere obtained. I endeavor so to train my eye that I can detect thedistinguishing marks even in the foliage and blossoms, and if anythinglooks suspicious I root it out. The foliage of the Monarch of the Westis so distinct that if one learns to know it he can tell whether hisplants are mixed at a glance. 

If possible, the nurseryman should start with plants that he knows tobe genuine, and propagate from them. Then, by constant and personalvigilance, he can maintain a stock that will not be productive chieflyof profanity when coming into fruit. This scrutiny of propagating bedsis a department that I shall never delegate to any one else. 

It is not thrift to save in the first cost of plants, if thereby therisk of obtaining poor, mixed varieties is increased. I do not care tosave five dollars to-day and lose fifty by the operation within ayear. A gentleman wrote to me, "I have been outrageously cheated inbuying plants. " On the same page he asked me to furnish stock at ratesas absurdly low as those of the man who cheated him. If one insists onhaving an article at far less than the cost of production, it is notstrange that he finds some who will "cheat him outrageously. " I findit by far the cheapest in the long run to go to the most trustworthysources, and pay the grower a price which enables him to give me justwhat I want. 

When plants are both fine and genuine they can still be spoiled, or, at least, injured in transit from the ground where they grew. Dig soas to save all the roots, shake these clean of earth, straighten themout, and tie the plants into bundles of fifty. Pack in boxes, with theroots down in moss and the tops exposed to the air. Do not press themin too tightly or make them too wet, or else the plants become heated--a process which speedily robs them of all vitality. In cool seasons, and when the distance is not too great, plants can be shipped inbarrels thickly perforated with holes. The tops should be toward thesides and the roots in the centre, down through which there should bea circulation of air. In every case, envelop the roots in damp moss orleaves--damp, but not wet. Plants can be sent by mail at the rate ofone cent per ounce, and those obtained in this way rarely fail indoing well. 

This fact should be carefully kept in mind by those residing longdistances from express offices, or the points from which they wish toorder their plants. Packages weighing four pounds and less can be sentby mail and received with our letters, and by a little inquiry andcalculation it may be found the cheapest and most convenient way ofobtaining them. I find no difficulty in mailing all the small fruitplants to every part of the continent. 

The greater part of the counting and packing of plants should be donein a cellar, or some place of low, even temperature, in order toprevent the little fibrous roots, on which the future growth sogreatly depends, from becoming shrivelled. The best part of the rootsare extremely sensitive to sunlight or frost, and, worse than all, toa cold, dry wind. Therefore, have the plants gathered up as fast asthey are dug and carried to a damp, cool room, where the temperaturevaries but little. From such a place they can be packed and shippedwith the leisure that insures careful work. 

After having obtained good, genuine plants to start with, we cangreatly improve our stock by a system of careful selection. This is atruth of great importance, but so obvious that we need not dwell longupon it. Let me illustrate what I mean by the course I propose toenter upon during the coming season. In our beds of each variety therewill be a few plants that, for some reason, will surpass all theothers in vigor, productiveness, and especially in the manifestationof the peculiar and distinguishing traits of the variety. I shallcarefully mark such plants, remove all others from their vicinity, andpropagate from them. Thus, in the course of two or three years, Ishall renew my entire stock of standard varieties from the very bestand most characteristic specimens of each kind. From this improvedstock the best types should be chosen again and again; and by thiscourse I am satisfied that a surprising degree of excellence can beattained. It is on the same principle of careful breeding from bloodedand perfect animals. From very many localities come the complaint thatWilsons and other fine old varieties are "running out. " How can it beotherwise, in view of the treatment they receive and the careless wayin which they are propagated? Even when unmixed, they are usually theenfeebled children of degenerate parents. There is no variety in thecountry more badly mixed than the Wilson; and the trouble often arisesfrom wild strawberries creeping in among them from the edges of thefield. The spurious plants are taken up with the others, and themixture is scattered up and down the land. The same is true with othervarieties that have long been in cultivation. Indeed, I have foundmixtures in new varieties obtained directly from the originators. Therefore the need that the plant grower should give personal andunceasing vigilance to the stock from which he propagates, and thatthose who take a pride in improving their stock should often scantheir beds narrowly. Moreover, if a bed stands several years in thesame place, new seedlings may spring up, and thus create a mixture. 

CHAPTER XII

WHEN SHALL WE PLANT?

Nature has endowed the strawberry-plant with the power of taking rootand growing readily at almost any season when young plants can beobtained. My best success, however, has been in November and earlyspring. The latter part of May and the month of June is the only timeat which I have not planted with satisfactory results. In Northernlatitudes, early spring is preferable, for at this season the groundis moist, showers are abundant, and the impulse of growth is strong. The weather is cool, also, and therefore the plants rarely heat or dryout during transportation. 

In the South, autumn is by far the best time to plant. When the youngplants are grown on the same place, they may be transferred to thefruiting beds and fields any time between July and the middle ofNovember. The earlier they are set out, if they can be kept growingduring the remainder of the hot season, the larger will be the yieldthe following spring. As a rule, plants, unless grown in pots, can notbe shipped from the North or South until cold weather. The forwardingto the latitude of Richmond begins in September, and to points furthersouth in October and November; from Florida to Louisiana I hear ofalmost unvarying success. 

Of late years the practice of growing plants in pots and sending themout as the florists do flowers has become very prevalent. These pottedplants can be set out in July, August and September, and the ball ofearth clinging to their roots prevents wilting, and, unless they areneglected, insures their living. Pot-grown plants are readily obtainedby sinking two and a half or three inch pots up to their rims in thepropagating-beds, and filling them with rich earth mingled with old, thoroughly rotted compost, leaf mould, decayed sods, etc. , but neverwith fresh, unfermented manure. I have found the admixture of a littlefine bone meal with the soil to be strong aid to vigorous growth. Theyoung runners are then so guided and held down by a small stone orlump of earth that they will take root in the pots, indeed, quitelarge plants, if still attached to thrifty runners, may be taken up, their roots shortened to one-quarter of an inch, and these inserted inthe little pots, which will be speedily filled with a new growth ofroots. It is very important that abundant and continuous moistureshould be maintained. A hot wind or a scorching sun will dry outwithin a few hours the small amount of earth the pots contain, and theplants thus receive a check from which they may never recover. Theamateur should watch them closely, and the plant grower should employa man with the clear understanding that he would lose his position ifhe permitted moisture to fail even for half a day. 

In about two weeks, with good management, the plants will fill thepots with roots, which so interlace as to hold the ball of earthcompactly together during transportation. This ball of earth with theroots, separates readily from the pot, and the plant, thus sustained, could be shipped around the world if kept from drying out and thefoliage protected from the effects of alternate heat and cold. Theagricultural editor of the "New York Weekly Times" writes me that thepotted plants are worth their increased cost, if for no other reason, because they are so easily planted in hot weather. 

The chief advantage of summer planting lies in the fact that we obtaina good crop the following season, while plants set out in springshould not be permitted to bear at all the same year. If we discoverin May or June that our supply is insufficient, or that some newvarieties offer us paradisiacal flavors, we can set out the plants inthe summer or autumn of the same year, and within eight or ten monthsgather the fruits of our labors. If the season is somewhat showery, orif one is willing to take the trouble to water and shade the youngplants, ordinary layers--that is, plants that have grown naturally inthe open ground--will answer almost as well as those that have beenrooted in pots. The fact that they do not cost half as much is also intheir favor. 

The disposition to plant in summer or autumn is steadily increasing, and the following reasons are good and substantial ones for thepractice. In our gardens and fields there are many crops that maturein July, August, and September. The cultivation of these crops hasprobably left the ground mellow, and in good condition forstrawberries. Instead of leaving this land idle, or a place for weedsto grow and seed, it can be deeply forked or plowed, and enriched, ashas been explained. Even in July, potted plants may be bought, andunless the ground is full of the larvae of the June beetle, or theplants are treated with utter neglect, not one in a hundred will fail. Say the plants cost us two and a half cents each by the time they areplanted, instead of one half to one cent as in the spring, is therenot a prospect of an equal or larger profit? A potted plant set out insummer or early autumn, and allowed to make no runners, will yield atleast a pint of fruit; and usually these first berries are very largeand fine, bringing the best prices. Suppose, however, we are able toobtain but ten cents a quart, you still have a margin of two and one-half cents on each plant. Adding two cents to the cost of each plantto cover the expense of cultivation, winter protection, springmulching, picking, etc. , there still remains a profit of half a centon each plant. Supposing we have an acre containing 14, 520 plants, ourestimate gives a profit of $72. 60 for the first year. If we clear buta quarter of a cent on each plant, we have a profit of $36. 30. Theprospects are, however, that if we plant early in the summer, on richground, and give good cultivation, our plants will yield more than apint each, and the fruit sell for more than ten cents a quart. 

This estimate applies to the common market varieties raised with onlyordinary skill and success. Suppose, in contrast, one plants thelarge, showy, high-flavored varieties, and is able to obtain fromfifteen to thirty cents per quart. The expenses in this case are nogreater, while the profits are very largely increased. 

[Illustration: A Potted Plant]

Good potted plants can be bought for about $2. 50 per 100, or $20 per2, 000. I do not think that they can be properly grown and sold at muchlower rates and afford a living profit. Freight and express chargesare a heavy item of expense, since the earth encasing the rootsrenders the packages very heavy, and but comparatively few plants canbe shipped in one box. But, allowing for all expenses, I think it isevident that people can obtain a fair profit from potted plants withineight or ten months from the time of planting. Moreover, autumn-setplants start with double vigor in early spring, and make a fine growthbefore the hot, dry weather checks them; and the crop from them thesecond year will be the very best that they are capable of producing. Two paying crops are thus obtained within two years, and the cost ofcultivation the first year is slight, for the plants are set after thegreat impulse of annual weed growth is past. With spring-set plantsyou get but one crop in two years. The first year yields nothingunless plants are sold, and yet the cultivation must be unceasingthrough May, June and July, when Nature seems to give no littlethought to the problem of how many weeds can be grown to the squareinch. If one wishes early plants, he certainly should practice autumnplanting, for a plant set even in November will begin to make runnersnearly a month earlier than one set in spring. 

Thus far we have looked at the subject from a business standpoint. 

Those who wish plants for the home supply certainly should nothesitate to furnish their gardens as early in the summer as possible. To wait two years of our short lives for _strawberries_ becausethe plants are a little cheaper in the spring is a phase of economythat suggests the moon. Such self-denial in a good cause would beheroic. 

If people will use a little forethought, they can practice summer andautumn planting with double success, independently of the plantgrower. We have shown that there is no mystery in raising pottedplants. Moreover, in the hottest summers there are showery, cloudydays when ordinary layer plants can be set with perfect safety. If thefield or garden bed is near where the layer plants are growing, thelatter can be taken up with earth clinging to their roots, and thushave all the advantages of potted plants. Even under the Southern sun, hundreds of acres are, in this manner, set annually in the vicinity ofCharleston. 

As the autumn grows cool and moist, layer plants can be obtained froma distance and set out profitably in large quantities. The chiefdanger in late planting results from the tendency of the plants to bethrown out of the ground by the action of the frost, and a fewvarieties do not seem sufficiently hardy to endure severe cold. Iobviate this difficulty by simply hoeing upon the plants two inches ofearth, just before the ground freezes in November or December. Thiswinter covering of soil enables me to plant with entire success at anytime in the fall--even late in November--instead of spring, when thereis a rush of work. 

The earth is raked off the plants in March or April, as soon as severefreezing weather is over; otherwise they would decay. Do not first putmanure on the plants and then cover with earth--cover with earth only. 

Thus it will be seen that each period has its advantages, which willvary with different seasons. If drought and heat come in early May, spring-set plants may suffer badly. Again, periods in summer andautumn may be so hot and dry that even potted plants can only be keptalive by repeated waterings. My practice is to divide my plantingsabout equally between summer, fall, and spring. I thus take no chancesof failure. 

CHAPTER XIII

WHAT SHALL WE PLANT?--VARIETIES, THEIR CHARACTER AND ADAPTATION TOSOILS

I have in my library an admirable little treatise written by the lateR. G. Pardee, and printed twenty-five years ago. While the greaterpart of what he says, relating to the requirements of the plant andits culture, is substantially correct, his somewhat extended list ofvarieties is almost wholly obsolete. With the exception of Hovey'sSeedling, scarcely one can be found in a modern catalogue. Evencarefully prepared lists, made at a much later date, contain the namesof but few kinds now seen in the garden or market. I have before methe catalogue of Prince & Co. , published in 1865, and out of theirlist of 169 varieties but three are now in general cultivation, andthe great majority are utterly unknown. Thus it would seem that acatalogue soon becomes historical, and that the kinds most heraldedto-day may exist only in name but a few hence. The reasons can readilybe given. The convex heart of every strawberry blossom will be foundto consist of pistils, and usually of stamens ranged around them. Whenboth stamens and pistils are found in the same blossom, as is the casewith most varieties, it is called a perfect flower, or staminate. Inrare instances, strawberry flowers are found which possess stamenswithout pistils, and these are called male blossoms; far more oftenvarieties exist producing pistils only, and they are named pistillatekinds. Either of the last two if left alone would be barren; the maleflowers are always so, but the pistillate or female flowers, iffertilized with pollen from perfect-flowered plants, produce fruit. This fertilizing is effected by the agency of the wind, or byinsects seeking honey. 

The ovule in the ovarium to which the stigma leads represents, atmaturity, a seed--the actual fruit of the strawberry--and within eachseed Nature, by a subtile process of her own, wraps up some of thequalities of the plant that produced the seed, and some of thequalities also of the plant from which came the pollen thatimpregnated the ovule. This seed, planted, produces an entirely newvariety, which, as a rule, exhibits characteristics of both itsparents, and traits, also, of its grandparents and remote ancestors. The law of heredity is the same as in cattle or the human race. Thusit may be seen that millions of new varieties can be very easilyobtained. A single plant-grower often raises many thousands to whichhe never gives a name, by reason of the fact--noted elsewhere than inthe fruit garden--that most of these new strawberries in no respectsurpass or even equal their parents. The great majority, afterfruiting--which they do when two years old--are thrown away. A newvariety which is not so good as the old ones from which it came shouldnot be imposed upon the public. But they often are, sometimesdeliberately, but far more often for other reasons; as, for instance, through the enthusiasm of the possessor. It is _his_ seedling;therefore it is wonderful. He pets it and gives it extra care, towhich even very interior varieties generously respond. 

In the same old catalogue to which I have referred Prince & Co. Announce: "We now offer a few of our superior new seedlings, withdescriptions, and there is not an acid or inferior one among them. There is not one of them that is not superior to all the seedlingsrecently introduced. " Not one of these thirty-five "superiorseedlings, " to my knowledge, is now in cultivation. They havedisappeared in less than fifteen years; and yet I have no doubt thaton the grounds of Prince & Co. They gave remarkable promise. 

Again, a fruit grower sends out second and third-rate kinds fromdefective knowledge. He has not judiciously compared his pettedseedlings with the superb varieties already in existence. It is soondiscovered by general trial that the vaunted new-comers are not sogood as the old; and so they also cease to be cultivated, leaving onlya name. 

The editor of the "Rural New Yorker" has adopted a course which wouldbe very useful indeed to the public, if it could be carried out in thevarious fruit-growing centres of the country. He obtains a few plantsof every new variety offered for sale, and tests them side by side, under precisely the same conditions, reporting the results in hispaper. Such records of experience are worth any amount of theory, orthe half-truths of those who are acquainted with but few vanities. Itested fifty kinds last year in one specimen-bed. The plants weretreated precisely alike, and permitted to mature all their fruit, Ibeing well content to let eight or ten bushels go to waste in order tosee just what each variety could do. From such trial-beds thecomparative merits of each kind can be seen at a glance. Highlypraised new-comers, which are said to supersede everything, must showwhat they are and can do beside the old standard varieties that wontheir laurels years ago. I thus learn that but few can endure thetest, and occasionally I find an old kind sent out with a new name. When visiting fruit farms in New Jersey last summer, I was urged tovisit a small place on which was growing a wonderful new berry. Themoment I saw the fruit and foliage, I recognized the Col. Cheney, forced into unusual luxuriance by very favorable conditions. Otherexperienced growers, whose attention I called to the distinguishingmarks of this variety, agreed with me at once; but the proprietor, whoprobably had never seen the Cheney before and did not know where theplants came from, thought it was a remarkable new variety, and as suchit might have been honestly sent out. Trial-beds at once detect theold kinds with new names, and thus may save the public from a vastdeal of imposition. 

Such beds would also be of very great service in suggesting thevarieties that can be grown with profit in certain localities. Whilethe behavior of different kinds differs greatly in varying soils andlatitudes, there is no such arbitrary mystery in the matter as manyimagine. I am satisfied that the sorts which did best in my trial-bedgive the best promise of success wherever the soil and climate aresimilar. In contrast, let a trial-bed be made on a light soil inDelaware or Virginia, and 100 varieties be planted. Many that arejustly favorites in our locality would there shrivel and burn, provingvalueless; but those that did thrive and produce well, exhibiting apower to endure a Southern sun, and to flourish in sand, should be thechoice for all that region. To the far South and North, and in theextremes of the East and West, trial-beds would give still varyingresults; but such results would apply to the soils and climate of theregion if proper culture were given. A horse can be mismanaged on aKentucky stock-farm, and there are those who would have ill luck withstrawberries in the Garden of Eden--they are so skilful and persist indoing the wrong thing. It would well remunerate large planters tomaintain trial-beds of all the small fruits, and their neighbors couldafford to pay well for the privilege of visiting them and learning thekinds adapted to their locality. 

I think it may be laid down as a general truth, that those kinds whichdo well on a light soil in one locality tend to do well on such soilsin all localities. The same principle applies to those requiring heavyland. There will be exceptions, and but few of those containingforeign blood will thrive in the far South. 

In the brief limits of this chapter I shall merely offer suggestionsand the results of some experience, premising that I give but oneman's opinion, and that all have a right to differ from me. At theclose of this volume may be found more accurate descriptions of thevarieties that I have thought worth naming. 

Among the innumerable candidates for favor, here and there one willestablish itself by persistent well-doing as a standard sort. We thenlearn that some of these strawberry princes, like the Jucunda, Triomphe de Gand, and President Wilder, flourish only in certain soilsand latitudes, while others, like the Charles Downing, Monarch of theWest, and Wilson, adapt themselves to almost every condition andlocality. Varieties of this class are superseded very slowly; but itwould seem, with the exception of Wilson's Albany, that the standardsof one generation have not been the favorites of the next. The demandof our age is for large fruit The demand has created a supply, and theold standard varieties have given way to a new class, of which theMonarch and Seth Boyden are types. The latest of these new mammothberries is the Sharpless, originated by Mr. J. K. Sharpless, ofCatawissa, Pa. ; which shows the progress made since horticulturistsbegan to develop the wild _F. Virginiana_ by crossing varietiesand by cultivation. 

The most accurate and extended list of varieties with which I amacquainted is to be found in Downing's "Encyclopedia of Fruits andFruit Trees of America. " It contains the names, with their synonymes, and the descriptions of over 250 kinds, and to this I refer thereader. 

The important question to most minds is not how many varieties exist, but what kinds will give the best returns. If one possesses the deep, rich, moist loam that has been described, almost any good variety willyield a fair return, and the best can be made to give surprisingresults. For table use and general cultivation, North and South, Eastand West, I would recommend the Charles Downing, Monarch of the West, Seth Boyden, Kentucky Seedling, Duchess, and Golden Defiance. Thesevarieties are all first-rate in quality, and they have shown awonderful adaptation to varied soils and climates. They have beenbefore the public a number of years, and have persistently provedtheir excellence. Therefore, they are worthy of a place in everygarden. With these valuable varieties for our chief supply, we can trya score of other desirable kinds, retaining such as prove to beadapted to our taste and soil. 

If our land is heavy, we can add to the above, in Northern latitudes, Triomphe de Gand, Jucunda, President Wilder, Forest Rose, PresidentLincoln, Sharpless, Pioneer, and Springdale. 

If the soil is light, containing a large proportion of sand andgravel, the Charles Downing, Kentucky Seedling, Monarch of the West, Duchess, Cumberland Triumph, Miner's Prolific, Golden Defiance, andSharpless will be almost certain to yield a fine supply of large anddelicious berries, both North and South. 

Let me here observe that varieties that do well on light soils alsothrive equally well and often better on heavy land. But the converseis not true. The Jucunda, for instance, can scarcely be made to existon light land. In the South, it should be the constant aim to findvarieties whose foliage can endure the hot sun. I think that theSharpless, which is now producing a great sensation as well as mammothberries, will do well in most Southern localities. It maintainedthroughout the entire summer the greenest and most vigorous foliage Iever saw. Miner's Prolific, Golden Defiance, Early Hudson, andCumberland Triumph also appear to me peculiarly adapted to Southerncultivation. 

As we go north, the difficulties of choice are not so great. Coolnessand moisture agree with the strawberry plant. There the question ofhardiness is to be first considered. In regions, however, where thesnow falls early and covers the ground all winter, the strawberry isnot so exposed as with us, for our gardens are often bare in zeroweather. Usually, it is not the temperature of the air that injures adormant strawberry plant, but alternations of freezing and thawing. The deep and unmelting snows often enable the horticulturist to raisesuccessfully in Canada tender fruits that would "winter-kill" muchfurther south. If abundant protection is therefore provided, either bynature or by art, the people of the North can take their choice fromamong the best. In the high latitudes, early kinds will be in request, since the season of growth is brief. The best early berries areDuchess, Bidwell, Pioneer, Early Hudson, Black Defiance, Duncan, Durand's Beauty, and, earliest of all, Crystal City. The last-namedripened first on my place in the summer of 1879, and although thefruit is of medium size, and rather soft, I fear, the plant is sovigorous and easily grown that I think it is worth general trial Northand South. I am informed that it promises to take the lead inMissouri. 

MARKET STRAWBERRIES

Thus far I have named those kinds whose fine flavor and beauty entitlethem to a place in the home garden. But with a large class, marketqualities are more worthy of consideration; and this phase of thequestion introduces us to some exceedingly popular varieties not yetmentioned. The four great requirements of a market strawberry areproductiveness, size, a good, bright color, and--that it may endurelong carriage and rough handling--firmness. Because of theindifference of the consumer, as explained in an earlier chapter, thatwhich should be the chief consideration--flavor--is scarcely takeninto account. In the present unenlightened condition of the public, one of the oldest strawberries on the list--Wilson's Seedling--is morelargely planted than all other kinds together. It is so enormouslyproductive, it succeeds so well throughout the entire country, and issuch an early berry, that, with the addition of its fine carryingqualities, it promises to be the great market berry for the nextgeneration also. But this variety is not at all adapted to thin, poorland, and is very impatient of drought. In such conditions, theberries dwindle rapidly in size, and even dry up on the vines. Whereabundant fertility and moisture can be maintained, the yield of afield of Wilsons is simply marvellous. On a dry hillside close by, thecrop from the same variety may not pay for picking. Plantations ofWilsons should be renewed every two years, since the plant speedilyexhausts itself, producing smaller berries with each successiveseason. The Wilson is perhaps the best berry for preserving, since itis hard and its acid is rich and not watery. 

A rival of the Wilson has appeared within the last few years--theCrescent Seedling, also an early berry, originated by Mr. Parmelee, ofNew Haven, Conn. At first, it received unbounded praise; now, it getstoo much censure. It is a very distinct and remarkable variety, and, like the Wilson, I think, will fill an important place in strawberryculture. Its average size does not much exceed that of the Wilson; itsflavor, when fully ripe, is about equal in the estimation of those whodo not like acid fruit. In productiveness, on many soils, it will farexceed any variety with which I am acquainted. It is just thiscapacity for growing on thin, poor soils--anywhere and under anycircumstances--that gives to it its chief value. In hardiness andvitality it is almost equal to the Canada thistle. The young plantsare small, and the foliage is slender and delicate; but they have thepower to live and multiply beyond that of any other variety I haveseen. It thrives under the suns of Georgia and Florida, and caresnaught for the cold of Canada; it practically extends the domain ofthe strawberry over the continent, and renders the laziest man in theland, who has no strawberries, without excuse. One of my beds yieldedat the rate of 346 bushels to the acre, and the bright, handsomescarlet of the berries caused them to sell for as much in the openmarket as varieties of far better flavor. It is too soft for longcarriage by rail. Those to whom flavor and large size are the chiefconsiderations will not plant it, but those who have a near and notvery fastidious market, that simply demands quantity and fineappearance, will grow it both largely and profitably. The stamens ofthe Crescent are so imperfectly developed that every tenth row in thefield should be Wilsons, or some other early and perfect-floweredvariety. 

In the Champion, we have a late market berry that is steadily growingin favor. On rich, moist land it is almost as productive as theCrescent. The fruit averages much larger than the Wilson, while itsrich crimson color makes it very attractive in the baskets. Theberries, like the two kinds already named, turn red before they areripe, and in this immature condition their flavor is very poor, butwhen fully ripe they are excellent. The transformation is almost asgreat as in a persimmon. Under generous culture, the Champion yieldssuperb berries, that bring the best prices. It also does better thanmost kinds under neglect and drought. It is too soft for longcarriage, and its blossoms are pistillate. 

Within a few years, a new variety named Windsor Chief has beendisseminated, and the enormous yield of 17, 000 quarts per acre hasbeen claimed for it. It is said to be a seedling of the Championfertilized with the Charles Downing variety. If there has been nomistake in this history of its origin, it is a remarkable instance ofthe reproduction of the traits of one parent only, for in no respecthave I been able thus far to see wherein it differs from the Champion. 

The Captain Jack is another late variety, which is enormouslyproductive of medium-sized berries. It is a great favorite in Missouriand some other regions. The berries carry well to market, but theirflavor is second-rate. 

The good size, firmness, and lateness of the Glendale--a varietyrecently introduced--will probably secure for it a future as a marketberry. 

In the South, Neunan's Prolific, or the "Charleston Berry, " as it isusually called, is already the chief variety for shipping. It is anaromatic berry, and very attractive as it appears in our markets inMarch and April, but it is even harder and sourer than an unripeWilson. When fully matured on the vine it is grateful to those wholike an acid berry. Scarcely any other kind is planted aroundCharleston and Savannah. 

These six varieties, or others like them, will supply the first greatneed of all large markets--quantity. With the exception of the last, which is not productive in the North, and requires good treatment evenin the South, they yield largely under rough field culture. The fruitcan be sold very cheaply and yet give a fair profit. Only a limitednumber of fancy berries can be sold at fancy prices, but thousands ofbushels can be disposed of at eight and ten cents per quart. 

Still, I would advise any one who is supplying the market, thoroughlyto prepare and enrich an acre or more of moist but well drained land, and plant some of the large, showy berries, like the Sharpless, Monarch, and Seth Boyden. If he has heavy, rich soil, let him also trythe Jucunda, President Lincoln, and, especially, the Triomphe de Gand. These varieties always have a ready sale, even when the market isglutted with common fruit, and they often command very high prices. When the soil suits them, they frequently yield crops that are not sofar below the Wilson in quantity. Fifty bushels of large, handsomeberries may bring as much, or more, than one hundred bushels of smallfruit, while the labor and expense of shipping and picking are reducedone-half. 

I suppose that Mr. E. W. Durand, of Irvington, N. J. , obtains moremoney from one acre of his highly cultivated strawberries than do manygrowers from ten acres. Mr. H. Jerolaman, of Hilton, N. J. , has givenme some accurate statistics that well illustrate my meaning. "Myyield, " he writes, in 1877, "from one acre, planted chiefly with theSeth Boyden, was 327 bushels 15 1/2 quarts, which were sold for$1, 386. 21. A strict account was kept. Since that time I have beenexperimenting with Mr. Durand's large berries, and have not done sowell. In 1878, I obtained $1, 181 from one acre, one-half planted withthe Seth Boyden and the other with the Great American. The year of1879 was my poorest. Nearly all my plants were Great American andBeauty, and the yield was 121 bushels, selling for $728. The averagecost per acre, for growing, picking, marketing, and manure, is $350. Iam not satisfied but that I shall have to return to the old SethBoyden in order to keep taking the first State premiums, as I havedone for the past three years. "

This record of experience shows what can be done with the choicevarieties if an appreciative market is within reach, and one will givethe high culture they demand. Last summer a neighbor of mine obtainedeighteen cents per quart for his Monarch strawberries, when Wilsonsbrought but ten cents. At the same time, these superb rarities oftendo not pay at all under poor field culture and in matted rows. We mayalso note, in passing, how slowly fine old standard kinds, like theBoyden, are superseded by new varieties. 

I should not be at all surprised if the Charles Downing became one ofthe most popular market strawberries of the future. It is alreadytaking the lead in many localities It is moderately firm--sufficientlyso, with a little extra care, to reach most markets in good condition. It is more easily raised than the Wilson, and on thin, dry land ismore productive. A bed will last, if kept clean, four or five yearsinstead of two, and yield better the fifth year than the first. Although the fruit is but of medium size, it is so fine in flavor thatit has only to be known to create a steady demand. The KentuckySeedling is another berry of the same class, and has the same generalcharacteristics--with this exception, that it is a very late berry, In flavor, it is melting and delicious. It does well on almost anysoil, even a light and sandy one, and is usually very productive. 

The best white strawberry I have ever seen is Lennig's White. Whenexposed to the sun, it has a decided pink flush on one side. It isbeautiful and delicious, and so aromatic that a single berry willperfume a large apartment. The fruit is exceedingly delicate, but theplant is a shy bearer. 

In the White and Bed Alpines, especially the ever-bearing varieties, and in the Hautbois class, we have very distinct strawberries that arewell worthy of a place in the garden. From a commercial point of view, they have no value. This may settle the question with some, but not afew of us like to plant many things that are never to go to market. 

In conclusion, if I were asked what is the most beautiful anddelicious strawberry in existence, I should name the President Wilder. Perfect in flavor, form and beauty, it seems to unite in one exquisitecompound the best qualities of the two great strawberry species of theworld, the _F. Virginiana_ and the _F. Chilensis_. The only fault thatI have ever discovered is that, in many localities, it is notproductive. No more do diamonds lie around like cobblestones. Itis, however, fairly productive under good culture and on most soils, and yet it is possible that not one in a hundred of the habitues ofDelmonico's has ever tasted it. 

CHAPTER XIV

SETTING OUT PLANTS

We may secure good plants of the best varieties, but if we do not setthem out properly the chances are against our success, unless theweather is very favorable. So much depends on a right start in life, even in a strawberry bed. There are no abstruse difficulties inproperly imbedding a plant. One would think that if a workman gavefive minutes' thought and observation to the subject, he would knowexactly how to do it. If one used his head as well as his hands, itwould be perfectly obvious that a plant held (as in Figure _e_) withits roots spread out so that the fresh, moist earth could come incontact with each fibre, would stand a far better chance than one setout by any of the other methods illustrated. And yet, in spite of allI can do or say, I have never been able to prevent very many of myplants from being set (as in Figure _a_) too deeply, so that the crownand tender leaves were covered and smothered with earth; or (as inFigure _b_) not deeply enough, thus leaving the roots exposed. Manyothers bury the roots in a long, tangled bunch, as in Figure _c_. Ifone would observe how a plant starts on its new career, he would seethat the roots we put in the ground are little more than a base ofoperations. All along their length, and at their ends, little whiterootlets start, if the conditions are favorable, almost immediately. If the roots are huddled together, so that only a few outside ones arein contact with the life-giving soil, the conditions are of coursemost unfavorable. Again, many planters are guilty of the follyillustrated in Figure _d_. They hastily scoop out a shallow hole, inwhich the roots, which should be down in the cool depths of the soil, curve like a half-circle toward or to the very surface. 

In the most favorable weather of early spring a plant is almostcertain to grow, no matter how greatly abused; but even then it doesfar better if treated properly, while at other seasons nature cannotbe stupidly ignored. It is almost as easy to set out a plant correctlyas otherwise. 

[Illustration: WRONG METHODS OP PLANTING]

Let the excavation be made deep enough to put the roots, spread outlike a fan, down their whole length into the soil. Hold the plant withthe left hand, as in Figure _e_. First, half fill the hole with finerich earth with the right hand, and press it firmly against theroots; next, fill it evenly, and then, with the thumb and finger ofboth hands, put your whole weight on the soil on each side of theplant--as close to it as possible--and press until the crown or pointfrom which the leaves start is just even with the surface. 

If you can pull the plant up again by its leaves, it is not firmenough in the ground. If a man uses brain and eye, he can learn towork very rapidly. By one dexterous movement he scoops the excavationwith a trowel. By a second movement, he makes the earth firm againstthe lower half of the roots. By a third movement, he fills theexcavation and settles the plant into its final position. One workmanwill often plant twice as many as another, and not work any harder. Negro women at Norfolk, Virginia, paid at fifty cents per day, willoften set two or three thousand. Many Northern laborers, who ask morethan twice that sum, will not set half as many plants. I have beentold of one man, however, who could set 1, 000 per hour. I shouldexamine his work carefully, however, in the fear that it was not welldone. 

[Illustration: THE PROPER METHOD]

If the ground is so flat that water lies upon it in wet seasons, thenthrow it up into beds with a plow, thus giving the plants a broad, level surface on which to grow; for I think the best success willgenerally be obtained with level culture, or as near an approach to itas possible. 

Always make it a point to plant in moist, freshly stirred earth. Neverlet the roots come in contact with dry, lumpy soil. Never plant whenthe ground is wet and sticky, unless it be at the beginning of arainstorm which bids fair to continue for some time. If sun or windstrikes land which has been recently stirred while it is too wet, thehardness of mortar results. 

In spring it is best to shorten in the roots one-third. This promotesa rapid growth of new rootlets, and therefore of the plants. In thesummer and fall the young plants are not so well furnished with roots, and usually it is best to leave them uncut. 

[Illustration: ROOT PRUNING]

It often happens that during long transportation the roots becomesour, black, and even a little mouldy. In this case, wash them inclean water from which the chill has been taken. Trim carefully, taking off the blackened, shrivelled ends. Sprinkle a couple oftablespoonfuls of fine bone meal immediately about the plant aftersetting, and then water it. If the weather is warm, soak the groundand keep it moist until there is rain. Never let a plant falter or goback from lack of moisture. 

How often should one water? Often enough to keep the ground _moistall the time_, night and day. There is nothing mechanical in takingcare of a young plant any more than in the care of a baby. Simply giveit what it needs until it is able to take care of itself. The plantmay require a little watching and attention for a few days in warmweather. If an opportune storm comes, the question of growth issettled favorably at once; but if a "dry spell" ensues, be vigilant. At nine o'clock A. M. , even well-watered plants may begin to wilt, showing that they require shade, which may be supplied by invertedflower-pots, old berry-baskets, shingles or boards. A handful ofweeds, grass, or even of dry earth, thrown on the crown of the plantin the morning, and removed by five P. M. , is preferable to nothing. Anything is better than stolidly sticking a plant in the ground andleaving it alone just long enough to die. Many, on the other hand, kill their plants with kindness. They dose the young things withguano, unfermented manure, and burn them up. Coolness, moisture, andshade are the conditions for a new start in life. 

As has been explained already, pot-grown plants, with a ball of earthclinging to their roots, can be set out during the hot months withgreat ease, and with little danger of loss. At the same time, let medistinctly say that such plants require fair treatment. The groundshould be "firmed" around them just as strongly, and they should be sowell watched as to guard against the slightest wilting from heat anddrought. 

In ordinary field culture, let the rows be three feet apart, and letthe plants stand one foot from each other in a row. At this distance, 14, 520 are required for an acre. When land is scarce, the rows can betwo and a half feet from each other. In garden culture, where the plowand cultivator will not be used, there should be two feet between therows, and the plants should be one foot apart as before. With thisrule in mind, any one can readily tell how many plants he will needfor a given area. 

CHAPTER XV

CULTIVATION

The field for experiment in cultivation with different fertilizers, soils, climates, and varieties is indeed a wide one, and yet forpractical purposes the question is simple enough. 

There are three well-known systems of cultivation, each of which hasits advantages and disadvantages. The first is termed the "matted bedsystem. " Under this plan the ground between the rows is cultivated andkept clean during the spring and early summer. As soon, however, asthe new runners begin to push out vigorously, cultivation ceases, orelse, with the more thorough, the cultivator is narrowed down till itstirs scarcely more than a foot of surface, care being taken to go upone row and down another, so as always to draw the runners one way. This prevents them from being tangled up and broken off. By winter, the entire ground is covered with plants, which are protected as willbe explained further on. In the spring the coarsest of the covering israked off, and between the rows is dug a space about a foot oreighteen inches wide, which serves as a path for the pickers. Thispath is often cheaply and quickly made by throwing two light furrowstogether with a corn plow. Under this system, the first crop isusually the best, and in strong lands adapted to grasses the bedsoften become so foul that it does not pay to leave them to bear asecond year. If so, they are plowed under as soon as the fruit hasbeen gathered. More often two crops are taken, and then the land isput in some other crop for a year or two before being planted withstrawberries again. This rude, inexpensive system is perhaps morefollowed than any other. It is best adapted to light soils and cheaplands. Where an abundance of cool fertilizers has been used, or theground has been generously prepared with green crops, plowed under, the yield is often large and profitable. But as often it is quite thereverse, especially if the season proves dry and hot. Usually, plantssodded together cannot mature fine fruit, especially after they haveexhausted half their vitality in running. In clayey loams, the surfacein the matted rows becomes as hard as a brick. Light showers makelittle impression on it, and the fruit often dries upon the vines. Remembering that the strawberry's chief need is moisture, it will beseen that it can scarcely be maintained in a hard-matted sod. Underthis system the fruit is small at best, and it all matures together. If adopted in the garden, the family has but a few days of berriesinstead of a few weeks. The marketman may find his whole crop ripeningat a time of over-supply, and his small berries may scarcely pay forpicking. To many of this class the cheapness of the system will socommend itself that they will continue to practice it until someenterprising neighbor teaches them better, by his larger cash returns. In the garden, however, it is the most expensive method. When theplants are sodded together, the hoe and fork cannot be used. The wholespace must be weeded by hand, and there are some pests whose rootsinterlace horizontally above and below the ground, and which cannot beeradicated from the matted rows. Too often, therefore, even in theneatest garden, the strawberry bed is the place where vegetable eviltriumphs. 

There are modifications of this system that are seen to betteradvantage on paper than in the field or garden. The one most oftendescribed in print--I have never seen it working successfully--may betermed the "renewal system. " Instead of plowing the matted beds under, after the first or second crop, the paths between the beds areenriched and spaded or plowed. The old plants are allowed to fillthese former paths with new plants; which process being completed, theold matted beds are turned under, and the new plants that have takenthe places of the paths bear the fruit of the coming year. But supposethe old beds have within them sorrel, white clover, wire-grass, and adozen other perennial enemies, what practical man does not know thatthese pests will fill the vacant spaces faster than can the strawberryplants? There is no chance for cultivation by hoe or horse power. Onlyfrequent and laborious weedings by hand can prevent the evil, and thisbut partially, for, as has been said, the roots of many weeds are outof reach unless there is room for the fork, hoe, or cultivator to gobeneath them. 

In direct contrast with the above is the "hill system. " This, inbrief, may be suggested by saying that the strawberry plants are setout three feet--more or less--apart, and treated like hills of corn, with the exception that the ground is kept level, or should be. Theyare often so arranged that the cultivator can pass between them eachway, thus obviating nearly all necessity for hand work. When carriedout to such an extent, I consider this plan more objectionable thanthe former, especially at the North. In the first place, when theplants are so distant from each other, much of the ground is leftunoccupied and unproductive. In the second place, the fruit grower isat the mercy of the strawberry's worst enemy, the _Lachnosterna_, or white grub. Few fields in our region are wholly free from them anda few of the voracious pests would leave the ground bare, for theydevour the roots all summer long. In the third place, where so much ofthe ground is unoccupied, the labor of mulching, so that the soil canbe kept moist and the fruit clean, is very great. 

In small garden-plots, when the plants can be set only two feet aparteach way, the results of this system are often most admirable. Theentire spaces between them can be kept mellow and loose, and thereforemoist. There is room to dig out and eradicate the roots of the worstweeds. By frequently raking the ground over, the annual weeds do notget a chance to start. In the rich soil the plants make great, bushycrowns that nearly touch each other, and as they begin to blossom, thewhole space between them can be mulched with straw, grass, etc. Therunners can easily be cut away when the plants are thus isolated. Where there are not many white grubs in the soil, the hill system iswell adapted to meet garden culture, and the result, in a prolongedseason of large, beautiful fruit, will be most satisfactory. Moreover, the berries, being exposed on all sides to the sun, will be of thebest flavor. 

In the South, the hill system is the only one that can be adopted toadvantage. There the plants are set in the summer and autumn, and thecrop is taken from them the following spring. Therefore each plantmust be kept from running, and be stimulated to do its best within agiven space of time. In the South, however, the plants are set but onefoot apart in the rows, and thus little space is lost. 

I am satisfied that the method best adapted to our Eastern andWestern conditions is what is termed the "narrow row system, "believing that it will give the greatest amount of fine fruit with theleast degree of trouble and expense. The plants are set one foot fromeach other in line, and not allowed to make runners. In good soil, they will touch each other after one year's growth, and make acontinuous bushy row. The spaces between the rows may be two and ahalf to three feet. Through these spaces the cultivator can be run asoften as you please, and the ground can be thus kept clean, mellow, and moist. The soil can be worked--not deeply, of course--within aninch or two of the plants, and thus but little space is left for hand-weeding. I have found this latter task best accomplished by a simpletool made of a fork-tine, with a section of the top left attachedthus: T. Old broken forks can thus be utilized. This tool can bethrust deeply between the plants without disturbing many roots, andthe most stubborn weed can be pried out. Under this system, the groundis occupied to the fullest extent that is profitable. The berries areexposed to light and air on either side, and mulch can be applied withthe least degree of trouble. The feeding-ground for the roots can bekept mellow by horse-power; if irrigation is adopted, the spacesbetween the rows form the natural channels for the water. Chief ofall, it is the most successful way of fighting the white grub. Theseenemies are not found scattered evenly through the soil, but abound inpatches. Here they can be dug out if not too numerous, and the plantsallowed to run and fill up the gaps. To all intents and purposes, thenarrow row system is hill culture with the evils of the lattersubtracted. Even where it is not carried out accurately, and manyplants take root in the rows, most of them will become large, strong, and productive under the hasty culture which destroys the greaternumber of the side-runners. 

[Illustration: NARROW ROW AND HILL SYSTEMS]

Where this system is fairly tried, the improvement in the quality, size, and, therefore, measuring bulk of the crop, is astonishing. Thisis especially true of some varieties, like the Duchess, which, even ina matted bed, tends to stool out into great bushy plants. DoctorThurber, editor of the "American Agriculturist, " unhesitatinglypronounced it the most productive and best early variety in myspecimen-bed, containing fifty different kinds. If given a chance todevelop its stooling-out qualities, it is able to compete even withthe Crescent and Wilson in productiveness. At the same time its fruitbecomes large, and as regular in shape as if turned with a lathe. Manywho have never tried this system would be surprised to find what achange for the better it makes in the old popular kinds, like theCharles Downing, Kentucky, and Wilson. The Golden Defiance also, whichis so vigorous in the matted beds that weeds stand but little chancebefore it, almost doubles in size and productiveness if restricted toa narrow row. 

The following remarks will have reference to this system, as Iconsider it the best. We will start with plants that have just beenset out. If fruit is our aim, we should remember that the first andstrongest impulse of each plant will be to propagate itself; but tothe degree that it does so it lessens its own vitality and power toproduce berries the following season. Therefore every runner that aplant makes means so much less and so much smaller fruit from thatplant. Remove the runners as they appear, and the life of the plantgoes to make vigorous foliage and a correspondingly large fruit bud. The sap is stored up as a miller collects and keeps for future use, the water of a stream. Moreover, a plant thus curbed abounds invitality and does not throw down its burden of prematurely ripe fruitafter a few hot days. It works evenly and continuously, as strengthonly can, and leisurely perfects the last berry on the vines. You willoften find blossoms and ripe fruit on the same plant--something rarelyseen where the plants are crowded and the soil dry. I have had rows ofTromphe de Gand in bearing for seven weeks. 

With these facts before us, the culture of strawberries is simpleenough. A few days after planting, as soon as it is evident that theywill live, stir the surface just about them _not more than half aninch deep_. Insist on this; for most workmen will half hoe them outof the ground. A fine-tooth rake is one of the best tools for stirringthe surface merely. After the plants become well rooted, keep theground mellow and clean as you would between any other hoed crop, using horse-power as far as possible, since it is the cheapest andmost effective. If the plants have been set out in spring, take oftthe fruit buds as soon as they appear. Unless the plants are verystrong and are set out very early, fruiting the same year meansfeebleness and often death. If berries are wanted within a year, theplants must be set in summer or autumn. Then they can be permitted tobear all they will the following season. A child with a pair of shearsor a knife, not too dull, can easily keep a large garden-plot freefrom runners, unless there are long periods of neglect. Half an hour'swork once a week, in the cool of the evening, will be sufficient. Aboy paid at the rate of twenty-five cents a day can keep acres clippedif he tries. 

If the ground were poor, or one were desirous of large fruit, it wouldbe well to give a liberal autumn top-dressing of fine compost or anywell-rotted fertilizer not containing crude lime. Bone-dust and wood-ashes are excellent. Scatter this along the rows, and hoe it in thelast time they are cultivated in the fall. With the exception of guanoand other quick-acting stimulants, I believe in fall top-dressing. Themelting snows and March rains carry the fertilizing properties down tothe roots, which begin growing and feeding very early in the spring. If compost or barnyard manure is used, it aids in protecting theplants during the winter, warms and mellows the soil, and starts theminto a prompt, vigorous growth, thus enabling them to store upsufficient vitality in the cool growing season to produce large fruitin abundance. If top-dressings are applied in the spring, and a dryperiod follows, they scarcely reach the roots in time to aid informing the fruit buds. The crop of the following year, however, willbe increased. Of course, it is far better to top-dress the rows inspring than not at all. I only wish to suggest that usually the bestresults are obtained by doing this work in the fall; and this would betrue especially of heavy soils. 

When the ground begins to freeze, protect the plants for the winter bycovering the rows lightly with straw, leaves, or--better than all--with light, strawy horse-manure, that has been piled up to heat andturned over once or twice, so that in its violent fermentation allgrass seeds have been killed. Do not cover so heavily as to smotherthe plants, nor so lightly that the wind and rains will dissipate themulch. Your aim is not to keep the plants from freezing, but fromfreezing and thawing with every alternation of our variable wintersand springs. On ordinarily dry land two or three inches of lightmaterial is sufficient. Moreover, the thawing out of the fruit beds orcrown, under the direct rays of the sun, injures them, I think. Mostof the damage is done in February and March. The good gardener watcheshis plants, adds to the covering where it has been washed away or isinsufficient, and drains off puddles, which are soon fatal to all theplants beneath them. Wet ground, moreover, heaves ten times as badlyas that which is dry. If one neglects to do these things, he may findhalf of the plants thrown out of the ground, after a day or two ofalternate freezing and thawing. Good drainage alone, with three orfour inches of covering of light material, can prevent this, althoughsome varieties, like the Golden Defiance, seem to resist the heavingaction of frost remarkably. Never cover with hot, heavy manure, nortoo deeply with leaves, as the rains beat these down too flatly. Letthe winter mulch not only coyer the row, but reach a foot on eitherside. 

Just before very cold weather begins--from the middle of November toDecember 1st, in our latitude--we may, if we choose, cover our beds sodeeply with leaves, or litter of some kind, as to keep out the frostcompletely. We thus may be able to dig plants on mild winter days andearly spring, in case we have orders from the far South. This heavycovering should be lightened sufficiently early in the spring toprevent smothering. Plants well protected have a fine green appearanceearly in spring, and, even if no better, will give much bettersatisfaction than those whose leaves are sere and black from frost. 

As the weather begins to grow warm in March, push aside the covering alittle from the crown of the plants, so as to let in air. If earlyfruit is desired, the mulch can be raked aside and the ground workedbetween the rows, as soon as danger of severe frost is over. If latefruit is wanted, let in air to the crown of the plants, but leave themulch on the ground, which is thus shielded from the sun, warmshowers, and the south wind, for two or three weeks. 

I have now reached a point at which I differ from most horticulturalwriters. As a rule, it is advised that there be no spring cultivationof bearing plants. It has been said that merely pushing the wintermulch aside sufficiently to let the new growth come through is allthat is needed. I admit that the results are often satisfactory underthis method, especially if there has been deep, thorough culture inthe fall, and if the mulch between and around the plants is veryabundant. At the same time, I have so often seen unsatisfactoryresults that I take a decided stand in favor of spring cultivation ifdone properly and _sufficiently early_. I think my reasons willcommend themselves to practical men. Even where the soil has been leftmellow by fall cultivation, the beating rains and the weight ofmelting snows pack the earth. All loamy land settles and tends to growhard after the frost leaves it. While the mulch checks this tendency, it cannot wholly prevent it. As a matter of fact, the spaces betweenthe rows are seldom thoroughly loosened late in the fall. The mulchtoo often is scattered over a comparatively hard surface, which, bythe following June has become so solid as to suffer disastrously fromdrought in the blossoming and bearing season. I have seen well-mulchedfields with their plants faltering and wilting, unable to mature thecrop because the ground had become so hard that an ordinary showercould make but little impression. Moreover, even if kept moist by themulch, land long shielded from sun and air tends to become sour, heavy, and devoid of that life which gives vitality and vigor to theplant. The winter mulch need not be laboriously raked from the garden-bed or field, and then carted back again. Begin on one side of aplantation and rake toward the other, until three or four rows and thespaces between them are bare; then fork the spaces, or run thecultivator--often the subsoil plow--deeply through them, and thenimmediately, before the moist, newly made surface dries, rake thewinter mulch back into its place as a summer mulch. Then take anotherstrip and treat it in like manner, until the generous impulse ofspring air and sunshine has been given to the soil of the entireplantation. 

This spring cultivation should be done early--as soon as possibleafter the ground is dry enough to work. The roots of a plant or treeshould never be seriously disturbed in the blossoming or bearingperiod; and yet I would rather stir the _surface_, even when my bedswere in full bloom, than leave it hard, baked, and dry; for, heedthis truth well--unless a plant, from the time it blossoms until thefruit matures, has an abundance of moisture, it will fail in almostthe exact proportion that moisture fails. A liberal summer mulch underand around the plants not only keeps the fruit clean, but renders awatering much more lasting, by shielding the soil from the sun. Neversprinkle the plants a little in dry weather. If you water at all, _soak_ the ground and _keep it moist all the time_ till the cropmatures. Insufficient watering will injure and perhaps destroy thebest of beds. But this subject and that of irrigation will be treatedin a later chapter. 

When prize berries are sought, enormous fruit can be obtained by theuse of liquid manure, but it should be applied with skill andjudgment, or else its very strength may dwarf the plants. In thiscase, also, all the little green berries, save the three or fourlowest ones, may be picked from the fruit truss, and the force of theplant will be expended in maturing a few mammoth specimens. Never seekto stimulate with plaster or lime, directly. Other plants' meat is thestrawberry's poison in respect to the immediate action of these twoagents. Horse manure composted with muck, vegetable mould, wood-ashes, bone meal, and, best of all, the product of the cow-stable, ifthoroughly decayed and incorporated with the soil, will probably givethe largest strawberries that can be grown, if steady moisture, butnot wetness, is maintained. 

Many advise the mowing off of the old foliage after the fruit has beengathered. I doubt the wisdom of this practice. The crowns of theplants and the surface of the bed are laid open to the midsummer sun. The foliage is needed to sustain or develop the roots. In the case ofa few petted and valuable plants, it might be well to take off some ofthe old dying leaves, but it seems reasonable to think that thewholesale destruction of healthful foliage must be a severe blow tothe vitality of the plants. Still, the beds should not be left toweeds and drought. Neglect would be ungracious, indeed, just afterreceiving such delicious gifts. I would advise that the coarsest ofthe mulch be raked off and stored for winter covering, and then theremainder forked very lightly or cultivated into the soil, as afertilizer immediately after a soaking rain, but not when the groundis dry. Do not disturb the roots of a plant during a dry period. Manyadvise a liberal manuring after the fruit is gathered. This is theEnglish method, and is all right in their humid climate, but dangerousin our land of hot suns and long droughts. Dark-colored fertilizersabsorb and intensify the heat. A sprinkling of bone dust can be usedto advantage as a summer stimulant, and stronger manures, containing alarger per cent of nitrogen, can be applied just before the late fallrains. A plant just after bearing needs rest. 

After fruiting, the foliage of some of our best kinds turns red andseemingly burns and shrivels away. This is not necessarily a disease, but merely the decay of old leaves which have fulfilled their mission. From the crown a new and vigorous growth will eventually take theirplace. When one is engaged in the nursery business, the young plantsform a crop far more valuable than the fruit. Therefore, every effortis made to increase the number of runners rather than to destroy them. Stimulating manures, which promote a growth of vines rather than offruit, are the most useful. The process of rooting is often greatlyhastened by layering; that is, by pressing the incipient plant formingon the runner into the soil, and by laying on it a pebble or lump ofearth to keep it in its place. When a bed is closely covered withyoung plants that have not taken root, a top-dressing of fine compostwill greatly hasten their development. Moisture is even more essentialto the nurseryman than to the fruit grower, and he needs it especiallyduring the hot months of July, August, and September, for it is thenthat the new crop of plants is growing. Therefore, his need of dampbut well-drained ground; and if the means of irrigation are within hisreach, he may accomplish wonders, and can take two or three crops ofplants from the same area in one season. 

While the growing of strawberry plants may be very profitable, it mustbe expensive, since large areas must be laboriously weeded by handseveral times in the season. Instead of keeping the spaces between therows clear, for the use of horse-power, it is our aim to have themcovered as soon as possible with runners and young plants. The GoldenDefiance, Crescent Seedling and a few others will keep pace with mostweeds, and even master them; but nearly all varieties require muchhelp in the unequal fight, or our beds become melancholy examples ofthe survival of the unfittest. 

CHAPTER XVI

A SOUTHERN STRAWBERRY FARM, AND METHODS OF CULTURE IN THE SOUTH

Having treated of the planting of strawberries, their cultivation, andkindred topics, in that great northern belt, of which a line drawnthrough New York city may be regarded as the centre, I shall nowsuggest characteristics in the culture of this fruit in southernlatitudes. We need not refer to the oldest inhabitant, since themiddle-aged remember when even the large cities of the North weresupplied from the fields in the suburbs, and the strawberry season intown was identical with that of the surrounding country. But amarvellous change has taken place, and berries from southern climesappear in our markets soon after midwinter. This early supply isbecoming one of the chief industries of the South Atlantic coast, andevery year increases its magnitude. At one time, southern New Jerseyfurnished the first berries, but Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia soonbegan to compete. Norfolk early took the lead in this trade, and evenbefore the war was building up a fine business. That event cut off ourSouthern supply, and for a few years June and strawberries again cametogether. But after the welcome peace, many Southern fields grew redonce more, but not with blood, and thronged, but chiefly by women andchildren. Soil, climate, and superb water communications speedilyrestored to Norfolk the vantage which she will probably maintain; butfleet steamers are giving more southern ports a chance. Charleston, South Carolina, is second only in importance. In the spring of '79, every week four steamers were loaded for New York, and strawberriesformed no insignificant proportion of the freight. Indeed, the supplyfrom Charleston was so large that the price in April scarcely repaidthe cost of some shipments. The proprietor of a commission house, largely engaged in the Southern fruit trade, told me he thought thatabout one third as many strawberries came from Charleston as fromNorfolk. From careful inquiries made on the ground, I am led tobelieve--if it has not already attained this position--that Norfolk israpidly becoming the largest strawberry centre in the world, thoughCharleston is unquestionably destined to become its chief rival in theSouth. The latter city, however, has not been able to monopolize thefar Southern trade, and never have I seen a finer field ofstrawberries than was shown me in the suburbs of Savannah. Itconsisted of a square of four acres, set with Neunan's Prolific, thecelebrated Charleston berry. 

And now Florida, with its unrivalled oranges, is beginning to furnishtons of strawberries, that begin ripening in our midwinter; and, withits quick, sandy soil and sunny skies, threatens to render the growingof this fruit under glass unprofitable. I saw last winter, atMandarin, quite an extensive strawberry farm, under the care ofMessrs. Bowen Brothers, and was shown their skilful appliances forshipping the fruit. At Jacksonville, also, Captain William James issucceeding finely in the culture of some of our Northern varieties, the Seth Boyden taking the lead. 

I think I can better present the characteristics of strawberry culturein the South by aiming to give a graphic picture of the scenes andlife on a single farm than is possible by general statements of what Ihave witnessed here and there. I have therefore selected fordescription a plantation at Norfolk, since this city is the centre ofthe largest trade, and nearly midway in the Atlantic strawberry belt, I am also led to make this choice because here is to be found, Ibelieve, the largest strawberry farm in the world, and its variedlabors illustrate most of the Southern aspects of the question. 

The reader may imagine himself joining our little party on a lovelyafternoon about the middle of May. We took one of the fine, stanchsteamers of the Old Dominion line at three P. M. , and soon wereenjoying, with a pleasure that never palls, the sail from the city tothe sea. Our artistic leader, whose eye and taste were to illumine andcast a glamour over my otherwise matter-of-fact text, was all aglowwith the varied beauties of the scene, and he faced the prospectbeyond the "Hook" with no more misgivings than if it were a "paintedocean. " But there are occasions when the most heroic courage is of noavail. 

Only in the peace and beauty that crowned the closing hours of the dayas we steamed past Fortress Monroe and up the Elizabeth river, did theprosaic fade out of the hours just past, and now before us was the"sunny South" and strawberries and cream. 

In the night there was a steady downfall of rain, but sunshine camewith the morning, and we found that the spring we had left at theNorth was summer here, and saw that the season was moving forward withquickened and elastic tread. Before the day grew warm we started fromour hotel at Norfolk for the strawberry plantation, rattling andbouncing past comfortable and substantial homes, over a pavement thatsurpassed even the ups and downs of fortune. Here and there, surrounded by a high brick wall, would be seen a fine old mansion, embowered in a wealth of shrubbery and foliage that gave, even in themidst of the city, a suburban seclusion. The honeysuckle and roses areat home in Norfolk, and their exquisite perfume floated to us acrossthe high garden fences. Thank Heaven! some of the best things in theworld cannot be walled in. St. Paul's Church and quaint old burying-ground, shadowed by trees, festooned with vines, and gemmed withflowers, seemed so beautiful, as we passed, that we thought itsinfluence on the secular material life of the people must be almost asgood through the busy week as on the Sabbath. 

The houses soon grew scattering, and the wide, level, open countrystretched away before us, its monotony broken here and there by grovesof pine. The shell road ceased and our wheels now passed through manydeep puddles, which in Virginia seem sacred, since they are preservedyear after year in exactly the same places. A more varied class ofvehicles than we met from time to time would scarcely be seen on anyother road in the country. There were stylish city carriages andbuggies, grocer and express wagons, great lumbering market trucksladen with barrels of early cabbages, spring wagons, drawn by mules, piled up with crates from many a strawberry field in the interior, andso, on the descending scale, till we reach the two-wheeled, primitivecarts drawn by cows--all converging toward some Northern steamer, whose capacious maw was ready to receive the produce of the country. We had not proceeded very far before we saw in the distance a prettycottage, sheltered by a group of tall, primeval pines, and on theright of it a large barn-like building, with a dwelling, office, smithy, sheds, etc. , grouped about it. A previous visit enabled me topoint out the cottage as the home of the proprietor, and to explainthat the seeming barn was a strawberry crate manufactory. As was thecase on large plantations in the olden time, almost everythingrequired in the business is made on the place, and nearly everymechanical trade has a representative in Mr. Young's employ. 

As we drove up under the pines, the proprietor of the farm welcomed uswith a cordial hospitality, which he may have acquired in part fromhis residence in the South. On the porch stood a slender lady, whosegirlish grace and delicate beauty at once captivated the artists ofour party. 

There was the farm we had come to see, stretching away before us inhundreds of green, level acres. As we drove to a distant field inwhich the pickers were then engaged, we could see the ripening berrieswith one side blushing toward the sun. Passing a screen of pines, wecame out into a field containing thirteen acres of Wilsonstrawberries, and then more fully began to realize the magnitude ofthe business. Scattered over the wide area, in what seemedinextricable confusion to our uninitiated eyes, were hundreds of men, women, and children of all ages and shades of color, and from thefield at large came a softened din of voices, above the monotony ofwhich arose here and there snatches of song, laughter mellowed bydistance, and occasionally the loud, sharp orders of the overseers, who stalked hither and thither, wherever their "little briefauthority" was most in requisition. 

We soon noted that the confusion was more apparent than real, and thateach picker was given a row over which he--or, more often, she--bentwith busy fingers until it was finished. At central points crates werepiled up, and men known as "buyers" received the round quart basketsfrom the trays of the pickers, while wide platform carts, drawn bymules, were bringing empty crates and carrying away those that hadbeen filled. 

Along the road that skirted the field, and against a pretty backgroundof half-grown pines, motley forms and groups were moving to and fro, some seeking the "buyers" with full trays, others returning to theirstations in the field with a new supply of empty baskets. Some of thepickers were drifting away to other fields, a few seeking work late inthe day; more, bargaining with the itinerant venders of pies, made tolast all summer if not sold, gingerbread, "pones, " and othernondescript edibles, at which an ostrich would hesitate in well-grounded fear of indigestion, but for which sable and semi-sablepickers exchange their berry tickets and pennies as eagerly as we buyVienna rolls. Two or three barouches and buggies that had broughtvisitors were mingled with the mule-carts; and grouped together for amoment might be seen elegantly attired ladies from New York, slendermulatto girls, clad in a single tattered, gown which scantily coveredtheir bare ankles and feet, and stout, shiny negro women, their waiststied with a string to prevent their flowing drapery from impedingtheir work. Flitting to and fro were numberless colored children, bare-headed, bare-legged, and often, with not a little of their sleekbodies gleaming through the innumerable rents of their garments, theireyes glittering like black beads, and their white teeth showing on theslightest provocation to mirth. Indeed, the majority of the young menand women were chattering and laughing much of the time, and onlythose well in the shadow of age worked on in a stolid, ploddingmanner. Mingled indiscriminately with the colored people were not afew white women and children, and occasionally a white man. As a rule, these were better dressed, the white girls wearing sun-bonnets ofportentous size, whose cavernous depths would make a search for beautyon the part of our artist a rather close and embarrassing scrutiny. The colored women as often wore a man's hat as any other, andoccasionally enlivened the field with a red bandana. Over all thestooping, moving, oddly apparelled forms, a June-like sun was shiningwith summer warmth. Beyond the field a branch of Tanner's Creekshimmered in the light, tall pines sighed in the breeze on the right, and from the copse-wood at their feet quails were calling, theirmellow whistle blending with the notes of a wild Methodist air. In thedistance rose the spires of Norfolk, completing a picture whoseinterest and charm I have but faintly suggested. 

Several of the overseers are negroes, and we were hardly on the groundbefore one of these men, in the performance of his duty, shouted in astentorian voice:

"Heah, you! Git up dar, you long man, off'n yer knees. What yo'mashin' down a half-acre o' berries fer?"

Mr. Sheppard was quick to see a good subject, and almost in a flash hehad the man posed and motionless in his attitude of authority, andunder his rapid strokes Jackson won fame and eminence, going to hiswork a little later the hero of the field. The overseer's task is adifficult one, for the pickers least given to prayer are oftenest ontheir knees, crushing the strawberries, and whether they are "long" orshort, much fruit is destroyed. North and South, the effort to keepthose we employ off the berries must be constant, especially as along, hot day is waning. Indeed, one can scarcely blame them for"lopping down, " for it would be inquisitorial torture to most of us tostoop upon our feet through a summer day. Picking strawberries, as asteady business, is wofully prosaic. 

While the sun had been shining so brightly there had been anoccasional heavy jar and rumble of thunder, and now the western skywas black. Gradually the pickers had disappeared from the Wilsonfield, and we at last followed them, warned by an occasional drop ofrain to seek the vicinity of the house. Having reached the grassyslope beneath the pines in the rear of the dwelling, we turned to notethe pretty scene. A branch of Tanner's Creek came up almost to ourfeet, and on either side of it stretched away long rows ofstrawberries as far as the eye could reach. Toward these the throng ofpickers now drifted, "seeking fresh fields and pastures new. " Themotley crowd was streaming down on either side of the creek, whileacross a little causeway came a counter current, the majority of themhaving trays full of berries. The buyers, like the traders with thenomad Indians, open traffic anywhere, and at the shortest notice. Amule-cart was stopped, a few empty crates taken off and placed underthe pines at our feet, and soon the grass was covered with full quartbaskets, for which the pickers received tickets and then passed on, or, as was often the case, threw themselves down in the shade. Theitinerant venders came flocking in like so many buzzards. There was atonce chaffering and chaffing, eating and drinking. All were merry. Looking on the groups before us, one would imagine that the sky wasserene. And yet, frowning upon this scene of careless security, thisimprovident disregard of a swiftly coming emergency, was one of theblackest of clouds. Every moment the thunder was jarring and rollingnearer, and yet this jolly people, who "take no thought, " heeded notthe warning. Even the buyers and packers seemed infected with a likespirit, and were leisurely packing in crates the baskets of berriesscattered on the grass, when suddenly Mr. Young, with his fleet, blackhorse, came flying down upon us. Standing up in his buggy, he gave adozen rapid orders, like an officer on the field in a critical moment. The women, who had been lounging with their hands on their hips, shuffled off with their trays; half-burned pipes are hastily emptied;gingerbread and like delicacies are stuffed into capacious mouths, since hands must be employed at once. Packers, mules, everybody, everything, are put upon the double-quick to prepare for the shower. It is too late, however, for down come the huge drops as they can fallonly in the South. The landscape grows obscure, the forms of thepickers in the distance become dim and misty, and when at last itlightens up a little, they have disappeared from the fields. Therethey go, streaming and dripping toward the barns and sheds, looking asbedraggled as a flock of black Spanish fowls. Such of the mule-driversas have been caught, now that they are in for it, drive leisurely bywith the heavy crates that they should have gathered up more promptly. 

The cloud did not prove a passing one, and the rain fell so long andcopiously that further picking for the day was abandoned. Some joggedoff to the city, at a pace that nothing but a fiery storm could havequickened. A hundred or two remained under the sheds, singing andlaughing. Men and women, and many bright young negro girls, too, lighted their pipes and waited till they could gather at the "payingbooth, " near the entrance of the farm, after the rain was over. Thisbooth was a small shop, extemporized of rough boards by anenterprising grocer of the city. One side was open, like the counterof a restaurant, and within, upon the grass, as yet untrodden, werebarrels and boxes containing the edible enormities which seemindigenous to the semi-grocery and eating-house. In most respects theplace resembled the sutler's stand of our army days. There was a smallwindow on one end of the booth, and at this sat the grocer, metamorphosed into a paymaster, with a huge bag of coin, which herapidly exchanged for the strawberry tickets. Our last glimpse of thepickers, who had streamed out of the city in the gray dawn, left themin a long line, close as herrings in a box, pressing toward thewindow, from which came faintly the chink of silver. 

As night at last closed about us, we realized the difference between astrawberry farm and a strawberry bed, or "patch, " as country peoplesay. Here was a large and well-developed business, which proved thepresence of no small degree of brain power and energy; and ourthoughts naturally turned to the proprietor and the methods by whichhe achieved success. 

J. E. Young, Jr. , is a veteran in strawberry culture, although buttwenty-nine years of age. Mr. Young, Sr. , was a Presbyterian clergymanwho always had a leaning toward man's primal calling. When his son wasa little boy, he was preaching at Plattsburgh, New York, and to hislabors in the spiritual vineyard joined the care of a garden that wasthe pride of the town. Mr. Young, Jr. , admits that he hated weedingand working among strawberries as much as any other boy, until he wasgiven a share in the crop, and permitted to send a few crates toMontreal. He had seen but nine years when he shipped his first berriesto market, and every summer since, from several widely separatedlocalities and with many and varied experiences, he has sent toNorthern cities increasing quantities of his favorite fruit. When butfifteen years of age he had the entire charge, during the long season, of three hundred "hands, " and the large majority of them were Irishwomen and children. After considerable experience in strawberryfarming in northern and southern New York and in New Jersey, hisfather induced him to settle at Norfolk, Virginia, and hither he cameabout ten years ago. Now he has under his control a farm of 440 acres, 150 of which are to-day covered with bearing strawberry plants. Inaddition, he has set out this spring over two million more plants, which will occupy another hundred acres, so that in 1880 he will have250 acres that must be picked over almost daily. 

Mr. Young prefers spring planting in operations upon a large scale. Such a choice is very natural in this latitude, for they can beginsetting the first of February and continue until the middle of April. Therefore, nine-tenths of the plants grown in this region are set outin spring. But at Charleston and further south, they reverse thispractice, and, with few exceptions, plant in the summer and fall, beginning as early as July on some places, and continuing well intoDecember. 

I must also state that the finest new plantation that I saw on Mr. Young's place was a field of Seth Boydens set out in September. 

This fact proves that he could follow the system of autumn plantingsuccessfully, and I am inclined to think that he will regard thismethod with constantly increasing favor. As an instance proving theadaptation to this latitude of the fall system of planting, I maystate that 96, 000 plants were sent to a gentleman at Richmond, inOctober, 1877, and when I visited his place, the following spring, there was scarcely a break in the long rows, and nearly fruit enough, I think, to pay for the plants. From his Seth Boydens, set out lastSeptember, Mr. Young will certainly pick enough berries to payexpenses thus far; and at the same time, the plants are already fourtimes the size of any set out this spring. As the country aboutNorfolk is level, with spots where the water would stand in very wetweather, Mr. Young has it thrown up into slightly raised beds two anda half feet wide. This is done by plows, after the ground has beenthoroughly prepared and levelled by a heavy, fine-toothed harrow. These ridges are but four or five inches high, and are smoothed off byan implement made for the purpose. Upon these beds, quite near theedges, the plants are set in rows twenty inches apart, while thedepressed space between the beds is twenty-seven inches wide. Thisspace is also designed for the paths. The rows and the properdistances for the plants are designated by a "marker, " an implementconsisting of several wheels fastened to a frame and drawn by hand. Onthe rim of these wheels are two knobs shaped like an acorn. Each wheelmarks a continuous line on the soft earth, and with each revolutionthe knobs make two slight but distinct depressions twelve inchesapart; or, if the variety to be planted is a vigorous grower, he usesanother set of wheels that indent the ground every fifteen inches. Aplant is dropped at each indentation, and a gang of colored womenfollow with trowels, and by two or three quick, dexterous movements, imbed the roots firmly in the soil. Some become so quick and skilfulas to be able to set out six or seven thousand a day, while four orfive thousand is the average. With his trained band of twenty women, Mr. Young calls the setting of a hundred thousand plants a good day'swork. 

In April commences the long campaign against the weeds, which advancelike successive armies. No sooner is one growth slain than a differentand perhaps more pestiferous class rises in its place--the worst ofthe Philistines being nut-grass, quack-grass, and--direst foe of all--wire-grass. 

This labor is reduced to its minimum by mule cultivation, and Mr. Young has on his farm a style of cultivator that is peculiarly adaptedto the work. As this is his own invention, I will not describe it, butmerely state that it enables him to work very close to the rows, andto stir the soil deeply without moving it or covering the plants. These cultivators are followed by women, with light, sharp hoes, whocut away the few weeds left between the plants. They handle thesetools so deftly that scarcely any weeding is left to be done by hand;for, by a rapid encircling stroke, they cut within a half-inch of theplant. For several years past, I have urged upon Mr. Young theadvantage of the narrow row system, and his own experience has led himto adopt it. He is now able to keep his immense farm free of weedschiefly by mule labor, whereas, in his old system of matted rowculture it was impossible to keep down the grass, or prevent theground from becoming hard and dry. He now restricts his plants tohills or "stools, " from twelve to fifteen inches apart. The runnersare cut from time to time with shoe-knives, the left hand gatheringthem up by a single rapid movement, and the right hand severing themby a stroke. One woman will, by this method, clip the runners fromseveral acres during the growing season. To keep his farm in order, Mr. Young must employ seventy-five hands through the summer. Theaverage wages for women is fifty cents, and for men seventy-five toninety cents. In the item of cheap labor the South has the advantageof the North. 

With the advent of autumn, the onslaught of weeds gradually ceases, and there is some respite in the labors of a Virginia strawberry farm. 

At Charleston and further south, this respite is brief, for thewinters there are so mild that certain kinds of weeds will grow allthe time, and early in February they must begin to cultivate theground and mulch the plants for bearing. 

Bordering on Mr. Young's farm, and further up the creek, there arehundreds of acres of salt meadows. From these he has cut, in theautumn and early winter, two hundred tons of hay, and with his lighterfloats it down to his wharf. In December, acre after acre is covereduntil all the plants are quite hidden from view. In the spring, thiswinter mulch is left upon the ground as the summer mulch, the newgrowth in most instances pushing its way through it readily. When itis too thick to permit this, it is pushed aside from the crowns of theplants. 

Thus far he has given the bearing fields no spring culture, adoptingthe common theory that the ground around the plants must not bedisturbed at this season. I advocate the opposite view, and believe in_early_ spring culture, as I have already explained; and I think hisexperience this year will lead him to give my method a trial in 1880. The latter part of April and early May was very dry at Norfolk, andthe ground between the bearing plants became parched, hard, and inmany instances full of weeds that had been developing through thelong, mild spring of this region. Now I am satisfied that if he, andall others in this region who adopt the narrow row system, wouldloosen the ground deeply with a subsoil plow _early_ in the season, before the plants had made any growth, and then stir and pulverize allthe surface between the plants in the rows, they would increase thesize and quantity of the berries at least one-third, and in manyinstances double the crop. It would require a very severe drought, indeed, to injure plants thus treated, and it is well known, also, that a porous, mellow soil will best endure too frequent rains. I have sometimes thought that light and air are as indispensable tothe roots of plants as to the foliage. 

The winter mulch need not prevent this spring culture. Let the menbegin on one side of a field, and rake inward until half a dozen rowsare uncovered. Down through these the subsoil plow and the cultivatorcan pass. Then the hay can be raked back again as the summer mulch, and a new space cleared, until the whole field is cultivated and themulch left as it was before. 

Now, however, it is not a surface like hard-pan that is covered, but amellow soil in which the roots can luxuriate. 

Mr. Young uses fertilizers, especially those containing ammonia, onlyto a limited extent, believing that while they undoubtedly increasethe size of the fruit, they also render it soft and unfit for longcarriage, and promote an undue growth of vine. This theory is true, toa certain extent, but I think the compensating benefits of fertilizersof almost any kind far outweigh the disadvantages. At his distancefrom the market, firmness in the berry is essential, but I think hewill find this quality is dependent more upon the weather and thevariety than upon the fertilizer. Of course, over-stimulation by hotmanures will always produce an unwholesome, perishable growth, but agood coat of well-rotted compost scattered down the rows, just beforethey receive their fall or spring culture, would be exceedinglybeneficial in nine cases out of ten. I most heartily agree with him, however, that all fertilizers containing potash are peculiarly adaptedto the strawberry. 

Having considered his methods of planting and culture, we now returnagain to the culminating period in which the hopes and labors of theyear are rewarded or disappointed. When we awoke the morning followingour arrival, we found the landscape obscured by a dense fog. Throughthis, in dim, uncertain outline, throngs of pickers were streaming outfrom the city to Mr. Young's place and the strawberry farms beyond. The broad fields seemed all the more vast from the obscurity, and thestooping forms of the fruit-gatherers took on odd and fantastic shapesin the silvery mist. 

But while we drank our coffee the sun sipped these morning vapors, andwhen we stepped out under the pines, the day was hourly growingbrighter and warmer. The balmy, fragrant air, the meadow larks singingin the distance, the cheery voices of the pickers in an adjacentfield, would tempt gloom itself to forget its care and stroll awaythrough the sunlight. The pickers were beginning to take possession ofa field containing thirty acres of Triomphe de Gands, and we followedthem, and there lighted on one of the oddest characters on theplantation--"Sam Jubilee, " the "row-man, " black as night, short, stout, and profane. It is Sam's business to give each picker a row ofberries, and he carries a brass-headed cane as the baton of authority. As we came up, he was whirling a glazed hat of portentous size in onehand and gesticulating so wildly with his cane that one might think hewas in convulsions of rage, but we soon learned that this was "hisway. "

"Heah, you, dah!" he vociferated, to the slouching, leisurely pickersthat were drifting after him, "what's de matter wid yer j'ints? Stepalong lively, or by--" and then came a volley of the most outlandishoaths ever uttered by a human tongue. 

"Don't swear so, Sam, " said Mr. Young. 

"Can't help it, sah. Dey makes me swar. Feels as if I could bust interten thousand emptins, dey's so agerwatin. Heah, my sister, take datrow. You, gemlin" (to a white man), "take dat. Heah, chile, step indar an' pick right smart, or I'll warm yer!"

Sam "brothers and sisters" the motley crowd he domineers like acolored preacher, but I fear he is not "in good and regular standing"in any church in Norfolk. 

"He can give out rows more rapidly and systematically than any man Iever had, " said Mr. Young; and we soon observed that wherever Jubileeled, with his stentorian voice and emphatic gestures, there was lifeand movement. Thus we learned that although there might be 1, 500people in the fields, there was no haphazard picking. Each one wouldbe assigned a row, which could not be left until all the ripe berrieson it were gathered. 

Passing to and fro across the fields are the two chief overseers ofthe farm, Harrison and Peters, both apparently full-blooded negroes, but in the vernacular of the South, "right smart men. " They have beenwith Mr. Young eight or ten years, and were promoted and maintaintheir position solely on the ground of ability and faithfulness. Theygo rapidly from one to another, noting whether they are picking therows clean. They also take from each tray a basket at random, andempty it into another, thus discovering who are gathering green orimperfect berries. If the fruit falls much below the acceptedstandard, the baskets are confiscated and no tickets given for them, and if the picker continues careless he is sent out of the field. 

Mr. Young says that he has never found any white overseers who couldequal these men; and through the long year they drive on the work withtireless energy. 

Indeed, Peters often has much ado to keep his energy under control. Apowerful engine cannot always be safe, and Peters slipped his bandsone day to his cost. A woman would not obey him, and he threatened herwith a pistol. Instead of obeying, she started to run. He fired andwounded her twice, and then tried to get off on the lame excuse thathe did not know the pistol was loaded. The trouble was that he wasoverloaded. But his offence resulted more from these characteristicsthan from innate ugliness of temper. To make the business of the hugefarm go has become his controlling passion; and he chafes at anobstacle like an obstructed torrent. 

Harrison, his associate overseer, unites more discretion with hisforce, and he gave us an example of this fact. As we were strollingabout, we found, seated at the end of the strawberry rows, a groupconsisting of two young women and two children, with a colored manstanding near. They had been picking in partnership, we were informedby one of the young women, who was smoking a pipe, and who replied toour questions, scarcely taking the trouble to look up. She was abouthalf white, and her face was singularly expressive of sensuousness andindolent recklessness. 

"This man is your husband?" I suggested. 

"No, he's only my brudder. My ole man is pickin' on anoder farm, " shedrawled out, between the whiffs of her pipe. 

"I should think you and your husband would work together, " I ventured. 

"We doesn't. He goes about his business and I goes about mine, " sheremarked, with languid complacency. 

Here is a character, I thought, as we passed on--the very embodimentof a certain kind of wilfulness. She would not resist or chafe atauthority, but, with an easy, good-natured, don't-care expression, would do as she pleased, "though the heavens fell. " A little laterthere was a heavy rumble of thunder in the west, and we met again theyoung woman whose marital relations resembled those of many of herfashionable sisters at the North. She was leading her small band fromthe field. The prospective shower was her excuse for going, butlaziness the undoubted cause. Harrison, like a vigilant watch-dog, spied them and blustered up, never for a moment doubting that shewould yield to his authority. 

But he had met his match. She merely looked at him with her slow, quiet, indolent smile, in which there was not the faintest trace ofirresolution or fear, and he knew that the moment he stepped out ofthe way, she would pass on. His loud expostulations and threats soonceased. What could he do with that laughing woman, who no doubt hadbeen a slave, but was now emancipated a trifle too completely? Hemight as well try to stop a sluggish tide with his hands. It wouldooze away from him inevitably. The instincts of this people are quick. Harrison knew he was defeated, and his only anxiety now was to retreatin a way that would save appearances. 

"I'se a-gwine home, M's'r Harrison, " she said quietly. "You don'tcatch us gittin' wet ag'in. "

"Oh, well, if you is 'fraid ob gittin' wet, s'pose I'll habe to letyou off jus' dis once, " he began, pompously; and here, fortunately, hesaw a man leaving the field in the distance. There was a subject withwhich he could deal, and a line of retreat open at the same time; andaway he went, therefore, vociferating all the more loudly that hemight cover his discomfiture. The woman smiled a little morecomplacently and went on, with her old easy, don't-care swing, as sheundoubtedly will, whithersoever her inclinations lead, to the end ofher life. To crystallize such wayward, human atoms into proper forms, and make them useful, is a problem that would puzzle wiser heads thanthat of the overseer. 

I think, however, that not only Harrison and Peters, but all who havecharge of working people, rely too much on driving, and too little onencouraging and coaxing. An incident which occurred may illustratethis truth. My companion, Mr. Drake, soon mastered one of the laborsof a strawberry farm--the gathering of the fruit--and out of theplenitude of his benevolence essayed to teach a little sable how hecould pick to better advantage. 

"Put your basket down, sonny, " he said. "Now you have two hands towork with instead of one--so, don't you see?"

"Dat's mighty good in you, Mas'r, " said a woman near. "Lor bress you!de people 'ud jess jump over derselves tryin' to do the work if deygot sich good words, but de oberseer's so cross dat we gits 'umptuousand don't keer. "

Still, to the majority, the strawberry season brings the halcyon daysof the year. They look forward to it and enjoy it as a prolongedpicnic, in which business and pleasure are equally combined. They areessentially gregarious, and this industry brings many together duringthe long bright days. The light work leaves their tongues free, andfamilies and neighbors pick together with a ceaseless chatter, arunning fire of rude, broad pleasantry, intermingled occasionally witha windy war of words in a jargon that becomes all the more uncouthfrom anger, but which rarely ends in blows. 

We were continually impressed by their courage, buoyancy, animalspirits, or whatever it is that enables them to face their uncertainfuture so unconcernedly. Multitudes live like the birds, not knowingwhere their next year's nest will be, or how to-morrow's food willcome. It _has_ come, thus far, and this fact seems enough. In manyinstances, however, their humble fortunes are built on the very bestfoundations. 

"What can you do after the berry season is over?" we asked a woman whohad but one arm. 

"I kin do what any other woman kin do, " she said, straighteningherself up. "I kin bake, cook, wash, iron, scrub--"

"That will do, " I cried. "You are better off than most of us, for theworld will always need and pay for your accomplishments. "

The story of her life was a simple one. She did not remember when shelost her arm, but only knew that it had been burned off. When scarcelymore than an infant, she had been left alone in the little cabin bythe slave mother, who probably was toiling in the tobacco field. Therewas a fire on the hearth--the rest can be imagined only too vividly. She is fighting out the battle of life, however, more successfullywith her one hand than are multitudes of men with two. She is stoutand cheery, and can "take keer of herself and children, " she said. 

Scattered here and there over the fields might be seen two heads thatwould keep in rather close juxtaposition up and down the long rows. 

"Dey's pairin' off, " was the explanation. 

"You keep de tickets, " said a buxom young woman to her mate, as he wasabout to take her tray, as well as his own, to the buyers. 

"You are in partnership, " I remarked. 

"Yes, we is, " she replied, with a conscious laugh. 

"You are related, I suppose?"

"Well, not 'zackly--dat is--we's partners. "

"How about this partnership business--does it not last sometimes afterthe strawberry season is over?"

"Oh, Lor' yes! Heaps on 'em gits fallen in love; den dey gits a-marryin' arter de pickin' time is done gone by. "

"Now I see what your partnership means. "

"Yah, yah, yah! You sees a heap more dan I's told you!" But herpartner grinned most approvingly. We were afterward informed thatthere was no end to the love-making among the strawberry rows. 

There are from fifty to one hundred and fifty pickers in a squad, andthese are in charge of subordinate overseers, who are continuallymoving around among them, on the watch for delinquencies of all kinds. Some of these minor potentates are white and some black. As a rule, Mr. Young gives the blacks the preference and on strictly businessprinciples, too. "The colored men have more snap, and can get morework out of their own people, " he says. By means of these sub-overseers, large numbers can be transferred from one part of the farmto another without confusion. 

Fortunes are never made in gathering strawberries, and yet there seemsno dearth of pickers. The multitude of men, women, and children thatstreams out into the country every morning is surprisingly large. Fiveor six thousand bushels a day are often gathered in the vicinity ofNorfolk, and the pickers rarely average over a bushel each. "Rightsmart hands, " who have the good hap to be given full rows, willoccasionally pick two bushels; but about thirty quarts per day is theusual amount, while not a few of the lazy and feeble bring in onlyeight or ten. 

As has been already suggested, the pickers are followed by the buyersand packers, and to these men, at central points in the fields, themule-carts bring empty crates. The pickers carry little trayscontaining six baskets, each holding a quart. As fast as they fillthese, they flock in to the buyers. If a trayful, or six good quarts, are offered, the buyer gives the picker a yellow ticket, worth twelvecents. When less than six baskets are brought, each basket is paid forwith a green ticket, worth two cents. These two tickets are eventuallyexchanged for a white fifty-cent ticket, which is cashed at thepaying-booth after the day's work is over. The pickers, therefore, receive two cents for every quart of good, salable berries. If green, muddy, or decayed berries are brought in, they are thrown away orconfiscated, and incorrigibly careless pickers are driven off theplace. Every morning the buyers take out as many tickets of thesethree values as they think they can use, and are charged with the sameby the book-keeper. Their voucher for all they pay out is anotherticket, on which is printed "forty-five quarts, " or just a crateful. Only Mr. Young and one other person have a right to give out the last-named tickets, and by night each buyer must have enough of them tobalance the other tickets with which he was charged in the morning. Thus thousands of dollars change hands through the medium of fourkinds of tickets not over an inch, square, and by means of them thefinancial part of gathering the crop is managed. 

In previous years these tickets were received the same as money by anyof the shops in the city, and on one occasion were counterfeited. Mr. Young now has his own printing-office, and gets them up in a way noteasily imitated, nor does he issue them until just as the fruit beginsto ripen. He has, moreover, given authority to one man only to cashthese tickets. Thus there is little chance for rascality. 

He also requires that no ticket shall be cashed until the fields haveall been picked over. Were it not for this regulation, the lazy andthe "bummers" would earn enough merely to buy a few drinks, then slinkoff. Now they must remain until all are through before they can get acent. Peters and Harrison see to it that none are lying around in theshade, and thus, through the compulsion of system, many, no doubt, aresurprised to find themselves at work for the greater part of the day. 

And yet neither system nor Peters, with even his sanguinaryreputation, is able alone to control the hordes employed. Of coursethe very dregs of the population are largely represented. Many go outon a "lark, " not a few to steal, and some with the basest purposes. Walking continually back and forth through the fields, therefore, aretwo duly authorized constables and their presence only prevents agreat deal of crime. Moreover, according to Virginian law, everylandholder has the right to arrest thieves and trespassers. Up to thetime of our visit, five persons had been arrested, and the fact thatthey were all white does not speak very well for our color. The law ofthe state requires that they shall be punished by so many lashes, according to the gravity of the offence, and by imprisonment. Thewhipping-post is one of the institutions, and man or woman, white orblack, against whom the crime of stealing is proved, is stripped tothe waist and lashed upon the bare back. Such ignominious punishmentmay prevent theft, but it must tend to destroy every vestige of self-respect and pride in criminals, and render them hopelessly reckless. Therefore, it should cease at once. 

It must be admitted, however, that very little lawlessness wasapparent. In no instance have I received a rude word while travellingin the South, while, on the other hand, the courtesy and kindness werealmost unstinted. 

The negroes about Norfolk certainly do not wear an intimidated or"bull-dozed" air. 

"Git off my row, dar, or I'll bust yo' head open, " shouted a tall, strapping colored girl to a white man, and he got off her row withalacrity. 

Mr. Young says that the negro laborers are easily managed, and willendure a great deal of severity if you deal "squarely" with them; butif you wrong them out of even five cents, they will never forget it. What's more, every citizen of "Blackville" will be informed of thefact, for what one knows they all seem to know very soon. 

We were not long in learning to regard the strawberry farm as a littleworld within itself. It would be difficult to make the readerunderstand its life and "go" at certain hours of the day. Scores arecoming and going; hundreds dot the fields; carts piled up with cratesare moving hither and thither. At the same time the regular toil ofcultivation is maintained. Back and forth between the young plantsmules are drawing cultivators, and following these come a score or twowomen with light, sharp hoes. From the great crate manufactory isheard the whir of machinery and the click of hammers; at intervals thesmithy sends forth its metallic voice, while from one centre of toiland interest to another the proprietor whisks in his open buggy at aspeed that often seems perilous. 

After all, Mr. Young's most efficient aid in his business was hisfather (recently deceased). It gave me pleasure to note the frequencyand deference with which the senior's judgment wa& consulted, and Ialso observed that wherever the old gentleman's umbrella was seen inthe field, all went well. 

At four or five in the afternoon, the whole area would be picked over. The fields would be left to meadow-larks and quails, whose liquidnotes well replaced the songs and cries of the pickers. Here and therea mule-cart would come straggling in. By night, all signs of life wereconcentrated around the barns and paying booth; but even from theseone after another would drift away to the city, till at last scarcelya vestige of the hurry and business of the day would be left. The deephush and quiet that settled down on the scene was all the moredelightful from contrast. To listen to the evening wind among thepines, to watch the sun drop below the spires of Norfolk, and see thelong shadows creep toward us; to let our thoughts flit whither theywould, like the birds about us, was all the occupation we craved atthis hour. Were we younger and more romantic, we might select thiswitching time for a visit to an ancient grave in one of the strawberryfields. 

A mossy, horizontal slab marks the spot, and beneath it reposes thedust of a young English officer. One bright June day--so the legend istold--one hundred and sixteen years ago, this man, in the early summerof his life, was killed in a duel. 

Lingering here, through the twilight, until the landscape grows asobscure as this rash youth's history, what fancies some might weave. As the cause of the tragedy, one would scarcely fail to see among theshadows the dim form and features of some old-time belle, whose smileshad kindled the fierce passion that was here quenched, more than acentury since. Did she marry the rival, of surer aim and cooler headand heart, or did she haunt this place with regretful tears? Did shebecome a stout, prosaic woman, and end her days in whist and all theancient proprieties, or fade into a remorseful wraith that stillhaunts her unfortunate lover's grave? One shivers, and growssuperstitious. The light twinkling from the windows of the cottageunder the pines becomes very attractive. As we fall asleep after sucha visit, we like to think of the meadow-larks singing on the mossytombstone in the morning. 

Daring a rainy day, when driven from the field, we found plenty tointerest us in the printing-office, smithy, and especially in the hugecrate manufactory. Here were piled up coils of baskets that suggestedstrawberries for a million supper-tables. Hour after hour the mule-power engine drove saws, with teeth sharper than those of time, through the pine boards that soon became crates for the round quartbaskets. These crates were painted green, marked with Mr. Young'sname, and piled to the lofty, cobwebbed ceiling. 

But Saturday is the culminating period of the week. The hugeplantation has been gone over closely and carefully, for the morrow isSunday, on which day the birds are the only pickers. Around theoffice, crate manufactory, and paying booth were gathered over athousand people--a motley and variegated crowd, that the South onlycan produce. The odd and often coarse jargon, the infinite variety inappearance and character, suggested again that humanity is a verytangled problem. The shrewdness and accuracy, however, with which themost ignorant count their tickets and reckon their dues on theirfingers, is a trait characteristic of all, and, having received thefew shillings, which mean a luxurious Sunday, they trudge off to town, chattering volubly, whether any one listens or not. 

But many can not resist the rollicking music back of the paying booth. Three sable musicians form the orchestra, and from a bass viol, fiddleand fife they extract melody that, with all its short-coming, wouldmake a deacon wish to dance. Any one, white or black, can purchase theprivilege of keeping step to the music for two cents, or onestrawberry ticket. Business was superb, and every shade of color andcharacter was represented. In the vernacular of the farm, the mulattogirls are called "strawberry blondes, " and one that would haveattracted attention anywhere was led out by a droll, full-bloodednegro, who would have made the fortune of a minstrel troupe. She wastall and willowy. A profusion of dark hair curled about an oval face, not too dark to prevent a faint color of the strawberry from glowingin her cheeks. She wore neither hat nor shoes, but was asunembarrassed, apparently, in her one close-fitting garment, as couldbe any ballroom belle dressed in the latest mode. Another blonde, whosported torn slippers and white stockings, was in danger of beingspoiled by much attention. As a rule, however, bare feet were nothingagainst a "lady" in the estimation of the young men. At any rate, allwho could spare a berry ticket speedily found a partner, and, as werode away from the farm, the last sounds were those of music andmerriment, and our last glimpse was of the throng of dancers on thegreen. 

The confused uproar and rush of business around the Old Dominionsteamship made a marked contrast. To the ample wharves every speciesof vehicle had been coming all day, while all kinds of craft, from askiff to a large two-masted schooner, waiting their turn to dischargetheir freight of berry crates and garden produce, reached half acrossthe Elizabeth river. The rumble of the trucks was almost like the roarof thunder, as scores of negroes hustled crates, barrels and boxesaboard. Most of the time they were on a good round trot, and one hadto pick his way with care; for, apparently, the truck was asthoughtful as the trundler. 

As the long twilight fades utterly into night, the last crate isaboard. The dusky forms of the stevedores are seen in an old pontoon-shaped boat on their way to Portsmouth, but their outlines, and themelody of their rude song, are soon lost in the distance. The ship, that has become like a huge section of Washington Market, casts offher lines, and away we steam, diffusing on the night air the fragranceof a thousand acres, more or less, of strawberries. 

It was late in the night that followed the next day before we reachedNew York, but on the great covered wharf, to which was given a noondayglare by electric light, there was no suggestion of the darkness andrain without. Various numbers, prominent on the sides of the building, indicated the lines of transit and the commission houses to which theimmense, indiscriminate cargo was assigned. With a heavy jar andrumble that would not cease till the ship was empty, a throng of whitelaborers wheel each package to its proper place. Mr. Young's cratessoon grew into what seemed, in the distance, a good-sized mound. Thenumber above them stood for Eldridge & Carpenter, West WashingtonMarket. Thither we followed them the next morning, but found that themost of them had already been scattered throughout the city, andrealized that the berries we had seen a few hours before on thestrawberry farm were even then on uptown breakfast-tables. 

CHAPTER XVII

FORCING STRAWBERRIES UNDER GLASS

Trained gardeners need no instruction from me on this topic. There maybe those, however, who have never given the subject attention, and whowould be glad to learn some of the first principles of success inforcing this fruit for market; while a still larger number, havingsmall conservatories and warm south windows, would be pleased to see afew strawberries blossoming and ripening, as an earnest of the comingJune. There are no greater difficulties in the way than in havingflowers, for it is merely a question of doing the right thing at theright time. I do not believe in a system of minute, arbitrarydirections, so much as in the clear statement of a few generalprinciples that will suggest what ought to be done. The strawberryplant has the same character indoors as out, and this fact alone, inview of what has been written, should suggest moisture, coolness, light, and air. I shall endeavor to present, however, each successivestep. 

First, prepare a compost of thoroughly rotted sods and the cleaningsof the cow-stable, in the proportion of three parts sod-mould to oneof manure. In the place of sods, decayed leaves, muck, sweetened by ayear's exposure to air and frost, or any good, rich loam will answer. With this compost, made fine and clean by passing it through a coarsesieve, fill in June, and not later than July, as many three-inch potsas you desire; then sink them to their rims along the sides of therows from which you propose to obtain winter-bearing plants. Varietiesbest adapted for forcing are those of a low, stocky growth, bearingperfect flowers and sweet or high-flavored berries. I should say theTriomphe de Gand was the best, and I observe that it and the LaConstante, which it closely resembles, are highly recommended abroad. The bush Alpines are said to do finely, and I should think the BlackDefiance would answer well. Mr. Henderson speaks highly of theChampion, which, however, must be grown with a perfect-flowered kind, since it is a pistillate. From the parent row, guide the first runnersso that they will take root in the pots. Let each runner form but asingle, strong plant, which it will do in about two weeks, filling thepot with roots. Then these plants, with their accompanying balls ofearth interlaced with roots, are ready to be shifted into pots of fromsix to eight inches in diameter, which also should be filled with thecompost already described. 

These larger pots should have three or four pieces of broken potteryin the bottom for drainage. One plant to each pot is sufficient, andthe soil should be pressed firmly about the roots. The methods ofgrowers now differ somewhat, but all agree in seeking to promote acontinuous and healthy growth. It may be necessary to place the potsin a half-shady position for a few days, till the effects of shiftingare over, and the roots have taken hold of the new soil. Then theyshould stand in an open, airy position, close together, where they canreceive daily attention. Some recommend that they stand on boards, flagging, or bricks, or a layer of coal ashes, since earth-worms arethus kept out; others sink them in cold frames, where they can beprotected somewhat from excessive heat and drenching storms; whileothers, still, sink the pots in the open ground, where it isconvenient to care for and water them. It is obvious that moisturemust be steadily and continuously maintained, and the plants be madeto do their best until about the first of October. After this, theyshould be watered very sparingly--barely kept moist--since it is nowour aim to ripen the foliage and roots and induce a season of rest. Atthe same time, they should not be permitted to dry out. About thefirst of November, an old hot-bed pit can be filled with dry leavesand the pots plunged in them, close together, up to their rims, and, as the season grows colder, the tops can be covered, so as to preventthe earth in the pots from freezing. The top of the pit can be coveredwith boards to keep out the wet, but not so tightly as to exclude theair. Our aim is to keep the plants dormant, and yet a little abovefreezing, and barely moist enough to prevent the slightestshrivelling. Since it requires from ten to fourteen weeks to maturethe fruit under glass, it would be well to subject some of the plantsto heat early in October, so as to have ripe berries at the holidays. They can thereafter be taken from the storage place every two or threeweeks, so as to secure a succession. By this course, also, if a mishapbefalls one lot of plants, there still remain several chances forwinter fruit. 

In the forcing process, follow nature. The plants do not startsuddenly in spring, but gradually awaken into life. The weather, also, is comparatively cool when they are blossoming. If these hints are nottaken in the green-house, there may be much promise but little fruit. If the heat is turned on too rapidly when the plants begin to bloom, the calyx and corolla will probably develop properly, but the stamenswill be destitute of pollen, while the pistils, the most complicatedpart of the flower, and that which requires the longest time forperfect formation, become "a mere tuft of abortions, incapable ofquickening, and shrivelling into pitch-black threads as soon as fullyin contact with the air. " Let the conditions within-doors accord asfar as possible with those under the open sky. The roots requirecoolness, continuous and evenly maintained moisture. One check fromover-dryness may cause serious and lasting injury. The foliage needsair and light in abundance. Therefore the pots should be on shelvesclose to the glass; otherwise the leaf and fruit stalks will be drawnand spindling. If the pot can be shaded while the plant is in fulllight, all the better. When first introduced, the temperature shouldnot exceed 45 degrees or 50 degrees. Air must be freely admitted atall times, though much less will suffice, of course, in cold than inwarm weather. Watch the foliage, and if it begins to grow long andwithout substance, give more air and less heat. An average of 55degrees to 70 degrees by day may be allowed, and from 45 degrees to 50degrees by night. 

When the flower buds begin to open, the forcing must be conducted moreslowly and evenly, so as to give the delicate organs time to perfect;but after the fruit is set, the heat can be increased till itoccasionally reaches 75 degrees at midday. After the fruit begins tocolor, give less water--barely sufficient to prevent any check ingrowth, and the fruit will be sweeter and ripen faster. The upperblossoms may be pinched off, so as to throw the whole strength of theplant into the lower berries. Keep off all runners; syringe the plantsif infested with the red spider, and if the aphis appears, fumigatehim with tobacco. 

The plants that have fruited need not be thrown away as useless. Ifthey are turned out of the pots into rich, moist soil, in April, andthe runners are kept off all summer, they will make large, bushystools, which will give a fine crop in autumn. 

The amateur, with a small conservatory or south window, byapproximating as far as possible to the conditions named, can achievea fair success. I have had plants do moderately well by merely diggingthem from the beds late in the fall, with considerable rich earthclinging to their roots, and then potting with more rich soil, andforcing them at once. Of course, fine results cannot be expected fromsuch careless work, but _some_ strawberries can be raised withvery little trouble. If one, however, wished to go into the businesson a large and scientific scale, I would recommend a straw berry-house, designed by Mr. William Ingram, gardener at Belvoir Castle. Afigure of the structure may be seen on page 74 in Mr. Fuller'svaluable work, "The Small Fruit Culturist. " On the same principlesthat we have been describing, the ripening of strawberries can behastened by the use of hot beds, cold frames, and ordinary sash. 

During the Christmas holidays strawberries sell readily at from $4 to$8 per quart, and handsome fruit brings high prices till March; butthe profit of raising them under glass threatens to diminish in futureyears, since Florida berries begin to arrive freely even in February. There are those who now seem to be doing well in the business offorcing, if we may judge from the jealousy with which they guard theopen secrets of their calling from their neighbors. 

A rough and ready method of forcing is to dig up clumps of plantsduring a mild spell in winter or early spring, put them in boxes orpots of rich earth, and take them into the green-house. Considerablefruit is sometimes ripened in this way. 

An English writer says: "We find forced strawberries mentioned asbeing served at an installation dinner, April 23d, 1667; but the ideahad already occurred to the great Lord Bacon, who writes, 'As we havehoused the exotics of hot countries, so we may house our natives toforward them, and thus have violets, strawberries, and pease allwinter. '"

CHAPTER XVIII

ORIGINATING NEW VARIETIES--HYBRIDIZATION

This chapter introduces us to great diversities of opinion, and tostill greater differences in experience; and I fear that I shall leavethe subject as indefinite as I find it. The scientist best versed inbotany and the laws of heredity can here find a field that would taxhis best skill for a lifetime, and yet a child may amuse himself withraising new kinds; and it would not be impossible that, through somelucky combination of nature, the latter might produce a variety thatwould surpass the results of the learned man's labor. As in most otheractivities of life, however, the probabilities are on the side ofskill and continuous effort. 

We have already shown that all the seeds of the _F. Virginiana_and _F. Chilensis may_ produce a new variety. These seedlingsoften closely resemble the parent or parents, and sometimes arepractically identical with one of them; more often they presentdistinct differences. It is wholly impossible to predict the characterof seedlings as they usually are produced. If we could obtain purespecimens of the two great species, and cross them, the element ofchance would not enter into the result so largely as must be the casewhen seed is gathered in our gardens. The pedigrees of but fewvarieties are known, and in many instances the two great races are somingled that we can only guess which element predominates, by thebehavior and appearance of the plants. The kinds with which we startare hybrids, and, as Mr. A. S. Fuller sagaciously remarks, "Hybridizing, or crossing hybrids, is only mixing together twocompounds, the exact proportions of neither being known. " Therefore, the inevitable element of chance. Disagreeable traits and shiftlessways of strawberry grandparents and great-grandparents may developthemselves in a seedling produced by the union of two first-classvarieties. At the same time it is possible that fine ancestralqualities may also assert themselves. The chance seedling, which comesup in a garden where good varieties have been raised, may prove aprize. The Forest Rose was found growing in a vineyard. If we proposeto raise seedlings, however, we will, of course, select seeds from thebest fruit of fine varieties, even in our first and most rudimentalefforts. Before making any serious or prolonged attempt to originatenew varieties, it would be well to familiarize ourselves with certainprinciples, and gather experience from the successes and failures ofothers. We have seen that the _F. Virginiana_ is the native species ofthe eastern section of our continent, and that its vigor and hardinessbest adapt it to our extremes of climate. It were best to start, therefore, with the most vigorous strains and varieties of this hardyspecies. It is true that fine results can be obtained from crossingvarieties of the _F. Chilensis_ with our native species--the PresidentWilder proves this--but few of such products are adapted to thecountry at large, and they will be almost sure to falter on lightsoils. We will achieve our best success in developing our nativespecies. By observation, careful reading of the horticulturaljournals, and by correspondence, the propagator can learn whatvarieties show vigor and productiveness throughout a wide range ofcountry, and in great diversities of soil and climate. These sturdykinds, that seem bent on doing well everywhere, should be the robustforefathers of the strawberries of the future. Starting with these, weare already well on the way toward the excellence we hope to attain. The pith of our difficulty now is to make any further advance. How canwe surpass that superb group of berries that prove their excellenceyear after year?

As Mr. Durand well puts it, new varieties, to be of value, shouldproduce berries that "measure from four to eight inches incircumference, of good form, color and flavor; very large specimensare not expected to be perfect in form, yet those of medium sizeshould always be. The calyx should never be imbedded in the flesh, which should be sufficiently firm to carry well, and withstand allchanges of our variable climate. The texture should be fine, fleshrich, with a moderate amount of acid--no more than just sufficient tomake it palatable with sugar as a table berry. The plant should behardy, vigorous, large, and strong; of great endurance as to climaticchange, and able to stand any amount of manure of the right kind. Itshould be a prolific bearer, with stalks of sufficient length to keepthe fruit out of the dirt, and bear its berries of nearly uniform sizeto the end. Any serious departure from such necessary qualities wouldbe fatal to any new variety. "

What is the use of spending time on varieties that do not possessthese good qualities, or many of them, so pre-eminently that theysupersede those already in our gardens? Shall I root out the CharlesDowning, Seth Boyden, and Monarch, and replace them with inferiorkinds because they are new? That is what we have been doing tooextensively. But if, in very truth, varieties can be originated thatdo surpass the best we now have, then both common-sense and self-interest should lead to their general cultivation. I believe thathonest and intelligent effort can secure a continued advance inexcellence which will probably be slow, but may be sure. 

The public, however, will suffer many disappointments, and every yearwill buy thousands of some extravagantly praised and high-priced newvariety, in hope of obtaining the ideal strawberry; and they so oftenget a good thing among the blanks that they seem disposed to continueindefinitely this mild form of speculation. In the final result meritasserts itself, and there is a survival of the fittest. The process ofwinnowing the wheat from the chaff is a costly one to many, however, Ihave paid hundreds of dollars for varieties that I now regard aslittle better than weeds. From thorough knowledge of the best kindsalready in cultivation, the propagator should not impose any second-rate kind on the public. And yet the public, or the law which thepublic sustains, renders this duty difficult. If a man invents apeculiar nutmeg-grater, his patent protects him; but if he discovers, or originates, a fruit that enriches the world, any one who can getit, by fair means or foul, may propagate and sell to all. To reap anyadvantages, the originator must put his seedling, which may have costhim years of effort, into the market before it is fully and widelytested. If he sends it for trial to other localities, there is muchdanger of its falling into improper hands. The variety may dosplendidly in its native garden, and yet not be adapted to generalcultivation. This fact, which might have been learned by trialthroughout the country before being sent out, if there was protectivelaw, is learned afterward, to the cost of the majority who buy. Inview of the above considerations, it is doubtful whether the pecuniaryreward will often repay for the time, trouble, and expense which isusually required to produce a variety worthy of general introduction. Other motives than money must actuate. As Mr. Durand once said, whenso perplexed by the difficulties and complications of his labor, andso disheartened by the results that he was inclined to throw down theburden, "There is a fascination that binds me still. " In other words, he was engaged in one of the divinest forms of alchemy. 

Having procured the vigorous stock from which we hope to obtain stillstronger and more productive varieties, we may go to work severalways. We may plant our choice varieties in close proximity, and letthe bees and summer gales do the hybridizing. It will be rememberedthat the organs of procreation in the perfect strawberry blossom arethe pistils on the convex receptacle and the encircling stamens. Theanthers of the latter produce a golden powder, so light that it willfloat on a summer breeze, and so fine that insects dust themselveswith it and carry it long distances. When this dust, which is calledpollen, comes in contact with the stigma of a pistil, it imparts thepower of development both to the seed and that which sustains it--thereceptacle which is eventually transformed into the juicy pulp. If thepistils are not fertilized, there will be no strawberries, as well asno seeds. Perfect-flowering varieties, therefore, are self-fertilizing. There are stamens and pistils in the same flower, and thepollen from the former impregnates the latter. In view of this fact, the probabilities are all against success in obtaining an improvedvariety. While the pollen _may_ pass from one perfect-flowering kindto another, and produce a seed which will give a new combination, the chances of self-fertilization, and that, in consequence, the seedswill produce degenerate and somewhat varying counterparts of theparent, are so great that it is a waste of time to plant them. Thereis little to be hoped, therefore, from the seed of perfect-floweringkinds left to nature's influences. 

In this country, we have pistillate varieties, or those that arewholly destitute of stamens. Mr. Fuller says that, for some reason, they do not originate abroad. It is obvious that, with thesepistillates, we can attain a direct cross with some staminate orperfect-flowering variety; but if our pistillates grow openly in thegarden, near several staminates, the seeds sown may have beenfertilized by the poorest of them, or by pollen from wildstrawberries, brought by the wind or insects. It is all haphazardwork, and we can only guess at the parentage of the seedlings. Thereis no skilful combination of good qualities, such as the stock farmermakes when he mingles good blood. Gathering the seed, therefore, inour gardens, even under the most favorable auspices, is the veriestgame of hazard, with nearly all the chances against us; and yet superbvarieties are occasionally procured in this way. Indeed, as we haveseen, they sometimes come up themselves, and assert their merit whollyunaided. By such methods, however, the propagator has not one chancein thousands, as much experience shows. 

We are, therefore, led to isolate our plants, and to seekintelligently and definitely to unite the good qualities of twodistinct varieties. If they have no pistillate plants abroad, theymust remove all the stamens from some perfect flower before they aresufficiently developed to shed their pollen, and then fertilize thepistils with the stamens of the other variety whose qualities theywish to enter into the combination. There is no need of our doingthis, for it involves much trouble and care at best, and then we arealways haunted by the fear that the stamens were not removed in time, or so completely as to prevent self-fertilization. With suchpistillate varieties as the Golden Defiance, Champion, Spring-dale, and Crescent, we have as robust motherhood as we require. 

In order to present to the reader the most approved systems ofhybridization, I will give the methods of two gentlemen who are amongthe best known in relation to this subject. 

The late Mr. Seth Boyden won world-wide celebrity by his success, andthe berry named after him will perpetuate his memory for many years tocome. When grown under the proper conditions, it presents a type ofexcellence still unsurpassed. 

Mr. Boyden's neighbor, Mr. Ogden Brown, of Hilton, N. J. , writes to meas follows:

"My method of raising seedlings is the one practiced by Mr. Boyden. InAugust I set the plants from which I wish to secure new combinationsin a plot of ground the size of my glass frame, and in early springset the frame over them, so that the plants may blossom before anyothers. Thus, no mixture from the pollen of outside plants can takeplace, for none are in bloom save those in the frame. The plantswithin the frame are two or three pistillate plants, all of one goodvariety like the Champion; and three or four superior, perfect-flowering kinds, any one of which, I think, will make a goodcombination with the pistillate variety. The seeds from the pistillateonly are used, and when the fruit is ripened, these seeds are slightlydried and placed between two pieces of ice for about two weeks. I thenput them in pure sand, wrapped up in a wet rag, and keep themsufficiently near the fire to preserve constant warmth until the germsare ready to burst forth. I then sow the seeds in a bed of finelyriddled rich earth, and cover with boards about six inches from thesoil. This is to prevent the sun from drying the ground. Plants thusraised will be sufficiently large to set in the fruiting-bed inSeptember. In the fifteen years that I was acquainted with Mr. Boyden, I never knew him to fail in raising fruit from these plants thefollowing summer. I do not know that Mr. Boyden's method has beenimproved upon. "

Mr. J. M. Merrick, Jr. , recommends this same isolation of thepistillate plant under glass. 

It should be distinctly understood that while several perfect-flowering plants may be placed under the sash with a pistillate, thepollen of only one of these can fertilize a pistil. Mixing pollen fromdifferent kinds will never produce in a seedling the qualities ofthree or more varieties. The seedling is the product of two kindsonly. Inclosing the plants in a frame ensures that all the pistils arefertilized by one or the other of the perfect-flowered varieties thatare so fine as to promise a better combination of excellence than yetexists. The appearance of the seedling will probably show which of thekinds formed the combination, but often there would be uncertainty onthis point, I think. 

Mr. E. W. Durand, who sent out the Black Defiance, Great American, Beauty, Pioneer, and several others, claims that the "true method isto propagate by pairs, each parent possessing certain distinctivefeatures. " "My course, " he writes, in a paper read before the N. J. State Horticultural Society, "is to select my pistillates after yearsof trial, subject them to severe tests, and place alongside of eachsuch a staminate as I think will harmonize and produce a certaindesired effect. Another pistillate plant, of the same variety, isplaced far away from the last, with a different staminate, and so on, till I exhaust the staminates or perfect-flowering kinds that I wishto test with that pistillate variety. Of late years, I have used buttwo or three kinds of pistillate plants, and they are a combination ofexcellence. I never show them to my most intimate friends, and thepublic know nothing about them. The years of trial and experimentnecessary to produce such plants must necessarily discourage abeginner; yet it is the only course that will lead to success. "

I think that Mr. Durand takes too gloomy a view of the subject, and Ican see no reason why any one starting with such pistillates as theGolden Defiance, Champion, and others, may not originate a varietysuperior to any now in existence. At the same time, I must cautionagainst over-sanguine hopes. Mr. Durand states the interesting factthat he generally produces 3, 000 new varieties annually, and includingthe year 1876, he had already originated about 50, 000 seedlings. Whilesome of these have already secured great celebrity, like the GreatAmerican, I do not know of one that promises to maintain a continuedand national popularity. I regard his old Black Defiance and the laterPioneer as his best seedlings, so far as I have seen them. Very manyothers do not have even his success. We may have to experiment foryears before we obtain a seedling worth preserving; nevertheless, inthe heart of each propagator lurks the hope that he may draw the prizeof prizes. 

I will close this chapter with a few simple and practical suggestions. It is not necessary to place the seeds in ice. They may be sown inJuly, in rich soil, rendered fine and mellow, and in a half-shadyposition; and the surface should be kept moist by watering, and asprinkling of a little very fine compost, that will prevent the groundfrom baking. Some of the seeds will germinate that season, more willcome up the following spring. Or, they may be started in a cold frameunder glass, and hastened in their growth so that good-sized plantsare ready for the fruiting-bed by September. Mr. Durand plants hisseed in the spring, and the seedlings bear the following year. Theplants should be set eighteen inches apart each way in the fruiting-bed. When they blossom, note and mark all the pistillates as such. Those that grow feebly, and whose foliage scalds or burns in the sun, root out at once. The Spartan law of death to the feeble and deformedshould be rigorously enforced in the fruit garden. The first year offruiting will satisfy you that the majority of seedlings are to bethrown away. Those that give special promise should be lifted with alarge ball of earth, and planted where they may be kept pure frommixture, and given further trial. Remember that a seedling may dobetter the first year than ever after, and that only a continued andvaried trial can prove its worth. All runners should be kept off, unless the ground is infested with grubs, and there is danger oflosing a promising variety of which we have but one specimen. If sofortunate as to raise superior seedlings, test them side by side, andunder the same conditions with the best kinds in existence, beforecalling to them public attention. Try them, also, in light and heavysoils; and, if possible, send them to trusted friends who will subjectthem to varied climates in widely separated localities. If, however, you find them vigorous and productive on the light, poor soil of yourown place, you may hope much for them elsewhere. No berry will begenerally popular that requires much petting. I only state this as afact. In my opinion, some varieties are so superb in size and flavorthat they deserve high culture, and well repay it. 

It is a question whether, except for the purposes of propagation, pistillate varieties should be preserved and sent out. Mr. Fuller andothers take ground against them, and their views are entitled to greatrespect, but with such kinds as the Golden Defiance and Champion in mygarden, I am not prepared to condemn them. One objection urged againstthem is that many purchase a single variety, and, should it prove apistillate, they would have no fruit. They would not deserve any, ifthey gave the subject so little attention. Every fruit cataloguestates which are pistillates, and their need of a perfect-floweringkind near them. Again, it is urged that this necessary proximity oftwo kinds leads to mixtures. It need not, and, with the plant grower, can only result from gross carelessness. The different beds may beyards apart. In order to secure thorough fertilization, it is not atall necessary to plant so near that the two kinds can run together. Ina large field of pistillates, every tenth row should be of astaminate, blossoming at the same time with the pistillate. TheKentucky seedling is a first-class staminate, but it should not beused to fertilize the Crescent, since the latter would almost be outof bloom before the former began to blossom. Plant early pistillateswith early staminates, and late with late. 

Many ask me: "Do strawberries mix by being planted near each other?"They mix only by running together, so that you can scarcelydistinguish the two kinds; but a Wilson plant will produce Wilsonrunners to the end of time; and were one plant surrounded by a millionother varieties, it would still maintain the Wilson characteristics. It is through the seeds, and seeds only, that one variety has anyappreciable effect upon another. Many have confused ideas on thispoint. 

A man brought to the Centennial Exhibition, at Philadelphia, a pot ofstrawberries that attracted great attention, for the fruit wasmagnificent. I suggested to him that it resembled the Jucunda, and hesaid that it was a cross between that berry and the Seth Boyden. Thiswas a combination that promised so well that I went twenty miles, on avery hot day, to see his bed, and found that the crossing was simplythe interlacing of the runners of the two distinct varieties, and thatI could tell the intermingled Jucunda and Boyden plants apart at aglance. Such crossing would make no marked change in varieties ifcontinued for centuries. 

The enemies and diseases of the strawberry will be grouped in ageneral chapter on these subjects. 

CHAPTER XIX

RASPBERRIES--SPECIES, HISTORY, PROPAGATION, ETC. 

I have given the greater part of this volume to the subject ofstrawberries, not only because it is the most popular fruit, but alsofor the reason that the principles of thorough preparation of thesoil, drainage, culture, etc. , apply equally to the other smallfruits. Those who have followed me carefully thus far can soon masterthe conditions of success which apply to the fruits still to betreated. I shall now consider a fruit which is only second in value, and, by many, even preferred to all the others. 

Like the strawberry, the raspberry is well connected, since it, also, belongs to the Rose family. It has a perennial root, producingbiennial woody stems that reach a height of from three to six feet. Varieties, however, differ greatly in this respect. Usually, the stemsor canes do not bear until the second year, and that season ends theirlife, their place being taken by a new growth from the root. Theflowers are white or red, very unobtrusive, and rich in sweetness. Thediscriminating bees forsake most other flowers while the raspberryblossoms last. The pistils on the convex receptacle mature into acollection of small drupes, or stone fruits, of the same character asthe cherry, plum, etc. , and the seeds within the drupes are miniaturepits. These drupes adhere together, forming round or conical caps, which will drop from the receptacle when over-ripe. I have seen theground covered with the fruit of certain varieties, when picking hasbeen delayed. 

All peoples seem to have had a feeling sense of the spines, or thornsof this plant, as may be gathered from its name in differentlanguages; the Italian term is _Raspo_, the Scotch _Raspis_, andthe German _Kratsberre_, or Scratchberry. 

The Greeks traced the raspberry to Mount Ida, and the original bushmay have grown in the shadowy glade where the "Shepherd Alexandre, "_alias_ Paris, son of Priam, King of Troy, gave his fateful decisionin favor of Venus. Juno and Minerva undoubtedly beguiled the time, while the favored goddess presented her claims, by eating the fruit, and perhaps enhanced their competitive beauty by touching theircheeks with an occasional berry. At any rate, the raspberry of theancients is _Rubus Idoeus_. 

The elder Pliny, who wrote not far from 45 A. D. , states that theGreeks distinguished the raspberry bramble by the term "_Idoea_, "and, like so many other Grecian ideas, it has found increasing favorever since. Mr. A. S. Fuller, one of the best-read authorities onthese subjects, writes that "Paladius, a Roman agricultural author whoflourished in the fourth century, mentions the raspberry as one of thecultivated fruits of his time. " It thus appears that it was promotedto the garden long before the strawberry was so honored. 

While it is true that the raspberry in various forms is found wildthroughout the continent, and that the ancient gardeners in mostinstances obtained their supply of plants in the adjacent fields orforests, the late Mr. A. J. Downing is of the opinion that the large-fruited varieties are descendants of the "Mount Ida Bramble, " and fromthat locality were introduced into the gardens of southern Europe. 

In America, two well-known and distinct species are enriching ourgardens and gracing our tables with their healthful fruit. We willfirst name _R. Strigosus_, or the wild red raspberry, almost asdear to our memory as the wild strawberry. It grows best along theedge of woodlands and in half-shadowy places that seem equally adaptedto lovers' rambles. 

Nature, too, in a kindly mood, seems to have scattered the seeds ofthis fruit along the roadside, thus fringing the highway in dusty, hotJuly with ambrosial food. Professor Gray thus describes the nativered species: "_R. Strigosus_, Wild Bed E. Common, especially North;from two to three feet high; the upright stems, stalks, etc. , besetwith copious bristles, and some of them becoming weak prickles, also glandular; leaflets oblong-ovate, pointed, cut-serrate, white-downy beneath, the lateral ones (either one or two pairs) not stalked;petals as long as the sepals; fruit light-red, tender and watery, buthigh flavored, ripening all summer. "

The second great American species, _R. Occidentals_, will be describedhereafter. Since this book is not designed to teach botany, I shallnot refer to the other species--_R. Triflorus, R. Odoratus, R. Nutkanno_, etc. --which are of no practical value, and, for thepresent, will confine myself to the propagation and cultivation of_R. Idoeus_ and _R. Strigosus_, and their seedlings. 

PROPAGATION

Usually, varieties of these two species throw up suckers from theroots in sufficient abundance for all practical purposes, and theseyoung canes from between the hills or rows are, in most instances, theplants of commerce, and the means of extending our plantations. Butwhere a variety is scarce, or the purpose is to increase it rapidly, we can dig out the many interlacing roots that fill the soil betweenthe hills, cut them into two-inch pieces, and each may be developedwithin a year into a good plant. Fall is the best season for makingroot cuttings, and it can be continued as late as the frost permits. My method is to store the roots in a cellar, and cut them from time totime, after out-of-door work is over. I have holes bored in the bottomof a box to ensure drainage, spread over it two inches of moist (notwet) earth, then an inch layer of the root cuttings, a thin layer ofearth again, then cuttings until the box is full. If the cellar iscool and free from frost, the cuttings may be kept there until spring;or the boxes containing them can be buried so deeply on a dry knoll ina garden as to be below frost. Leaves piled above them ensure safety. Make sure that the boxes are buried where no water can collect eitheron or beneath the surface. Before new roots can be made by a cutting, a whitish excrescence appears at both its ends, called the callus, andfrom this the rootlets start out. This essential process goes onthroughout the winter, and therefore the advantage of making cuttingsin the fall. Occasionally, in the fall, we may obtain a variety thatwe are anxious to increase, in which case some of the roots may betaken off for cuttings before setting out the plants. 

These little root-slips may be sown, as one would sow peas, early inthe spring as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. A plot ofrich, moist land should be chosen, and the soil made mellow and fine, as if for seed; drills should then be opened eighteen inches apart, two inches deep on heavy land, and three inches deep on light. Thecuttings must now be dropped three inches from each other in thelittle furrows, the ground levelled over them and firmed, which isbest done by walking on a board laid on the covered drill, or else bythe use of a garden roller. If the entire cutting-bed were wellsprinkled with fine compost, and then covered so lightly--from onequarter to half an inch--with a mulch of straw that the shoots couldcome through it without hindrance, scarcely a cutting would fail. Unfailing moisture, without wetness, is what a cutting requires. 

Roots may be divided into half-inch bits, if forced under glass, andin this way nurserymen often speedily provide themselves with largestocks of very scarce varieties. The cuttings are placed in boxes ofsand until the callus forms, and little buds appear on the surface ofthe roots, for which processes about five weeks are required. They arethen sown in shallow boxes containing about three inches of soil, formed of equal parts of sand and decayed leaves, and subjected to theheat of the green-house. When they have formed plants from three tofive inches high, they may be potted, if very valuable; or, if theweather is warm enough, they can be transplanted at once into the opennursery-bed, as one would a strawberry plant. I have set out manythousands in this way, only aiming to keep a little earth clinging tothe roots as I took them from the shallow box. Plants grown fromcuttings are usually regarded as the best; but if a sucker plant istaken up with fibrous roots, 1 should regard it as equally good. 

If we wish to try our fortune in originating new varieties, we gatherthe largest and earliest berries, dry them, and plant the seeds thefollowing spring; or we may separate the seeds from the pulp byexpressing it and mixing them with dry sand, until they are in acondition to be sown evenly in a sheltered place at once. As withstrawberries, they should be raked lightly into moist, rich soil, thesurface of which should not be allowed to become dry and hard. Theprobabilities are that they will germinate early in the spring andproduce canes strong enough to bear the second year. If the seed isfrom a kind that can not endure frost, the young plant should receivethorough winter protection. There is nothing better than a covering ofearth. In the spring of the second year, cut the young plant down tothe ground, and it will send up a strong, vigorous cane, whoseappearance and fruit will give a fair suggestion of its value thethird year. Do not be sure of a prize, even though the berries aresuperb and the new variety starts off most vigorously. Let me give abit of experience. In a fine old garden, located in the centre of thecity of Newburgh, N. Y. , my attention was attracted by the fruit of araspberry bush whose roots were so interlaced with those of agrapevine that they could not be separated. It scarcely seemed to havea fair chance to live at all, and yet it was loaded with the largestand most delicious red raspberries that I had then ever seen. It wasevidently a chance, and very distinct seedling. I obtained from Mr. T. H. Roe, the proprietor of the garden, permission to propagate thevariety, and in the autumn removed a number of the canes to my placeat Cornwall. My first object was to learn whether it was hardy, andtherefore not the slightest protection was given the canes atNewburgh, nor even to those removed to my own place, some of whichwere left four feet high for the sake of this test. The winter thatfollowed was one of the severest known; the mercury sank to 30 degreesbelow zero, but not a plant at either locality was injured; and in theold garden a cane fourteen feet long, that rested on the grape-arbor, was alive to the tip, and in July was loaded with the most beautifulfruit I had ever seen. It was un-injured by the test of anotherwinter, and all who saw and tasted the fruit were enthusiastic in itspraise. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society awarded it their firstpremium, and Mr. Charles Downing said it was the finest red raspberryhe had ever seen. The veteran horticulturist, Mr. Wm. Parry, who hashad between forty and fifty years of experience in small fruits, visited my place that summer. The bushes he saw had never received anyprotection, and had already been three weeks in bearing, but they werestill full of fruit. After picking several berries that measured plumpthree inches in circumference, he said, quietly, "Put me down for 500plants. " In no other way could he have stated his favorable opinionmore emphatically. It was as delicious as it was large and beautiful, and surely I was reasonable in expecting for it a brilliant future. Inmy faith I planted it largely myself, expecting to make it my maindependence as a market berry. But in August of that year many of thecanes lost their foliage. Those that thus suffered were not entirelyhardy the following winter. It was eventually made clear that itbelonged to the tender _Rubus Idoeua_ class, and, therefore, wasnot adapted to general cultivation, especially on light soils, andunder sunny skies. As I have shown, its start was so full of vigor andpromise that it won the favor and confidence of the horticulturalveterans; but it suddenly manifested lack of stamina and sturdypersistence in well-doing. And this is just the trouble which everyexperienced propagator dreads. Only after years of test and trial inmany localities can he be assured that his seedling may become astandard variety. 

If this chance seedling, the Pride of the Hudson, is given a moistsoil in some half-shady location, it will yield fruit that willdelight the amateur's heart, but, like Brinkle's Orange, which itresembles in flavor, only amateurs will give it the petting itrequires. 

As suggested when treating the strawberry, so in seeking to originatenew varieties of raspberries, our aim should be to develop our hardynative species, the _R. Strigosus_, and if we employ the _R. Idoeus_class for parentage on one side, seek its most vigorousrepresentatives, such as the Belle de Fontenay and Franconia. 

CHOICE OF LAND--ITS PREPARATION--PLANTING

All that has been said about the thorough preparation of the soil forstrawberries, by drainage, deep plowing, trenching, etc. , applies toraspberries, but differences should be noted in respect tofertilizers. Land can scarcely be made too rich for any variety ofstrawberries, but certain strong-growing raspberries, like theCuthbert, Herstine, and Turner, should not be over-fertilized. Somekinds demand good, clean culture, rather than a richness that wouldcause too great a growth of cane and foliage. In contrast, the feeblergrowing kinds, like the Brandywine, and most of the foreign varieties, require abundance of manure. Muck, sweetened by lime and frost is oneof the simplest and best; but anything will answer that is not toofull of heat and ferment. Like the strawberry, the raspberry needscool manures that have "staying" qualities. Unlike the former fruit, however, the raspberry does well in partial shade, such as thatfurnished by the northern side of a fence, hedge, etc. , by a pear oreven apple orchard, if the trees still permit wide intervals of opensky. The red varieties, especially those of the foreign types muchprefer moist, heavy soils; but the black-caps do quite as well onlight ground, if moisture can be maintained. The latter, also, can begrown farther south than any other species, but below the latitude ofNew York, those containing foreign elements begin to fail rapidly, until, at last, a point is reached where even the most vigorous nativered varieties refuse to live. If the climate, however, is tempered byheight above the sea, as in the mountains of Georgia, they will thriveabundantly. 

[Illustration: SPRING AND FALL PLANTS]

I prefer fall planting for raspberries, especially in southernlatitudes, for these reasons: At the points where the roots branch(see Fig. A) are buds which make the future stems or canes. In thefall, these are dormant, small, and not easily broken off, as in Fig. B; but they start early in spring, and if planting is delayed, thesebecome so long and brittle that the utmost care can scarcely savethem, If rubbed off, the development of good bearing canes is oftendeferred a year, although the plants may live and fill the ground withroots. The more growth a raspberry plant has made when set out inspring, the greater the probability that it will receive a check, fromwhich it will never recover. 

[Illustration: WINTER PROTECTION OF NEWLY SET PLANTS]

I have often planted in May and June, successfully, by taking up theyoung suckers when from six inches to a foot high, and setting themwhere they are to grow. Immediately on taking them up, I cut them backso that only one or two laches of the green cane is left, and thus theroots are not taxed to sustain wood and foliage beyond their power. This can often be done to advantage, when the plants are on one's ownplace, and in moist, cloudy weather. My preference, however, is toplant the latter part of October and through November, in well-prepared and enriched land. The holes are made quite deep and large, and the bottom filled with good surface soil. If possible, beforeplanting, plow and cross-plow deeply, and have a subsoiler follow ineach furrow. It should be remembered that we are preparing for a cropwhich may occupy the land for ten or fifteen years, and plants willsuffer from every drought if set immediately on a hard subsoil. Onheavy land, I set the plants one inch deeper than they were before; onlight soils two or three inches deeper. I cut the canes off six inchesabove the surface (see Fig. C); for leaving long canes is oftenruinous, and a plant is frequently two or three years in recoveringfrom the strain of trying to produce fruit the first year. The wholestrength of the roots should go toward producing bearing canes for theseason following; and to stimulate such growth, I throw directly onthe hill one or two shovelfuls of finely rotted compost and then moundthe earth over the hill until the cane is wholly covered (as in Fig. D). This prevents all injury from the winter's cold. When severefrosts are over, the mound is levelled down again. Under this system, I rarely lose plants, and usually find that double growth is madecompared with those set _late_ in spring. I have always succeededwell, however, in _early_ spring planting; and well to the north, this is, perhaps, the safer season. With the exception of mounding theearth over the hill, plant in March or April as I have alreadydirected. 

CULTIVATION

In cultivation, keep the ground level; do not let it become banked upagainst the hills, as is often the case, especially with those tendervarieties that are covered with earth every winter. Keep the surfaceclean and mellow by the use of the cultivator and hoe. With theexception of from four to six canes in the hill, treat all suckers asweeds, cutting them down while they are little, before they havesucked half the life out of the bearing hill. Put a shovelful or twoof good compost--any fertilizer is better than none--around the hillsor along the rows, late in the fall, and work it lightly in with afork if there is time. The autumn and winter rains will carry it downto the roots, giving almost double vigor and fruitfulness thefollowing season. If the top-dressing is neglected in the autumn, besure to give it as early in the spring as possible, and work it downtoward the roots. Bone-dust, ashes, poudrette, barnyard manure, andmuck with lime can be used alternate years, so as to give variety ofplant food, and a plantation thus sustained can be kept twenty yearsor more; but under the usual culture, vigor begins to fail after theeighth or tenth season. The first tendency of most varieties of newlyset red raspberries is to sucker immoderately; but this graduallydeclines, even with the most rampant, and under good culture thefruiting qualities improve. 

In dry weather the fork should not be used during the growing orbearing season. The turning down of a stratum of dry, hot soil next tothe roots must cause a sudden check and injury from which only asoaking rain can bring full relief. But in moist weather, and periodspreceding and following the blossoming and fruiting season, I haveoften used the fork to advantage, especially if there is a sod ofshort, succulent weeds to be turned under as a green crop. If theground between the hills was stirred frequently with an iron garden-rake, the weeds would not have a chance to start. This is by far thebest and cheapest way of maintaining our part in the unceasingconflict with vegetable evil. An Irish bull hits the truth exactly:the best way to fight weeds is to have none to fight; and raking theground over on a sunny day, about once a week, destroys them when theyare as yet but germinating seeds. At the same time it opens the poresof the earth, as a physiologist might express himself. Unfailingmoisture is maintained, air, light, and heat are introduced to theroots in accordance with Nature's taste, and the whole strength of themellow soil goes to produce only that which is useful. But thisteaching is like the familiar and sound advice, "Form no bad habits. "We do form them; the weeds do get the start of us; and therefore, as apractical fact, the old moral and physical struggle must go on untilthe end of time. 

CHAPTER XX

RASPBERRIES--PRUNING--STAKING--MULCHING--WINTER PROTECTION, ETC. 

Usually, there is no pruning either in the field or the garden beyondthe cutting out of the old canes and the shortening in of the newgrowth. There is a difference of opinion as to whether the old canesshould be cut out immediately after fruiting, or left to naturaldecay, and removed the following fall or spring. I prefer the formercourse. It certainly is neater, and I think I have seen increasedgrowth in the young canes, for which more room is made, and to whosesupport the roots can give their whole strength. The new growth canmake foliage fast enough to develop the roots; still, I have notexperimented carefully, and so cannot speak accurately. We see summerpruning often advocated on paper, but I have rarely met it inpractice. If carefully done at the proper season, however, much can beaccomplished by it in the way of making strong, stocky plants, capableof standing alone--plants full of lateral branches, like little trees, that will be loaded with fruit. But this summer pinching back must becommenced early, while the new, succulent growth is under fullheadway, and continued through the busiest season, when strawberriesare ripe and harvest is beginning. It should not be done after thecane has practically made its growth, or else the buds that ought toremain dormant until the following season are started into a late andfeeble growth that does not ripen before the advent of early frosts. Few have time for pruning in May or June. If they have, let them tryit by all means, especially on the black-cap species. It does notrequire so much time as it does prompt action at the proper period ofgrowth. In the garden, summer pinching can transform a raspberry bushinto an ornamental shrub as beautiful as useful. It is much betteradapted to the hardier varieties than to those that must be bent downand covered with earth. With the _R. Occidentalis_ species, summerpinching would always pay well. The best I can do, usually, with thered varieties, is to prune in November and March; it should be donebefore the buds develop. Unless early fruit is wanted, I believe incutting back heroically. Nature once gave me a very useful hint. Onevery cold winter, a row of Clarke raspberries was left unprotected. The canes were four or five feet high, but were killed down to thesnow-level, or within eighteen inches of the ground; but from what wasleft uninjured, we had as many and far finer berries than weregathered from other rows where the canes had been left their fulllength and protected by a covering of earth. The fruit was later, however. I would remind careful observers of the raspberry how oftenbuds on canes that have been broken off or cut away back develop intolong sprays, enormously fruitful of the largest berries. I havecounted fifty, and even eighty, berries on a branch that had grownfrom a single bud within one or two feet of the ground. These lowerbuds often do not start at all when the canes are left their full, ornearly their full length. In the latter case the fruit ripens muchearlier and more together; and since an early crop, though inferior inquality and quantity, may be more valuable than a late one, the fruitgrower often objects to pruning. But in the garden, while the canes ofsome early kinds are left their full length, I would recommend thatothers, especially those of the later varieties, be cut back one-half. Even for market purposes I believe that the superb fruit resultingfrom such pruning would bring more money in most instances. At anyrate, the season of bearing would be greatly prolonged. 

_Mulching_ on a large scale would not pay in most localities. Inregions where salt hay, flags, etc. , can be cut in abundance, or wherestraw is so plenty as to be of little value, it no doubt could beapplied profitably. On Staten Island I have seen large patches mulchedwith salt hay. The canes were unstaked, and many of them bent over onthe clean hay with their burden of fruit. When there are no stakes orother support used, the berries certainly should be kept from contactwith the soil. The chief advantage of the mulch, however, is in thepreservation of moisture. When it is given freely, all the fruitperfects, and in a much longer succession. The weeds and suckers arekept down, and the patch has a neat appearance. Moreover, mulchingprevents the foliage from burning, and enables the gardener to growsuccessfully the finer varieties further to the south and on lightsoils. In keeping down the weeds through the long summer, a mulch ofleaves, straw, or any coarse litter, is often far less costly thanwould be the labor required. 

_Staking_ raspberries is undoubtedly the best, simplest, and cheapestmethod of supporting the canes of most varieties and in mostlocalities. I agree with the view taken by Mr. A. S. Fuller. "Chestnutstakes, " he writes, "five feet long and two or three inches indiameter, made from large trees, cost me less than two cents each, andmy location is within twenty miles of New York City, where timber ofall kinds commands a large price. I can not afford to grow raspberrieswithout staking, because every stake will save on an average tencents' worth of fruit, and, in many instances, three times thatamount. " Of course, split chestnut stakes look the neatest and lastthe longest; but a raspberry bush is not fastidious, and I utilize oldbean-poles, limbs of trees--anything that keeps the canes fromsprawling in the dirt with their delicate fruit. Thus, in manyinstances, the stakes will cost little more than a boy's labor inpreparing them, and they can be of various lengths, according to theheight of our canes. As they become too much decayed for further use, they make a cheery blaze on the hearth during the early autumnevenings. There are stocky growing varieties, like the Cuthbert, Turner, Herstine and others, that by summer pruning or vigorouscutting back would be self-supporting, if not too much exposed to highwinds. The question is a very practical one, and should be decidedlargely by experience and the grower's locality. There are fields andregions in which gales, and especially thunder-gusts, would prostrateinto the dirt the stoutest bushes that could be formed by summerpruning, breaking down canes heavy with green and ripe fruit. Insaving a penny stake, a bit of string, and the moment required fortying, one might be made to feel, after a July storm, that he had beentoo thrifty. As far as my experience and observation go, I wouldeither stake _all_ my bushes that stood separately and singly, orelse would grow them in a loose, continuous, bushy row, and keep thefruit clean by some kind of mulch. Splashed, muddy berries are not fiteither to eat or to sell. 

[Illustration: a. Canes snugly tied. B. Canes improperly tied. RIGHTAND WRONG WAYS OF TYING CANES]

In many localities, however, stakes are dispensed with. In the garden, wires, fastened to posts, are occasionally stretched along the rows, and the canes tied to these. The method in this section, however, isto insert stakes firmly in the hill, by means of a pointed crowbar, and the canes are tied to them as early in spring as possible. Unlesswatched, the boys who do the tying persist in leaving the upper cordsof the canes loose. These unsupported ends, when weighted with fruitand foliage, break, of course. The canes should be snugly tied theirwhole length. If bushes made stocky by summer pruning are supported, let the stake be inserted on the side opposite that from which heavywinds are expected. 

WINTER PROTECTION--TAKING UP PLANTS FOR SPRING USE--STORING THEM

Nearly all foreign varieties and their seedlings need winterprotection, or are the better for it, north of the latitude of NewYork City. Many of the hardier kinds, like the Herstine and Clarke, will usually survive if bent over and kept close to the earth by theweight of poles or a shovelful or two of soil; but all of the Antwerpclass need to be entirely covered. 

To many, this winter covering is a great bugbear, even when only asmall patch in the garden is involved. There is a constant demand for"perfectly hardy" varieties. It should be remembered that many of thebest kinds are not hardy at all, and that perhaps none are "perfectlyhardy. " The Turner has never been injured on my place, and theCuthbert is rarely hurt; but occasionally they are partially killed, more by alternations of freezing and thawing than by steady cold. Whatare termed "open winters" are often the most destructive. I find thatit pays to cover all those kinds that are liable to injury, and, asthe varieties are described, this need will be distinctly stated. Thedifficulties of covering are chiefly imaginary, and it can be done bythe acre at comparatively slight cost The vast crops of the HudsonRiver Antwerp were raised from fields covered every fall. In thegarden, I do not consider the labor worth naming in comparison withthe advantages secured. Those who find time to carefully cover theircabbages and gather turnips should not talk of the trouble ofprotecting a row of delicious Herstine raspberries. Still, Nature isvery indulgent to the lazy, and has given us as fine a raspberry asthe Cuthbert, which thus far, with but few exceptions, has endured ourNorthern winters. In November, I have the labor of covering performedin the following simple way: B is a hill with canes untrimmed. C, thecanes have been shortened one-third--my rule in pruning. Aftertrimming, the canes are ready to be laid down, and they should all bebent one way. To turn them _sharply_ over and cover them withearth would cause many of the stronger ones to break just above theroot; so I have a shovelful of soil thrown on one side of the hill, asin Fig. C, and the canes bent over this little mound. They thusdescribe a curve, instead of lying at right angles on the surface, with a weight of earth upon them. A boy holds the cane down, while a, man on either side of the row rapidly shovels the earth upon them. Ifthe work is to be done on a large scale, one or two shovelfuls willpin the canes to the earth, and then, by throwing a furrow over themon both sides with a plow, the labor is soon accomplished. It will benecessary to follow the plow with a shovel, and increase the coveringhere and there. In spring, as soon as hard frosts are over--the firstweek in April, in our latitude, usually--begin at the end of the rowtoward which the canes were bent, and with a fork throw and push theearth aside and gently lift the canes out of the soil, taking pains tolevel the ground thoroughly, and not leave it heaped up against thehills. This should not be done when the earth is wet and sticky. Keepoff the ground at such times, unless the season is growing so latethat there is danger of the canes decaying if not exposed to the air. The sooner they are staked and tied up after uncovering, the better. 

[Illustration: PRUNING AND LAYING DOWN CANES]

For market or other purposes, we may wish a number of young plants, inwhich case there is much room for good sense in taking them up. Manylay hold upon the canes and pull so hastily that little save stickscomes out. A gardener wants fibrous roots rather than top; therefore, send the spade down under the roots and pry them out. Suckers androot-cutting plants can be dug in October, after the wood has fairlyripened, but be careful to leave no foliage on the canes that aretaken up before the leaves fall, for they rapidly drain the vitalityof the plants. It is best to cut the canes down to within a foot ofthe surface before digging. I prefer taking up all plants for sale oruse in the latter part of October and November, and those not set outor disposed of are stored closely in trenches, with the roots a footor more below the surface. By thus burying them deeply and by leavingon them a heavy covering of leaves, they are kept in a dormant statequite late in spring, and so can be handled without breaking off thebuds which make the future canes. But, as we have already said, theearlier they are planted after the frost is out, the better. 

CHAPTER XXI

RASPBERRIES--VARIETIES OF THE FOREIGN AND NATIVE SPECIES

This chapter will treat first of the imported kinds, which usually aremore or less tender, and then, by way of contrast, of the hardyvarieties of our native _R. Strigosus_. 

I shall speak of those only that are now in general cultivation, naming a few, also, whose popularity in the past has been so great asto entitle them to mention. 

As was true of strawberries, so also varieties of raspberries that wonname and fame abroad were imported, and a few of them have adaptedthemselves so well to American soil and climate as to have becomestandards of excellence. Among the best-known of these formerly wasthe Red Antwerp of England. Few old-fashioned gardens were without itat one time, but it is fast giving way to newer and more popularvarieties. The canes are vigorous, stocky, and tall; spines light-red, numerous, and rather strong. Winter protection is always needed. Theberries are large and very obtuse, conical, dark-red, large-grained, and covered with a thick bloom, very juicy, and exceedingly soft--toomuch so for market purposes. They made a dainty dish for home use, however, and our grandmothers, when maidens, gathered them in thelengthening summer shadows. 

The Hudson River Antwerp, the most celebrated foreign berry inAmerica, is quite distinct from the above, although belonging to thesame family. It is shorter and more slender in its growth, quite freefrom spines, and its canes are of a peculiar mouse-color. Its fruit iseven larger, but firm, decidedly conical, not very bright when fullyripe, and rather dry, but sweet and agreeable in flavor. Mr. Downingsays that its origin is unknown, and that it was brought to thiscountry by the late Mr. Briggs, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. "As thisgentleman was leaving England" (thus the story is told, Mr. Downingwrites to me), "he visited a friend to say good-by, and solicited thisnew raspberry. Since he was leaving the country, and could cause noinjury to the sale of plants, his friend gave him a few in parting, although three guineas had been refused for a single plant hitherto, in the careful effort to secure a large stock before putting thevariety on the market. " Its name suggests Belgium as its originalhome. 

This Antwerp continues long in bearing, and the berries begin to ripenearly. The good carrying qualities of the fruit, combined with greatproductiveness, made it at one time the most profitable market berryin this section; but its culture was chiefly confined to a narrowstrip on the west shore of the Hudson, extending from Cornwall toKingston. For some obscure reasons, it did not thrive in otherlocalities, and now it appears to be failing fast in its favoritehaunt. A disease called the "curl-leaf" is destroying some of theoldest and largest plantations, and the growers are looking about forhardier and more vigorous varieties. But in its palmy days, and evenstill, the Hudson River Antwerp was one of the great productions ofthe country, sending barges and steamers nightly to New York ladenwith ruby cones, whose aroma was often very distinct on the windwardshore while the boats were passing. This enormous business had in parta chance and curious origin, and a very small beginning; while thecelebrated variety itself, which eventually covered so many hundredsof acres on the west bank of the Hudson, may be traced back throughtwo lines of ancestry. An English gardener, who probably obtained theplants from Mr. Briggs, gave some of them to a Mr. Samuel Barnes, whoresided in Westchester County. From him, Mr. Thos. H. Burling, of NewRochelle, N. Y. , secured an abundant supply for his home garden. Hereits value was observed by Mr. Nathaniel Hallock, who transferred someof the canes to his place at Milton, N. Y. From his garden they spreadover many fields besides his own. 

In respect to the other line of ancestry of this historical berry, Iam indebted for the following facts to Mr. W. C. Young, of Marlboro', N. Y. : Many years ago a bundle of raspberry plants was left at a meat-market in Poughkeepsie, and Mr. Watters, the proprietor of the place, kept them several days, expecting that they would be called for. Asthey remained upon his hands, he planted them in his garden, where, like genuine worth, they soon asserted their superiority. Mr. EdwardYoung, of Marlboro', a relative of Mr. Watters, received a present ofa few roots, which supplied his family with the largest and mostbeautiful berries he had ever seen. Good propagates itself as well asevil if given a chance, and Mr. Young soon had far more fruit than wasneeded by his family, and he resolved to try the fortunes of hisfavorite in New York market. "For this purpose, " his son writes, "myfather procured imported fancy willow baskets, holding about one pinteach, and carefully packed these in crates made for the purpose. Thismode proved a success, both in carrying them securely and in makingthem very attractive. The putting up such a fine variety of fruit inthis way gave it notoriety at once, and it brought at first as much asone dollar per quart. My father was so well satisfied with hisexperiment that he advised his sons, Alexander, Edward and myself, toextend the culture of this variety largely. We entered into thebusiness, and, pursuing it with diligence, were well compensated. Oursuccess made others desirous of engaging in it, and so it spread outinto its large dimensions. " Mr. Alexander Young estimates that in theyear 1858 1, 000, 000 pint baskets, or about 14, 700 bushels, wereshipped from Marlboro'; but adds that "since 1860 it has decreased asfast. From present appearances, the variety must become extinct, and Ifear will never have its equal. " Milton, Cornwall, New burgh, andother points competed in the profitable industry, and now, withMarlboro', are replacing the failing variety with other kinds morevigorous in growth, but thus far inferior in quality. 

That the great industry is not falling off is shown by the followingstatement, taken from the New York "Tribune" in the summer of 1779:"The village of Highland, opposite Poughkeepsie, runs a berry boatdaily to New York, and the large night steamers are now taking outimmense loads of raspberries from the river towns every evening, having at times nearly 2, 000 bushels on board. "

From as careful a computation as I have been able to make, through thecourtesy of the officers of the large Kingston boats the "Baldwin" and"Cornell, " I am led to believe that these two steamers unitedlycarried to the city over twenty thousand bushels of berries that sameyear. The magnitude of this industry on the Hudson will be stillbetter realized when it is remembered that several other freight boatsdivide this traffic with the Kingston steamers. 

When we consider what a delicate and perishable fruit this is, it canbe understood that gathering and packing it properly is no bagatelle. Sometimes you will find the fruit grower's family in the field, fromthe matron down to the little ones that cannot reach the highestberries. But the home force is wholly insufficient, and any one whowill pick--man, woman or child--is employed. Therefore, driftingthrough the river towns during June and July, are found specimensalmost as picturesque, if not so highly colored, as those we saw atNorfolk--poor whites from the back country and mountains; people fromthe cities on a humble "lark, " who cannot afford to rusticate at ahotel; semi-tramps, who have not attained to the final stage ofaristocratic idleness, wherein the offer of work is an insult whichthey resent by burning a barn. Rude shanties, with bunks, are fittedup to give all the shelter they require. Here they lead a gypsy life, quite as much to their taste as camping in the Adirondacks, cookingand smoking through the June twilight, and as oblivious of theexquisite scenery about them as the onion-eating peasants of Italy;but when picking the fruit on a sunny slope, and half-hidden by theraspberry bushes, Nature blends them with the scene so deftly thateven they become picturesque. 

The little round "thirds, " as they are termed, into which the berriesare gathered, are carried out of the sunlight to sheds and barns; thepacker receives them, giving tickets in exchange, and then, too oftenwith the deliberation and ease induced by the summer heat, packs themin crates. As a result, there is frequently a hurry-scurry later inthe day to get the berries off in time. 

The Fastollf, Northumberland Fillbasket, and Knevett's Giant are fineold English varieties that are found in private gardens, but havenever made their way into general favor. 

The Franconia is now the best foreign variety we have. It wasintroduced from Paris by Mr. S. G. Perkins, of Boston, about thirty-seven years ago, and is a large, obtuse, conical berry, firm, thuscarrying well to market, and although a little sour, its acid is of arich, sprightly character. It is raised largely in Western New York, and in northern latitudes is one of the most profitable. 

It is almost hardy in the vicinity of Rochester, receiving by somegrowers no winter protection. Its lack of hardiness with us, andfurther southward, is due to its tendency--common to nearly allforeign berries--to lose its foliage in August. I am inclined to thinkthat it would prove one of the most profitable in Canada, and that ifit were simply pinned down to the surface of the ground, and thus keptunder the deep snows, it would rarely suffer from the cold. It shouldbe distinctly understood that the climate of Canada, if winterprotection is given--indeed, I may say, without protection--is farbetter adapted to tender raspberries than that of New Jersey, Virginia, or even Pennsylvania. 

The long continuance of the Franconia in bearing is one of its bestqualities. We usually enjoy its fruit for six weeks together. Itsalmost globular shape is in contrast with another excellent Frenchvariety, the Belle de Fontenay, a large, long, conical, but somewhatirregular-shaped berry of very superior flavor. Mr. Fuller says thatit is entirely hardy. It survives the winter without protection on mygrounds. The canes are very stocky and strong, and unless growingthickly together are branching. Its most marked characteristic, however, is a second crop in autumn, produced on the tips of the newcanes. If the canes of the previous year are cut even with the groundearly in spring, the new growth gives a very abundant autumn crop ofberries, which, although much inclined to crumble in picking, and tobe irregular in shape, have still the rare flavor of a delicious fruitlong out of season. It certainly is the best of the fall-bearingkinds, and deserves a place in every garden. There are more profitablemarket varieties, however; but, if the suckers are vigorouslydestroyed, and the bearing canes cut well back, the fruit is oftenvery large, abundant, and attractive, bringing the highest prices. Asa plantation grows older, the tendency to sucker immoderatelydecreases, and the fruit improves. 

The Belle de Pallua and Hornet are also French varieties that in somesections yield fine fruit, but are too uncertain to become favoritesin our country. 

I have a few canes of a French variety that Mr. Downing imported anumber of years since, and of which the name has been lost. Itcertainly is the finest raspberry I have ever seen, and I am testingits adaptation to various soils. 

Having named the best-known foreign varieties, I will now turn to_R. Strigosus_, or our native species, which is scattered almosteverywhere throughout the North. In its favorite haunts by roadsidehedge and open glade in the forest, a bush is occasionally foundproducing such fine fruit that the delighted discoverer marks it, andin the autumn transfers it to his garden. As a result, a new varietyis often heralded throughout the land. A few of these wildings havebecome widely popular, and among them the Brandywine probably has hadthe most noted career. 

Mr. William Parry, of New Jersey, who has been largely interested inthis variety, writes to me as follows:

"I have never been able to trace the origin of this berry. Itattracted attention some eight or ten years since in the Wilmingtonmarket, and was for a time called the 'Wilmington. '"

Subsequently Mr. Edward Tatnall, of that city, undertook to introduce itby the name of Susqueco, the Indian name for the Brandywine. It soonbecame the principal raspberry grown along the Brandywine Creek, and asthe market-men would persist in calling it after its chief haunt, itwill probably bear the historical name until it passes wholly out offavor. Its popularity is already on the wane, because of its dry textureand insipid flavor, but its bright color, good size, and especially itsfirmness and remarkable carrying qualities, will ever lead to its readysale in the market. It is not a tall, vigorous grower, except in veryrich land. The young canes are usually small, slender, of a pale redcolor, and have but few spines. Like nearly all the _R. Strigosus_species, it tends to sucker immoderately. If this disposition isrigorously checked by hoe and cultivator, it is productive; otherwise, the bearing canes are choked and rendered comparatively unfruitful. Thisvariety is waning before the Cuthbert--a larger and much better berry. 

The Turner is another of this class, and, in Mr. Charles Downing'sopinion, is the best of them. It was introduced by Professor J. B. Turner, of Illinois, and is a great favorite in many parts of theWest. It has behaved well on my place for several years, and I amsteadily increasing my stock of it. I regard it as the hardiestraspberry in cultivation, and a winter must be severe, indeed, thatinjures it. Like the Crescent Seedling strawberry, it will growanywhere, and under almost any conditions. The laziest man on thecontinent can have its fruit in abundance, if he can muster sufficientspirit to put out a few roots, and hoe out all the suckers except fiveor six in the hill. It is early, and in flavor surpasses all of itsclass; the fruit is only moderately firm. Plant a few in some out-of-the-way place, and it will give the largest return for the leastamount of labor of any kind with which I am acquainted. The canes arevery vigorous, of a golden reddish-brown, like mahogany, over whichspreads in many places a purple bloom, like that on a grape, and whichrubs off at the touch. It is almost free from spines, and so closelyresembles the Southern Thornless in all respects that I cannotdistinguish between them. 

The Turner is a fine example of the result of persistent well-doing. After having been treated slightingly and written down at the East forten years or more, it is now steadily winning its way toward the frontrank. Mr. A. S. Fuller, who has tried most of the older varieties, says that he keeps a patch of it for his own use, because it gives somuch good fruit with so little trouble. 

I shall give its origin in Professor Turner's own words, as far aspossible:

"Soon after I came to Illinois, in 1833, I obtained, through a friendfrom the East, some raspberries sold to me as the 'Red Antwerp. ' I donot know or believe that there was at that time any other redraspberry within one hundred miles of this place. Indeed, I have neverseen a native wild red raspberry in the State, though it may be thereare some. I found the Antwerp would not stand our climate, but byextreme care I protected it one winter, and it bore some fruit. Iconceived the idea of amusing my leisure hours from college duty byraising new seedling raspberries, strawberries, etc. , that would beadapted to the climate of the State. I had only a small garden spot, no particular knowledge of the business, and no interest in it outsideof the public good. I read upon the subject, as far as I then could, and planted and nursed my seedlings. Out of hundreds or thousandssown, I got one good early strawberry, which had a local run for atime; one fair blackberry, but no grapes or raspberries that seemedworth anything. The seeds of the raspberries were sown in a bed backof my house, and the shoots reserved were all nurtured on the samebed. After I supposed them to be a failure, I set out an arbor vitaehedge directly across the raspberry bed, making some effort to destroythe canes so that the little cedars might grow. Sometimes, when theywere in the way of the cedars they were hoed out. If any of them boreberries, the fowls doubtless destroyed them, or the children ate thembefore they ripened, until the cedars got so high as to give themprotection. Then the children found the ripe fruit, and reported it tome. I have not the least doubt but this raspberry came from a seed ofthe plants obtained from the East as the Red Antwerp. The originalcanes may have been false to name, or a mixture of the true and false. Whatever they were, they bore good, red berries, which I supposed tobe Antwerps; but the canes were so tender as to be worthless. It iswholly impossible that the new variety should have come from any otherseed than that sown by me where the vitae hedge now stands. "

This letter is very interesting in showing how curiously some of ourbest varieties originate. Moreover, it suggests a dilemma. How is itpossible that an Antwerp--one of the most tender varieties--could havebeen the parent of the hardiest known raspberry? How could a sorthaving every characteristic of our native _R. Strigosus_ spring directfrom _R. Idoeus_?

I have been familiar with the Antwerps all my life, and can see notrace of them in this hardy berry. Mr. A. S. Fuller writes to me, "TheTurner is a true native--_R. Strigosus_;" and Mr. Charles Downingholds the same opinion. Hence I am led to believe that there was anative variety among the plants the professor obtained from the East, or that a seed of a native was dropped among the cedars by a bird, orbrought thither in the roots of the cedars. Be this as it may, Professor Turner's good motives have been rewarded and he has giventhe public an excellent raspberry. 

In connection with this subject, Mr. Fuller added the following fact, which opens to the amateur a very interesting field for experiment:"If there is any doubt in regard to such matters, raise a fewseedlings of the variety, and if it is a cross or hybrid, a part ofthe seedlings will revert back to each parent, or so near them thatthere will be no difficulty in determining that there was a mixture ofblood. If all our so-called hybrid fruits were thus tested, we wouldthen know more of their true parentage. " In the sunny laboratory ofthe garden, therefore, Nature's chemistry will resolve these juicycompounds back into their original constituents. 

The Highland Hardy, or Native, also belongs to this species, and isquite a favorite still in some localities; but it has had its day, Ithink. Its extreme earliness has made it profitable in some regions;but its softness, small size and wretched flavor should banish it fromcultivation as soon as possible. 

There are others, like the Thwack, Pearl, and Bristol; they are butsecond rate, being inferior in most regions to the Brandywine, whichthey resemble. 

In my opinion, the chief value of _R. Strigosus_ is to be found in twofacts. In the first place, they endure the severe Northern winters, and--what is of far more consequence--their best representativesthrive in light soils, and their tough foliage does not burn under thehot sun. It thus becomes the one species of _red_ raspberry that canbe raised successfully in the South, and from it, as a hardy stock, weshould seek to develop the raspberries of the future. 

CHAPTER XXII

RUBUS OCCIDENTALIS--BLACK-CAP AND PURPLE CANE RASPBERRIES

We now turn to the other great American species--_Rubus Occidentalis_--the well-known black-cap, or thimble berry, that is found alongalmost every roadside and fence in the land. There are few littlepeople who have not stained their lips and fingers, not to mentiontheir clothes, with this homely favorite. I can recall the days when, to the horror of the laundress, I filled my pockets with the juicycaps. It is scarcely necessary to recall its long, rambling, purpleshoots, its light-green foliage, silvery on the under side, itssharp and abundant spines, from which we have received many a viciousscratch. Its cultivation is so simple that it may be suggested in afew sentences. It does not produce suckers, like _R. Strigosus_, but the tips of the drooping branches root themselves in the soilduring August and September, forming young plants. These, planted, produce a vigorous bush the first year that bears the second season, and then dies down to the perennial root, as is the case with allraspberries. Usually, the tips of the _young_ canes will take root, ifleft to themselves, unless whipped about by the wind. If new plants inabundance are desired, it is best to assist Nature, however, byplacing a little earth on the tip just after it begins to enlargeslightly, thus showing it is ready to take root. This labor is quicklyperformed by throwing a handful or two of earth on the tips with atrowel. The tips do not all mature for propagation at one time;therefore, it is well to go over the plantation every two weeks afterthe middle of August and cover lightly with earth only such as areenlarged. If covered before this sign of readiness appears, the tipmerely decays. If a variety is very scarce, we may cover not only thetips, but also much of the cane, lightly--an inch or two--with earth, and each bud will eventually make a plant. This should not be done, however, until the wood is well ripened, say about the first ofOctober. Throw a few leaves over such layered canes in November, anddivide the buds and roots into separate plants early in spring. Theywill probably be so small as to need a year in the nursery row. Sometimes, after the first tip is rooted, buds a little above it willpush into shoots which also will root themselves with slightassistance, and thus the number of new plants is greatly increased. Spring is by far the best time, at the North, for planting theserooted tips; but it should be done as early as possible, before thebud has started into its brittle, succulent growth. At the South, November is probably the best season for planting. It is a speciesthat adapts itself to most soils, even the lightest, and endures muchneglect. At the same time, it responds generously to good culture andrigorous pruning, and if moisture is abundant the yield is simplyenormous. It not only thrives far to the north, but can also be grownfurther south than any other class of raspberries. 

In planting, spread out the roots and let them go down their fulllength, but do not put over an inch or two of soil on the bud fromwhich the new canes are to spring. Press the earth firmly_around_ this bud, but _not on_ it. Let the rows be six feet apart, and the plants three feet from each other in the row; at thisdistance, 2, 400 will be required for an acre. Summer pinching backwill transform these sprawling, drooping canes into compact, stockybushes, or ornamental shrubs that in sheltered locations will be self-supporting. Clean culture, and, as the plantation grows older, higherstimulation, greatly enhance success. After the plants begin to showsigns of age and feebleness, it is best to set out young plants on newground. 

The varieties of this species are almost innumerable, since seedlingscome up by the million every year; but the differences between themajority of them are usually very slight. There are four kinds, however, that have won honorable distinction and just popularity. Theearliest of these is Davidson's Thornless, said to have originated inthe garden of Mrs. Mercy Davidson, Towanda, Erie Co. , N. Y. It isnothing like so vigorous a grower as the other three varieties; butthe sweetness of the fruit and the freedom from thorns make itdesirable for the home garden. Unless high culture or moist soil isgiven, I do not recommend it for market. 

Next in order of ripening is the Doolittle, or American Improved, found growing wild, about thirty-five years since, by Leander Joslyn, of Phelps, Ontario Co. , N. Y. , and introduced by Mr. H. H. Doolittle. This, hitherto, has been the most popular of all the species, andthousands of bushels are annually raised for market. The plant isexceedingly vigorous, producing strong, branching canes that literallycover themselves with fruit. I have seen long rows fairly black withcaps. Perhaps it should be stated that the thorns are vigorous also. 

Latest in ripening is the Mammoth Cluster, or McCormick, which, thusfar, has been my favorite. It is even more vigorous than thepreceding, but not so briery or branching. The fruit is producedusually in a thick cluster or bunch at the end of the branch, and theyripen more together than the other kinds. The caps, too, are muchlarger, more juicy and fine-flavored. One is less conscious of theseeds. Between the thumb and finger you can often gather a handfulfrom a single spray, it is so prodigiously productive. Thus far it hasbeen unsurpassed, either for home use or market; but now it isencountering a rival in the Gregg, a new variety that is attractingmuch attention. Its history, as far as I have been able to learn it, is as follows:

In the latter part of June, 1866, this black raspberry was foundgrowing wild in a ravine on the Gregg farm, which is located in OhioCo. , Indiana. The original bush "was bending under the weight ofcolossal-sized clusters. It was then a single clump, surrounded by afew young plants growing from its tips. Before introducing it to thepublic, we gave it a most thorough and complete trial. We have put iton the tables of some of the most prominent horticultural societies, and by each it has been voted the highest rank in their fruit lists. At the Centennial Exposition, at Philadelphia, in competition with allthe prominent varieties in the world, it was ranked highest by thejudges. During eleven years of observation it has survived the coldestwinters, and never failed to yield an abundant crop. It is a vigorous, rapid grower, producing strong, well-matured canes by fall. The fruitis beautiful in appearance, delicious, possessing excellent shippingand keeping qualities. "

The above is a mild and condensed statement of its claims, as setforth by Messrs. R. & P. Gregg, proprietors of the Gregg farm, and Ibelieve these gentlemen have given a correct account of theirexperience. As the result of much inquiry, it would appear that thisvariety is also doing well throughout the country at large. 

Mr. N. Ohmer, who has been most prominent in introducing the Gregg, gives the following account of his first acquaintance with it: "At ameeting of the Indiana State Horticultural Society, held atIndianapolis, a gentleman asked for the privilege of making someremarks about a new black raspberry that he was cultivating. Beingpretty long-winded, as most lawyers are, he spoke so long, and said somuch in favor of his berry, that no one believed him, and were gladwhen he got through. The summer following, I chanced to call on theSecretary of the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, in the Capitolbuilding, and was surprised to see on his table about half a peck ofberries and an armful of canes loaded with the largest, handsomest, and best black raspberries I had ever seen. Mr. Herron, the Secretary, informed me that they were grown by Messrs. R. & P. Gregg. I obtainedtwo hundred plants, a few of which bore fruit so fine, the followingseason, that all who saw it wanted plants. " It was learned that Mr. Gregg was the lawyer who was thought "long-winded, " and many who thenyawned have since thought, no doubt, that they might have listenedwith much profit, for the demand for the plants has become greaterthan the supply. Only time can show whether the Gregg is to supersedethe Mammoth Cluster. I observe that veteran fruit growers are veryconservative, and by no means hasty to give a newcomer the place thata fine old variety has won by years of excellence in nearly alldiversities of soil and climate. The Gregg certainly promisesremarkably well, and Mr. Thomas Meehan, editor of the "Gardener'sMonthly, " who is well known to be exceedingly careful andconscientious in indorsing new fruits, writes: "We believe thisvariety is generally larger than any other of its kind yet known. "

There are many other candidates for favor, but thus far they areuntried, or have not proved themselves equal to the kinds I havenamed. 

Quite a distinct branch of _R. Occidentalis_ is the Purple Canefamily--so named, I think, from the purple cane raspberry that was sowell known in old gardens a few years ago, but since it has beensuperseded by better kinds is now fast passing out of cultivation. Italmost took care of itself in our home garden for forty years or more, and its soft, small berries would melt in one's mouth. Its canes weresmooth and its fruit of a dusky-red color. In other respects, itresembles the black-cap tribe. 

The Catawissa, found growing in a Pennsylvania graveyard, is anotherberry of this class, which produces a second crop in autumn. It istender in the Northern States, and has never become popular. 

The Philadelphia is the best known of the class, and at one time wasimmensely popular. Its canes are smooth, stout, erect in growth, andenormously productive of medium-sized, round, dusky-red berries ofvery poor flavor. It throve so well on the light soils aboutPhiladelphia, that it was heralded to the skies, and the plants soldat one time as high as $40 per 100, but the inferior flavor andunattractive appearance of the fruit caused it to decline steadily infavor, and now it has but few friends. Unlike others of its class, itdoes not root from the tips, but propagates itself by suckers, producing them sparingly, however. When it was in such great demand, the nurserymen increased it by root cuttings, forced under glass. 

CHAPTER XXIII

THE RASPBERRIES OF THE FUTURE

We now come to a class that are destined, I think, to be theraspberries of the future, or, at least, a type of them. I refer tothe seedlings of the three original species that have been described. As a rule (having exceptions of course), these native seedlingvarieties are comparatively hardy, and adapted to the climate ofAmerica. This adaptation applies to the South in the proportion thatthey possess the qualities of the _Rubus Strigosus_ or _Occidentalis_. To the degree that the foreign element of _R. Idoeus_ exists, theywill, with a few exceptions, require winter protection, and will beunable to thrive in light soils and under hot suns. Forgetfulness ofthis principle is often the cause of much misapprehension andundiscriminating censure. I have known certain New Jersey fruitgrowers to condemn a variety unsparingly. Would it not be moresensible to say it belongs to the _R. Idoeus_ class, and, therefore, is not adapted to our climate and light soil, but in higher latitudesand on heavy land it may prove one of the best?

It should here be premised that these seedlings originated in thiscountry. Perhaps they are the product solely of our native species, orthey may result from crossing varieties of _R. Idoeus_, in whichcase they will exhibit the characteristics of the foreign species; or, finally, from the foreign and our native species may be produced ahybrid that will combine traits of each line of its lineage. Aconspicuous example of the second statement may be seen in Brinkle'sOrange, originated by Dr. Brinkle many years ago. It is essentially anAntwerp in character, and yet it is more vigorous, and adapted to awider range of country than the Antwerp. The berry is of a beautifulbuff color, and its delicious flavor is the accepted standard ofexcellence. At the same time, it is well known that it will not thriveunder hot suns or upon light land. It can be raised south of New Yorkonly in cool, moist soils, and in half-shady locations; but at theNorth, where the conditions of growth are favorable, it producesstrong branching canes, covered with white spines, and is exceedinglyproductive of large, light-colored berries that melt on the tongue. There is the same difference between it and the Brandywine that existsbetween Stowell's Evergreen and flint field corn. It invariablyrequires winter protection. 

The Pride of the Hudson possesses the same general character as theOrange, and approaches it very nearly in excellence. It certainly isthe largest, most beautiful red raspberry now before the public; butin its later development it has shown such sensitiveness to both heatand cold that I cannot recommend it for general cultivation. Give it amoist soil and a half-shady location, such as may be found on thenorthern side of a fence or hedge, and it will become the pride ofany northern garden; but in the South, and on light soils, it canscarcely live. It should have winter protection. 

In contrast with these native berries of foreign parentage, we havethe Herstine; Mr. B. K. Bliss, the well-known seedsman of New YorkCity, kindly furnishes me the following facts of its history: "Aboutten years since I was invited, with several gentlemen (mostlyhorticulturists), to visit the late Mr. Herstine, at Philadelphia. Wewere to examine a lot of seedling raspberries, and select names forthose that we thought worthy of general cultivation. We found quite acompany there from the vicinity of Philadelphia and from Washington, while New York was represented by such eminent authorities as Dr. Thurber and A. S. Fuller. The raspberry bushes were completely loadedwith large fine fruit--the finest I ever saw. Each variety wascarefully examined, and the guests voted as to which, in his opinion, was the best. The Herstine stood first and the Saunders second. Mr. Herstine explained that they were raised from the Allen raspberry, which had been planted in alternate rows with the Philadelphia. " Thisparentage would make it a hybrid of the _R. Strigosus_ and the purplecane branch of the _R. Occidentalis_ species; but the plant and fruitindicate the presence, also, of the _R. Ideous_ element. After severalyears' experience on my own place, I regard it as the best earlyraspberry in existence. The berry is large, obtusely conical, brightred, and delicious in flavor. It is scarcely firm enough for marketwhere it must be sent any great distance, but if picked promptly afterit reddens, and packed in a cool, airy place, it carries well andbrings good prices. The canes are strong, red, stocky, and coveredwith spines. They are but half-hardy, and I think it is best to coverthem before the first of December, in our latitude. The canes of theSaunders, also sent out by Mr. Herstine, are much darker in color, andnot so vigorous, but sufficiently so. The berries are large, ripenlater, are more globular, and are of the same excellent quality. Itdeserves greater popularity than it has received. It is, also, onlyhalf-hardy. 

In the Clarke, we undoubtedly have a variety containing considerableof the _R. Idoeus_ element. The berries are often very large, brightcrimson, conical, with large, hairy grains. Occasionally, the fruit onmy vines was very imperfect, and crumbled badly in picking. I foundthat by cutting the canes rigorously back--even one-half--I obtainedmuch larger and more perfect berries, and in increased quantities. Thecanes are very strong, upright growers, ending usually in a thick tuftof foliage, rather than in long, drooping tips. It was originated byMr. E. E. Clarke, of New Haven, Conn. , and is but half-hardy. 

In the New Rochelle, we have a hybrid of the black-cap and redraspberry, the _R. Occidentalis_ element predominating, andmanifesting itself in the stocky and branching character of the canes, and in the fact that they propagate themselves by tips, and notsuckers. The New Rochelle, originated by Mr. E. W. Carpenter, of Rye, N. Y. , is perhaps the best of this class. It is very vigorous, hardy, and enormously productive, and the fruit is of good size. I do notlike its sharp acid, however, and its dun or dusky-brown color willprobably prevent it from becoming a favorite in market, since bright-hued berries are justly much preferred. 

But Mr. Carpenter has sent out another seedling which, I think, isdestined to have a brilliant future--the Caroline, It is thought to bea cross between the Catawissa and Brinkle's Orange. The canes areperfectly hardy, very strong, vigorous, branching, light-red, with alighter bloom upon them here and there. It suckers freely, and alsopropagates itself sparingly from the tips. The fruit is exceedinglyabundant and is a round cap of a beautiful buff color, almostequalling Brinkle's Orange in flavor. I think it will grow anywhere, and thus will find a place in innumerable gardens where the Orangedoes not thrive. At the same time, it is good enough for any garden. 

The Ganargua was said to be a hybrid, but Mr. J. J. Thomas writes tome: "I have never been able to discover proof that it is one. I thinkit all _R. Occidentalis_--a variety. "

The Reliance, a seedling of the Philadelphia, but far superior to it, is doing remarkably well on my place, and I hear favorable accountsfrom other localities. 

There are many others that are either old and passing into obscurityor else so new and dubious in character that limited space forbidstheir mention. We will close this sketch of varieties with theCuthbert, which that experienced and careful horticulturist, Dr. Hexamer, calls the "best raspberry now in existence. "

This is a chance seedling, which the late Thomas Cuthbert found in hisgarden, at Riverdale, N. Y. His son has kindly furnished the followingfacts:

"The raspberry in question was discovered by my father about elevenyears ago in the garden of our country seat at Riverdale-on-the-Hudson. It is probably a seedling of the Hudson River Antwerp, as itwas found growing near the edge of a patch of that variety, but itsgreat vigor of growth and the size and quality of the fruit marked itat once as a new and distinct kind. Its canes were carefully separatedfrom the others and a small plantation made of them. The next year, and from time to time since, plants were given to our friends invarious parts of the State for trial. Without exception, their reportshave been favorable, particular mention having been made of theirunusual vigor of growth, their hardiness, and the firmness and goodkeeping qualities of the fruit. The first year or so we gave the caneswinter protection, but finding that it was unnecessary, we havediscontinued it, and I have never heard of the canes being winter-killed. "

From other sources I learn that Mr. Cuthbert made an arrangement witha nurseryman by the name of Thompson, to propagate and send out thevariety. This gentleman dying soon after, the stock came into thepossession of Mr. H. J. Corson, of Staten Island, N. Y. , and by him andMr. I. J. Simonson, a florist, the plants have been sent out todifferent parts of the country. This dissemination was very limited, and was characterized by an almost utter absence of heralding andextravagant praise. The berry has literally made its way on its ownmerits. Dr. Hexamer remarked to me that he had had it for years, andhad wondered why its merits were so overlooked. My attention wascalled to it in the summer of 1878, and I took pains to see it inseveral localities. The large size of the berries, their firmness andfine flavor, convinced me that it was very valuable, and the fact thatI found it flourishing luxuriantly on New Jersey sand, and maintaininga perfectly healthful foliage under an August sun, led me to believethat we had at last found a first-class variety that would thrive onlight soils and under hot suns. 

The late W. C. Bryant, the poet, himself well versed in horticulture, closed a letter to me with the following words:

"It has always seemed to me a scandal to our horticulture that in aregion where the raspberry grows wild, we should not have a sort thatwould resist both the winter cold and summer heat, and produceabundantly. "

After another year of observation and of much correspondence, extending even to California, I am convinced that the Cuthbert does"resist both the winter cold and summer heat, and produce abundantly, "far better than any other raspberry that equals it in size and flavor. The canes are strong, upright, branching, if space permits, reddish-brown, spines abundant, but not very long and harsh. It is a rampantgrower on good soil, but the foliage, so far from being rank andlarge, is delicate, and the under side of the leaves has a light, silvery hue. After once getting hold of the soil, it suckersimmoderately, but is no worse in this respect than other vigorousvarieties; and this tendency rapidly declines after the second year. Is it perfectly hardy? No; and I do not know of a single goodraspberry that is; except, perhaps, the Turner, which, however, isinferior to the Cuthbert. I have seen the latter badly winter-killed, but it had stood eight years on the same ground without injury before. Then, because of a rank growth late in the season, that especial patchwas hit hard, while other fields, but a few miles away, were unharmed. If planted on well-drained soil, where the wood could ripen well, Ithink it would be injured very rarely, if ever; but I have no faith intalk about "perfectly hardy raspberries. " Those who observe closelywill often find our hardy native species killed to the ground, and Ithink many varieties suffer more from the mild, variable winters ofthe Middle States than from the steady cold and snowy winters of theNorth. Moreover, any variety that has not the power of maintaining ahealthy foliage through the hot season will usually be too feeble toresist the winter following. The question of hardiness can often besettled better in August than in January. One of the most hopefulfeatures of the Cuthbert, therefore, is its tough, sun-enduringfoliage, which enables the wood to ripen perfectly. It has neverreceived winter protection thus far, either in this region or inMichigan, where it is largely raised, but it may be found necessary toshield it somewhat in some localities. It is both absurd and dishonestto claim perfection for a fruit, and the Cuthbert, especially as itgrows older and loses something of its pristine vigor, will, probably, like all other varieties, develop faults and weaknesses. We cannot toomuch deprecate the arrogant spirit often manifested in introducing newfruits. Interested parties insist on boundless praise, and if theiradvice were followed, the fine old standards would be plowed out tomake room for a newcomer that often proves, on trial, little betterthan a weed. The Cuthbert is not exactly a novelty. Through the giftsof the originator, and sales running through several years, it hasbecome widely scattered, and has proved a success in every instance, as far as I can learn. I show my faith in it by my works, for I amsetting it out more largely than all other kinds together, even goingso far as to rent land for the purpose. I am satisfied, from frequentinquiries in Washington Market, that it will take the lead of allothers, and it is so firm that it can be shipped by rail, like aWilson strawberry. 

In Delaware and Southern New Jersey, a variety named "Queen of theMarket" is being largely set out. I have this variety in my specimen-bed, side by side with plants that came from Thomas Cuthbert's garden, and am almost satisfied that they are identical, and that Queen of theMarket is but a synonym of the Cuthbert. I have placed the canes andspines of each under a powerful microscope and can detect nodifferences, and the fruit also appeared so much alike that I couldnot see wherein it varied. Plants of this variety were sent toDelaware some years since as they were to Michigan and California, and, wherever tested, they seem to win strong and immediate favor. Itschief fault in this locality is its lateness. 

CHAPTER XXIV

BLACKBERRIES--VARIETIES, CULTIVATION, ETC. 

The small-fruit branch of the rose family is assuredly entitled torespect when it is remembered that the blackberry is the blackestsheep in it. Unlike the raspberry, the drupes cling to the receptacle, which falls off with them when mature, and forms the hard, disagreeable core when the berry is black, but often only half ripe. The bush is, in truth, what the ancients called it--a bramble, andone of our Highland wildcats could scarcely scratch more viciouslythan it, if treated too familiarly; but, with judicious respect andgood management, it will yield large and beautiful berries. 

It would seem that Nature had given her mind more to blackberries thanto strawberries, for, instead of merely five, she has scattered about150 species up and down the globe. To describe all these would be athorny experience indeed, robbing the reader of his patience ascompletely as he would be bereft of his clothing should he literallyattempt to go through them all. Therefore, I shall give ProfessorGray's description of the two species which have furnished our fewreally good varieties, and dismiss with mere mention a few otherspecies. 

"_Rubus Villosus_, High Blackberry. Everywhere along thickets, fence-rows, etc. , and several varieties cultivated; stems one to six feethigh, furrowed; prickles strong and hooked; leaflets three to five, ovate or lance-ovate, pointed, their lower surface and stalks hairyand glandular, the middle one long-stalked and sometimes heart-shaped; flowers racemed, rather large, with short bracts; fruit oblongor cylindrical. 

"_R. Canadensis_, Low Blackberry or Dewberry. Rocky and sandy soil;long trailing, slightly prickly, smooth or smoothish, and withthree to seven smaller leaflets than in the foregoing, the racemes offlowers with more leaf-like bracts, the fruit of fewer grains andripening earlier. "

The _R. Cuneifolius_, or Sand Blackberry, is common in the sandyground and barrens from New Jersey southward; the _R. Trivialis_, Southern Low Blackberry, is found in light soils from Virginiasouthward; the _R. Hispidus_ is a Running Swamp Blackberry whoselong, slender stems creep through low, damp woods and marshes; the_R. Spectabilis_ produces purple solitary flowers, and grows onthe banks of the Columbia River in the far Northwest. Whateverimprovements may originate from these species in the future, they havenot as yet, to my knowledge, given us any fine cultivated variety. 

_R, fruticosus_ is the best-known European species, but neither hasit, as far as I can discover, been the source of any varieties worthyof favor. It is said to have a peculiar flavor, that produces satietyat once. The blackberry, therefore, is exceptional, in that we have nofine foreign varieties, and Mr. Fuller writes that he cannot find "anypractical information in regard to their culture in any European workon gardening. "

The "bramble" is quite fully treated in Mr. R. Thompson's valuableEnglish work, but I find little to interest the American reader. Hesuggests that the several native species that he describes are capableof great improvement, but I cannot learn that such effort has everbeen made successfully. I do not know of any reason why our finevarieties will not thrive abroad, under conditions that accord withtheir nature. 

In America there are innumerable varieties, since Nature produces wildseedlings on every hillside, and not a few seeds have been planted byhorticulturists in the hope of originating a prize berry. Natureappears to have had the better fortune, thus far, for our bestvarieties are chance seedlings, found growing wild. 

It is not so many years since the blackberry was regarded as merely abramble in this country, as it now is abroad, and people were contentwith such fruit as the woods and fields furnished. Even still, in somelocalities, this supply is so abundant as to make the culture of theblackberry unprofitable. But, a number of years since, Mr. Lewis A. Seacor led to better things, by observing on the roadside, in the townof New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York, a bush flourishingwhere Nature had planted it. This variety took kindly to civilization, and has done more to introduce this fruit to the garden than all otherkinds together. Mr. Donald GK Mitchell, in his breezy out-of-doorbook, "My Farm at Edgewood, " gives its characteristics so admirablythat I am tempted to quote him:

"The New Rochelle or Lawton Blackberry has been despitefully spoken ofby many; first, because the market fruit is generally bad, beingplucked before it is fully ripened; and next, because, in rich, clayeygrounds, the briers, unless severely cut back, grow into a tangled, unapproachable forest, with all the juices exhausted in wood. But upona soil moderately rich, a little gravelly and warm, protected fromwinds, served with occasional top-dressings and good hoeings, theLawton bears magnificent burdens. Even then, if you wish to enjoy therichness of the fruit, you must not be hasty to pluck it. When thechildren say, with a shout, 'The blackberries are ripe!' I know theyare black only, and I can wait. When the children report, 'The birdsare eating the berries!' I know I can wait. But when they say, 'Thebees are on the berries!' I know they are at their ripest. Then, withbaskets, we sally out; I taking the middle rank, and the children theouter spray of boughs. Even now we gather those only which drop at thetouch; these, in a brimming saucer, with golden Alderney cream and a_soupcon_ of powdered sugar, are Olympian nectar; they melt before thetongue can measure their full soundness, and seem to be mere bloatedbubbles of forest honey. "

Notwithstanding this eloquent plea and truthful statement, the Lawtonis decidedly on the wane. It is so liable to be winter-killed, evenwith best of care, and its fruit is go unpalatable, in its half-ripecondition, that it has given place to a more successful rival, theKittatinny--discovered in Warren County, K. J. , growing in a forestnear the mountains, whose Indian name has become a household word fromassociation with this most delicious fruit. Mr. Wolverton, in findingit, has done more for the world than if he had opened a gold mine. Under good culture, the fruit is very large; sweet, rich, and melting, when fully ripe, but rather sour and hard when immature. It reachesits best condition if allowed to ripen fully on the vines; but themajority of pickers use their hands only, and no more think of makingnice discriminations than of questioning nature according to theBaconian method. They gather all that are black, or nearly so; but ifthis half-ripe fruit is allowed to stand in some cool, dry place forabout twelve hours, Kittatinny berries may be had possessing nearlyall their luscious qualities. The plant is an upright and veryvigorous grower, exceedingly productive if soil and culture aresuitable. Its leaves are long-pointed, "finely and unevenly serrate. "The season of fruiting is medium, continuing from four to six weeks, if moisture is maintained. Both of these varieties are derived fromthe _Rubus villosus_ species. 

In contrast is the next-best known sort, Wilson's Early--having manyof the characteristics of the Dewberry, or running blackberry, and, therefore, representing the second species described, _R. Canadensis_. Whether it is merely a sport from this species, or a hybrid between itand the first-named or high blackberry, cannot be accurately known, Iimagine; for it also was found growing wild by Mr. John Wilson, ofBurlington, N. J. Under high culture, and with increasing age, theplants become quite erect and stocky growers, but the ends of the caneare drooping. Frequently, they trail along the ground, and root at thetips, like the common Dewberry; and they rarely grow so stocky butthat they can be bent over and covered with earth or litter, as is thecase with the tender raspberries. It is well that this is possible, for it has so little power of resisting frost that a winter ofordinary severity kills the canes in the latitude of New York. I havealways covered mine, and thus secured, at slight expense, a sure andabundant crop. The fruit is earlier than the Kittatinny, and tends toripen altogether in about ten days. These advantages, with its largesize and firmness, make it a valuable market berry in New Jersey, where hundreds of acres of it have been planted, and where it is stillvery popular. Throughout the North and West, it has been found tootender for cultivation, unless protected. In flavor, it is inferior tothe Kittatinny or Snyder. 

For many years, the great desideratum has been a perfectly hardyblackberry, and this want has at last been met in part by the Snyder, a Western variety that seems able to endure, without the slightestinjury, the extremes of temperature common in the Northwestern States. From Nebraska eastward, I have followed its history, and have neverheard of its being injured by frost. It originated on, or in thevicinity of, Mr. Snyder's farm, near La Porte, Ind. , about 1851, andis an upright, exceedingly vigorous, and stocky grower, a true childof the _R. Vittosus_. Its one fault is that it is not quite largeenough to compete with those already described. On moist land, withjudicious pruning, it could be made to approach them very nearly, however, while its earliness, hardiness, fine flavor, and ability togrow and yield abundantly almost anywhere, will lead to an increasingpopularity. For home use, size is not so important as flavor andcertainty of a crop. It is also more nearly ripe when first black thanany other kind that I have seen; its thorns are straight, andtherefore less vicious. I find that it is growing steadily in favor;and where the Kittatinny is winter-killed, this hardy new varietyleaves little cause for repining. 

There are several kinds that are passing out of cultivation, and not afew new candidates for favor; but the claims of superiority are as yettoo doubtful to be recognized. Mr. James Wilson, of West Point, N. Y. , found some magnificent wild berries growing on Crow Nest Mountain. Thebush that bore them is now in my garden, and if it should producefruit having a flavor equal to Rodman Drake's poem, Mr. Wilson has, then, found something more real than a "Culprit Fay. " Occasionally, athornless blackberry is heralded, and not a few have reason to recallthe "Hoosac, " which was generally found, I think, about as free fromfruit as thorns. We have, also, the horticultural paradox of whiteblackberries, in the "Crystal, " introduced by Mr. John B. Orange, ofAlbion, Illinois, and some others. They have little value, save ascuriosities. 

PROPAGATION, CULTURE, ETC. 

In most instances I think more difficulty would be found in making ablackberry die than live. A plant set out in fall or early spring willthrive if given the ghost of a chance. Late spring planting, however, often fails if subjected to heat and drought while in the green, succulent condition of early growth. Like the raspberry, theblackberry should be set, if possible, while in a dormant condition. If planted late, shade should be given and moisture maintained untildanger of wilting and shrivelling is past. I advise decidedly againstlate spring plantings on a large scale, but in early spring planting Ihave rarely lost a plant. Almost all that has been said concerning theplanting and propagation of raspberries applies to this fruit. Set theplants two or three inches deeper than they were before. With theexception of the early Wilson, all speedily propagate themselves bysuckers, and this variety can be increased readily by root cuttings. Indeed, better plants are usually obtained from all varieties bysowing slips of the root, as has already been explained in the paperon raspberries. 

The treatment of the blackberry can best be indicated by merely notingwherein its requirements differ from the last-named and kindred fruit. For instance, it does best on light soils and in sunny exposures. Thepartial shade, and moist, heavy land in which the raspberry luxuriateswould produce a rank growth of canes that winter would generally findunripened, and unable to endure the frost. Warm, well-drained, but notdry land, therefore, is the best. On hard, dry ground, the fruit oftennever matures, but becomes mere collections of seeds. Therefore theneed in the preparation of the soil of deep plowing, and the thoroughloosening, if possible, of the subsoil with the lifting plow. Any onewho has traced blackberry roots in light soils will seek to give themforaging-room. Neither does this fruit require the fertility needed inmost instances by the raspberry. It inclines to grow too rankly atbest, and demands mellowness rather than richness of soil. 

More room should also be given to the blackberry than to theraspberry. The rows should be six feet apart in the garden and eightfeet in field culture, and the plants set three feet apart in therows. At this distance, 1, 815 are required for an acre, if one plantonly is placed in a hill. Since these plants are usually cheap, if oneis small or unprovided with good roots, it is well to plant two. Ifthe ground is not very fertile, it is well to give the young plants agood start by scattering a liberal quantity of muck compost down thefurrow in which they are planted. This ensures the most vigorousgrowth of young canes in the rows rather than in the interveningspaces. As generally grown, they require support, and may be staked asraspberries. Very often, cheap post-and-wire trellises are employed, and answer excellently. Under this system they can be grown in acontinuous and bushy row, with care against over-crowding. 

The ideal treatment of the blackberry is management rather thanculture. More can be done with the thumb and finger at the right timethan with the most savage pruning-shears after a year of neglect. InMay and June the perennial roots send up vigorous shoots that growwith amazing rapidity, until from five to ten feet high. Very often, this summer growth is so brittle and heavy with foliage, that thunder-gusts break them off from the parent stem just beneath the ground, andthe bearing cane of the coming year is lost. These and the followingconsiderations show the need of summer pruning. Tall, overgrown canesare much more liable to be injured by frost. They need high andexpensive supports. Such branchless canes are by no means soproductive as those which are made to throw out low and lateralshoots. They can always be made to do this by a timely pinch thattakes off the terminal bud of the cane. This stops its upward growth, and the buds beneath it, which otherwise might remain dormant, areimmediately forced to become side branches near the ground, where thesnow may cover them, and over which, in the garden, straw or otherlight litter may be thrown, on the approach of winter. It thus is seenthat by early summer pinching the blackberry may be compelled tobecome as low and bushy a shrub as we desire, and is made stocky andself-supporting at the same time. Usually it is not well to let thebushes grow over four feet high; and in regions where they winter-killbadly, I would keep them under three feet, so that the snow might be aprotection. It should be remembered that the Kittatinny is so nearlyhardy that in almost all instances a very slight covering saves it. The suckers that come up thickly between the rows can be cut awaywhile small with the least possible trouble; but leave the patch orfield to its own wild impulses for a year or so, and you may find a"slip of wilderness" in the midst of your garden that will require nota little strength and patience to subdue. By far the best weapon forsuch a battle, and the best implement also for cutting out the oldwood, is a pair of long-handled shears. 

CHAPTER XXV

CURRANTS--CHOICE OF SOIL, CULTIVATION, PRUNING, ETC. 

They wore "curns" in our early boyhood, and "curns" they are still inthe rural vernacular of many regions. In old English they were"corrans, " because the people associated them with the raisins of thesmall Zante grape, once imported so exclusively from Corinth as toacquire the name of that city. 

Under the tribe _Grossulariae_ of the Saxifrage family we find the_Ribes_ containing many species of currants and gooseberries; but, inaccordance with the scope of this book, we shall quote from ProfessorGray (whose arrangement we follow) only those that furnish thecurrants of cultivation. 

"_Ribes rubrum_, red currant, cultivated from Europe, also wildon our northern border, with straggling or reclining stems, somewhatheart-shaped, moderately three to five lobed leaves, the lobesroundish and drooping racemes from lateral buds distinct from the leafbuds; edible berries red, or a white variety. "

This is the parent of our cultivated red and white varieties. Currantsare comparatively new-comers in the garden. When the Greek and Romanwriters were carefully noting and naming the fruits of their time, the_Ribes_ tribe was as wild as any of the hordes of the far North, inwhose dim, cold, damp woods and bogs it then flourished, but, likeother Northern tribes, it is making great improvement under the genialinfluences of civilization and culture. 

Until within a century or two, gardeners who cultivated currants atall were content with wild specimens from the woods. The exceedinglysmall, acid fruit of these wildings was not calculated to inspireenthusiasm; but a people possessing the surer qualities of patienceand perseverance determined to develop them, and, as a result, we havethe old Bed and White Dutch varieties, as yet unsurpassed for thetable. In the Victoria, Cherry, and White Grape, we have decidedadvances in size, but not in flavor. 

CHOICE AND PREPARATION OF SOIL

The secret of success in the culture of currants is suggested by thefact that nature has planted nearly every species of the _Ribes_in cold, damp, northern exposures. Throughout the woods and bogs ofthe Northern Hemisphere is found the scraggy, untamed, hurdy stockfrom which has been developed the superb White Grape. As with people, so with plants: development does not eradicate constitutional traitsand tendencies. Beneath all is the craving for the primeval conditionsof life, and the best success with the currant and gooseberry willassuredly be obtained by those who can give them a reasonable approachto the soil, climate, and culture suggested by their damp, cold, native haunts. As with the strawberry, then, the first requisite is, not wetness, but abundant and continuous moisture. Soils naturallydeficient in this, and which cannot be made drought-resisting by deepplowing and cultivation, are not adapted to the currant. Because thisfruit is found wild in bogs, it does not follow that it can be grownsuccessfully in undrained swamps. It will do better in such placesthan on dry, gravelly knolls, or on thin, light soils; but our finecivilized varieties need civilized conditions. The well-drained swampmay become the very best of currant fields; and damp, heavy land, thatis capable of deep, thorough cultivation, should be selected ifpossible. When such is not to be had, then, by deep plowing, subsoiling, by abundant mulch around the plants throughout the summer, and by occasional waterings in the garden, counteracting the effectsof lightness and dryness of soil, skill can go far in making goodnature's deficiencies. 

Next to depth of soil and moisture, the currant requires fertility. Itis justly called one of the "gross feeders, " and is not particular asto the quality of its food, so that it is abundant. I would stillsuggest, however, that it be fed according to its nature with heavycomposts, in which muck, leaf-mould, and the cleanings of the cow-stable are largely present. Wood-ashes and bone-meal are also mostexcellent. If stable or other light manures must be used, I wouldsuggest that they be scattered liberally on the surface in the fall orearly spring and gradually worked in by cultivation. Thus used, theirlight heating qualities will do no harm, and they will keep thesurface mellow and, therefore, moist. 

The shadowy, Northern haunts of the wild currant also suggest that itwill falter and fail under the Southern sun; and this is true, As wepass down through the Middle States, we find it difficult to makethrive even the hardy White and Bed Dutch varieties, and a point is atlast reached when the bushes lose their leaves in the hot season, anddie. From the latitude of New York south, therefore, increasing effortshould be made to supply the currants' constitutional need, by givingpartial shade among pear or widely set apple-trees, or, better still, by planting on the northern side of fences, buildings, etc. By givinga cool, half-shady exposure in moist land, the culture of the currantcan be extended far to the south, especially in the high mountainregions. Even well to the north it is unprofitable when grown onlight, thin, poor land, unless given liberal, skilful culture. 

PLANTING, CULTIVATION AND PRUNING

I regard autumn as the best season for planting currants, but havesucceeded nearly as well in early spring. If kept moist, there islittle danger of the plants dying at any time, but those set in thefall or early spring make, the first year, a much larger growth thanthose planted when the buds have developed into leaves. Since theystart so early, they should be set in the spring as soon as the groundis dry enough to work, and in the autumn, any time after the leavesfall or the wood is ripe. The plants of commerce are one, two andthree years old, though not very many of the last are sold. I would assoon have one-year plants, if well rooted, as any, since they arecheaper and more certain to make strong, vigorous bushes, if givengenerous treatment in the open field, than if left crowded too long innursery rows. For the garden, where fruit is desired as soon aspossible, two and three year old plants are preferable. Afterplanting, cut the young bushes back one-half or two-thirds, so as toensure new and vigorous growth. 

In field culture, I recommend that the rows be five feet apart, andthe plants four feet from each other in the row. In this case 2, 178plants are required for an acre. If it is designed to cultivate themboth ways, let the plants be set at right angles five feet apart, anacre now requiring 1, 742 plants. Sink them two or three inches deeperthan they stood in the nursery rows, and although in preparation theground was well enriched, a shovel of compost around the young plantgives it a fine send-off, and hastens the development of a profitablebush. In the field and for market, I would urge that currants be growninvariably in bush, rather than in tree form. English writers, andsome here who follow them, recommend the latter method; but it is notadapted to our climate, and to such limited attention as we can affordto give. The borers, moreover, having but a single stem to work upon, would soon cause many vacancies in the rows. 

Currants are grown for market with large and increasing profits;indeed, there is scarcely a fruit that now pays better. 

Mr. John S. Collins, of Moorestown, N. J. , by the following ingenious, yet simple, invention, is able to drive through his currant andraspberry fields without injuring the plants. 

"An ordinary cart is changed by putting in an axle fifteen incheslonger than usual, the wheels thus making a track six feet and eightinches wide. The shafts and body of the cart are put just as close toone wheel as possible, so that the horse and the wheel will pass asnear together, and as near in a line, as practicable. The axle of theother wheel being long, and bowing up several inches higher thanordinary in the middle, it passes over a row of bushes with little orno damage. Thus, fertilizers can be carried to all parts of thefield. "

Of course, it would not do to drive through bushes laden with fruit;but after they were picked, such a vehicle could cause but littleinjury. 

In the garden and for home use there is the widest latitude. We maycontent ourselves, as many do, with a few old Red Dutch bushes thatfor a generation have struggled with grass and burdocks. We may do alittle better, and set out plants in ordinary garden soil, but forgetfor years to give a particle of food to the starving bushes, remarkingannually, with increasing emphasis, that they must be "running out. "Few plants of the garden need high feeding more, and no others aremore generally starved. I will guarantee that there are successfulfarmers who no more think of manuring a currant bush than of feedingcrows. This fruit will live, no matter how we abuse it, but there arescarcely any that respond more quickly to generous treatment; and inthe garden where it is not necessary to keep such a single eye to themargin of profit, many beautiful and interesting things can be donewith the currant. The majority will be satisfied with large, vigorousbushes, well enriched, mulched and skilfully pruned. If we choose, however, we may train them into pretty little trees, umbrella, globe, or pyramid in shape, according to our fancy, and by watchfulness andthe use of ashes, keep away the borers. In one instance I found a fewvigorous shoots that had made a growth of nearly three feet in asingle season. With the exception of the terminal bud and three orfour just below it, I disbudded these shoots carefully, imbedded thelower ends six inches in moist soil as one would an ordinary cutting, and they speedily took root and developed into little trees. Muchtaller and more ornamental currant and gooseberry trees can beobtained by grafting any variety we wish on the Missouri species(_Ribes aureum_). These can be made pretty and useful ornamentsof the lawn, as well as of the garden. Instead, therefore, of weed-choked, sprawling, unsightly objects, currant bushes can be madethings of beauty, as well as of sterling worth. 

The cultivation of the currant is very simple. As early in the springas the ground is dry enough, it should be thoroughly stirred by plowor cultivator, and all perennial weeds and grasses just around thebushes taken out with pronged hoes or forks. If a liberal top-dressingof compost or some other fertilizer was not given in the autumn, whichis the best time to apply it, let it be spread over the roots (not upagainst the stems) before the first spring cultivation. While thebushes are still young, they can be cultivated and kept clean, likeany hoed crop; but after they come into bearing--say the third summer--a different course must be adopted. If the ground is kept mellow andbare under the bushes, the fruit will be so splashed with earth as tobe unsalable, and washed fruit is scarcely fit for the table. We veryproperly wish it with just the bloom and coloring which Nature is amonth or more in elaborating. Muddy or rinsed fruit suggests the sty, not a dining-room. A mulch of leaves, straw, evergreen boughs--anything that will keep the ground clean--applied immediately afterthe early spring culture, is the best and most obvious way ofpreserving the fruit; and this method also secures all the goodresults which have been shown to follow mulching. Where it is notconvenient to mulch, I would suggest that the ground be leftundisturbed after the first thorough culture, until the fruit isgathered. The weeds that grow in the interval may be mowed, andallowed to fall under the bushes. By the end of June, the soil willhave become so fixed that, with a partial sod of weeds, the fruit mayhang over, or even rest upon it, without being splashed by the heavyrains then prevalent. This course is not so neat as clean cultivationor mulching. Few fruit growers, however, can afford to makeappearances the first consideration. I have heard of oats being sownamong the bushes to keep the fruit clean, but their growth must checkthe best development of the fruit quite as much as the natural crop ofweeds. It would be better to give clean culture, and grow rye, or anyearly maturing green crop, somewhere else, and when the fruit beginsto turn, spread this material under the bushes. On many places, themowings of weedy, swampy places would be found sufficient for thepurpose. After the fruit is gathered, start the cultivator and hoe atonce, so as to secure vigorous foliage and healthful growth throughoutthe entire summer. 

Pruning may be done any time after the leaves fall, and successdepends upon its judicious and rigorous performance. The Englishgardeners have recognized this fact, and they have as minute andcareful a system as we apply to the grape. These formal and ratherarbitrary methods can scarcely be followed practically in our hurriedAmerican life. It seems to me that I can do no better than to lay downsome sound and general principles and leave their working out to thejudgment of the grower. In most instances, I imagine, our bestgardeners rarely trim two bushes exactly alike, but deal with eachaccording to its vigor and natural tendencies; for a currant bush hasnot a little individuality. 

A young bush needs cutting back like a young grapevine, and for thesame reason. A grapevine left to itself would soon become a mass oftangled wood yielding but little fruit, and that of inferior quality. In like manner nature, uncurbed, gives us a great, straggling bushthat is choked and rendered barren by its own luxuriance. Air andlight are essential, and the knife must make spaces for them. Cuttingback and shortening branches develops fruit buds. Otherwise, we havelong, unproductive reaches of wood. This is especially true of theCherry and other varieties resembling it. The judicious use of theknife, kept up from year to year, will almost double theirproductiveness. Again, too much very young and too much old wood arecauses of unfruitfulness. The skilful culturist seeks to produce andpreserve many points of branching and short spurs, for it is here thatthe little fruit buds cluster thickly. When a branch is becoming blackand feeble from age, cut it back to the root, that space may be givenfor younger growth. From six to twelve bearing stems, from three tofive feet high, with their shortened branches and fruit spurs, may beallowed to grow from the roots, according to the vigor of the plantand the space allotted to it. Usually, too many suckers start in thespring. Unless the crop of young wood is valuable for propagation, allexcept such as are needed to renew the bush should be cut out as earlyas possible, before they have injured the forming crop. In England, great attention is paid to summer pruning, and here much might beaccomplished by it if we had, or would take, the time. 

CHAPTER XXVI

CURRANTS, CONTINUED--PROPAGATION, VARIETIES

Pruning naturally leads to the subject of propagation, for much ofthat which is cut away, so far from being useless, is often of greatvalue to the nurseryman; and there are few who grow this fruit formarket who could not turn many an honest penny if they would take therefuse young wood of the previous summer's growth and develop it intosalable bushes. In most instances a market would be found in their ownneighborhood. Nothing is easier than success in raising young currantbushes, except failure. If cuttings are treated in accordance withtheir demand for moisture and coolness, they grow with almostcertainty; if subjected to heat and drought, they usually soon becomedry sticks. The very best course is to make and plant our cuttings inSeptember or very early in October--just as soon as the leaves fall orwill rub off readily. As is true of a root-slip, so also the woodcutting must make a callus at its base before there can be growth. From this the roots start out. Therefore, the earlier in the fall thatcuttings are made, the more time for the formation of this callus. Often, autumn-planted cuttings are well rooted before winter, and havejust that much start over those that must begin life in the spring. Six inches is the average length. See Figures A, B and C. Let thecuttings be sunk in deep, rich, moist, but thoroughly well-drainedsoil, so deeply as to leave but two or three buds above the ground. Inthe garden, where the design is to raise a few fine bushes for homeuse merely, let the rows be two feet apart and the cuttings six inchesapart in the row. In raising them by the thousand for market, we musteconomize space and labor; and therefore one of the best methods, after rendering the ground mellow and smooth, is to stretch a lineacross the plat or field; then, beginning on one side of the line, tostrike a spade into the soil its full depth, press it forward and drawit out. This leaves a slight opening, of the width and depth of thespade, and a boy following inserts in this three cuttings, one in themiddle and one at each end. The man then steps back and drives thespade down again about four inches in the rear of the first opening, and, as he presses his spade forward to make a second, he closes upthe first opening, pressing--indeed, almost pinching--the earth aroundthe three slips that have just been thrust down, until but one or twobuds are above the surface. We thus have a row of cuttings, threeabreast, and about three inches apart, across the entire field. Aspace of three feet is left for cultivation, and then we plant, asbefore, another triple row. These thick rows should be taken up thefollowing fall, when the largest may be sold; or planted where theyare to fruit, and the smaller ones replanted in nursery rows. Whenland is abundant the cuttings may be sunk in single rows, withsufficient space between for horse cultivation, and allowed to matureinto two-year-old plants without removal. If these are not planted orsold, they should be cut back rigorously before making the thirdyear's growth. 

[Illustration: CURRANT CUTTINGS AND CALLUS]

In moist land, cuttings can be made to grow even if set out late inthe spring, especially if top-dressed and mulched; but if they are tobe started on high, dry land, they should be out sufficiently early inthe autumn to become rooted before winter. If our land is of a naturethat tends to throw roots out of the ground--and moist, heavy land hasthis tendency--it may be best to bury the cuttings in bundles, tied upwith fine wire, on a dry knoll, below the action of the frost, and setthem out early--_as early as possible_--in the spring. At any seasonthe rows of cuttings should be well top-dressed with fine manure, andif planted in autumn, they should be so well covered with straw, leaves, or some litter, as not to suffer or be thrown out in freezingand thawing weather. I manage to get half my cuttings out in the fall, and half in early spring. 

In the greenhouse, and even out-of-doors, under very favorablecircumstances, plants may be grown from single buds; and green woodalso propagates readily under glass. A vigorous young plant, withroots attached, may often be obtained by breaking off the suckers thatstart beneath the surface around the stems; and, by layering orbending bushes over and throwing dirt upon them, new plants arereadily made also; but more shapely, and usually more vigorous, bushesare obtained by simple cuttings, as I have described. 

When it is designed to grow a cutting in a tree form, all the buds buttwo or three at the top should be carefully removed. 

If we wish to try our fortune in raising new varieties, we must sowseeds of the very best specimens we can find, gathered when perfectlyripe. These seeds should never be kept where it is hot or very dry, and should be soaked for a day or two in tepid water before planting. Sow early in spring, quarter of an inch deep, in fine rich soil, whichmust continually be kept moist, but never wet. Top-dressings of veryfine, light manure would keep the surface from baking, thus giving theseeds a chance to germinate. Tolerate no weeds. Remove the seedlingsin the fall to rows three feet apart, and the plants two feet distantin the row. There they may stand until their comparative value can bedetermined. 

VARIETIES

Black currants form quite a distinct class in appearance and flavor, and are not as popular with us as in England. They are stronger andcoarser-growing plants than the red and white species, and do notrequire as high culture. They can be grown to advantage in tree form, as they are quite exempt from insect enemies. The tent caterpillar isthe only one that I have seen injuring them. They also require muchless pruning, since the best fruit is borne on the young wood of theprevious year's growth. If they are grown as bushes, they need moreroom--six feet apart each way--and the knife need be used only tosecure good form and space for air and light. Two native species--_Ribes_ floridum_ and _Ribes aureum_--are cultivated to some extent(for description see "Gray's Botany"). Although these species andtheir varieties are of little value, Mr. Fuller thinks that they mightbecome the parents of far better kinds than we now have, since theyare strong growers, and their fruit is naturally of better flavor thanthat of the European black currant. _Ribes aureum_ is largelycultivated as an ornamental shrub, and its spicy-scented, brightyellow flowers of early spring are among my pleasantest memories. Ashas already been explained, we can make miniature trees of our whiteand red currants, by grafting them on its strong, erect-growing stems. _Ribes nigrum_ is the European species, and is found wild throughoutthe northern part of the Eastern Hemisphere. Mr. Fuller writes thatthe inhabitants of Siberia make a beverage from its dried leaves whichis said closely to resemble green tea. Black Naples is the finestvariety of this species. Charles Downing says of it: "Its berriesoften measure nearly three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Its leavesand blossoms appear earlier than those of the common, or EnglishBlack, but the fruit is later, and the clusters as well as the berriesare larger and more numerous. " Lee's Prolific is said by some to be aslight improvement on the above; by others it is thought to be verysimilar. 

Of red currants, the old Red Dutch is the most prominent. It is thecurrant of memory. From it was made the wine which our mothers andgrandmothers felt that they could offer with perfect propriety to theminister. There are rural homes to-day in which the impression stilllingers that it is a kind of temperance drink. From it is usually madethe currant jelly without which no lady would think of keeping housein the country. One of the gravest questions in domestic economy iswhether the jelly will "jell. " Often it does not, and cannot be madeto. The cause of its lamentable perversity is this: The currants havebeen left until over-ripe before picking, or they have been pickedwet, just after rain. Gather them when dry, and as soon as possibleafter they have turned red, and I am informed by the highest domesticauthority (my wife) that there will be no difficulty. 

In flavor, the Red Dutch is unequalled by any other red currant. It isalso a variety that can scarcely be killed by abuse and neglect, andit responds so generously to high culture and rigorous pruning that itis an open question whether it cannot be made, after all, the mostprofitable for market, since it is so much more productive than thelarger varieties, and can be made to approach them so nearly in size. Indeed, not a few are annually sold for Cherry currants. 

The White Dutch is similar to the Red in the growth and character ofthe bush. The clusters, however, are a little shorter, and the fruit alittle larger and sweeter, and is of a fine yellowish-white color, with a veined, translucent skin. 

The White Grape is an advance in size upon the last-named, and ofmarvellous productiveness and beauty. It is not as vigorous as theWhite Dutch, and is more spreading in its mode of growth, requiringcareful pruning to make a shapely bush. The fruit, also, is not spreadso evenly over the wood, but is produced more in bunches. In flavor, it is one of the very best. 

Dana's Transparent, and other white varieties, do not vary materiallyfrom either the White Grape or Dutch. 

The great market currant is the Cherry. In the "CanadianHorticulturist" for September, 1878, I find the following:

"The history of this handsome currant is not without interest. Monsieur Adrienne Seneclause, a distinguished horticulturist inFrance, received it from Italy among a lot of other currants. Henoticed the extraordinary size of the fruit, and gave it, inconsequence, the name it yet bears. In the year 1843 it was fruited inthe nursery of the Museum of Natural History, and figured from thesesamples in the 'Annales de Flore et de Pomone' for February, 1848. Dr. William W. Valk, of Flushing, Long Island, N. Y. , introduced it to thenotice of American fruit growers in 1846, having imported some of theplants in the spring of that year. "

This variety is now very widely disseminated, and its culture isapparently becoming increasingly profitable every year. Two essentialsare requisite to success with it--high manuring and skilful pruning. It has the tendency to produce long branches, on which there are butfew buds. Rigorous cutting back, so as to cause branching joints andfruit spurs, should be practiced annually. The foliage is strong andcoarse, and the fruit much more acid than the Dutch family; but sizeand beauty carry the market, and the Cherry can be made, by highculture, very large and beautiful. 

Versailles, or _La Versaillaise_, is a figurative bone of contention. The horticultural doctors disagree so decidedly that the rest of uscan, without presumption, think for ourselves. Mr. A. S. Fuller hasprobably given the subject more attention than any one else, and heasserts, without any hesitancy, that this so-called variety isidentical with the Cherry. Mr. Fuller is certainly entitled to hisopinion, for he obtained plants of the Cherry and Versailles from allthe leading nurserymen in America, and imported them from the standardnurseries abroad, not only once, but repeatedly, yet could never gettwo distinct varieties. The writer in the "Canadian Horticulturist"also states in regard to the Versailles:

"Some pains were taken to obtain this variety on different occasions, and from the most reliable sources, so that there might be no mistakeas to the correctness of the name; but after many years of trial weare unable to perceive any decided variation, either in the quality ofthe fruit, the length of the bunch, or the habit of the plant, fromthe Cherry currant. "

I must admit that I am inclined to take the same view; for, duringseveral years, I have looked in vain for two distinct varieties. Ihave carefully kept the two kinds separate, but find in each case thesame stout, stocky, short-jointed, erect shoots that are often devoidof buds, and tend to become naked with age, and the same dark green, thick, bluntly and coarsely serrated foliage. Mr. Downing thinks thedifference lies in the fact that, while the Versailles strain producesmany short bunches like the Cherry, it also frequently bears clusters, and that such long, tapering clusters are never formed on the Cherry. This is the only difference, I think, if any exists; but in noinstance have I been able to find this distinction well defined andsustained by the bearing plantations that I have seen. Mr. Downing, however, has had tenfold more experience than I have, and his opinionsare entitled to corresponding weight. 

That this class is much inclined to "sport, " I think all will admit. One bush in a row may be loaded with fruit year after year, and thenext one be comparatively barren. The clusters on one bush may beshort and characteristic of the Cherry, while a neighboring bush inthe same patch may show a tendency to mingle some long clusters withthe short ones; and young bushes grown from the same plant will showthese variations. I am satisfied that distinct and much improvedstrains could be developed by propagating from bushes producing thebest and most abundant fruit, and that a variety having thecharacteristics of the Ideal Versailles could be developed. Theimportance of this careful selection in propagation can scarcely beoverestimated, and the fruit grower who followed it up for a few yearsmight almost double the productiveness and quality of many of hisvarieties. 

Victoria (known also as May's Victoria, and having a half-dozen othersynonymes) is a distinct variety, whose great value consists in itslengthening out the currant season two or three weeks after the above-named kinds have matured. The fruit is also large--between the RedDutch and Cherry in size--exceedingly abundant, and although ratheracid, of good flavor when fully ripe. The clusters are very long--from five to seven inches--tapering, and the berries are bright red. If it is grown in some moist, cool, half-shady location, the buncheswill hang on the bushes very late in the season. In many localities itis found very profitable, since it need not be sold until the othersare out of the market. The young branches are rather slender, but theplant itself is vigorous, and can be grown at less expense than theCherry. 

There are many other named varieties, but in the majority of instancesthe distinctions between them are slight, and as they are waningbefore the finer varieties that I have described, I shall not attemptto lighten the shadows that are gathering around them. The futurepromises more than the past, and I think that, before many years pass, some fine new kinds will be introduced. 

The enemies and diseases of the currant will be treated in a laterchapter. 

CHAPTER XXVII

GOOSEBERRIES

I have treated the currant very fully, not only because it is the morepopular fruit in this country, but also because the greater part of mysuggestions under that heading applies equally to this branch of the_Ribes_ tribe. Possessing the same general characteristics, it shouldbe treated on the same principles that were seen to be applicable tothe currant. It flourishes best in the same cool exposures, and is thebetter for partial shade. Even in the south of England the moretender-skinned varieties often scald in the sun. However, I wouldrecommend the shade of a fence or a northern hillside, rather thanoverhanging branches of trees. A rich soil, especially one that isdeep and moist but not wet, is equally requisite, and the rigorousannual pruning is even more essential. As the wood becomes old andblack, it should be cut out altogether. Fruit buds and spurs areproduced on wood two or more years old, and cutting back causes these, but they must not be allowed to become too crowded. To no fruit areair and light more essential. 

We have in this country two very distinct classes of gooseberries-thefirst of foreign origin, and the second consisting of our nativespecies. Gray thus describes _Ribes Grossularia_, garden or Englishgooseberry: "Cultivated from Europe for the well-known fruit; thornyand prickly, with small, obtuse, three to five lobed leaves, greenflowers, one to three on short pedicels, bell-shaped calyx, andlarge berry. "

This native of northern Europe and the forests of the British Islandshas been developed into the superb varieties which have been famous solong in England, but which we are able to grow with very partialsuccess. It remembers its birthplace even more strongly than thecurrant, and the almost invariable mildew of our gardens is the signof its homesickness. The cool, moist climate of England just suits it, and it is the pride of the gardens of Lancashire to surpass the worldin the development of large specimens. Mr. Downing writes:

"We are indebted to the Lancashire weavers, who seem to have taken itup as a hobby, for nearly all the surprisingly large sorts of moderndate. Their annual shows exhibit this fruit in its greatestperfection, and a gooseberry book is published in Manchester everyyear, giving a list of all the prize sorts, etc. "

The extraordinary pains taken is suggested by the followingquotation from the "Encyclopaedia of Gardening":

"To effect this increased size, every stimulant is applied that theiringenuity can suggest. They not only annually manure the soil richly, but also surround the plants with trenches of manure for theextremities of the roots to strike into, and form round the stem ofeach plant a basin, to be mulched, or manured, or watered, as maybecome necessary. When a root has extended too far from the stem, itis uncovered, and all the strongest leaders are shortened back nearlyone-half of their length, and covered with fresh, marly loam, wellmanured. The effect of this pruning is to increase the number offibres and spongioles, which form rapidly on the shortened roots, andstrike out in all directions among the fresh, newly stirred loam, insearch of nutriment. "

This is carrying culture to an extreme rarely, if ever, seen inAmerica. The annual referred to above recorded one hundred and fifty-five gooseberry exhibitions in 1863. 

The number of varieties is almost endless, and more than seven hundredprize sorts are named in Lindley's "Guide to the Orchard"; but not oneof them, I fear, can be grown in this country, except under favorableconditions and with extra care. Even after supplying such conditions, they will often mildew in spite of our best efforts. Again, in somelocalities, and for obscure causes, they will thrive and continue foryears quite free from this chief enemy of the foreign gooseberry. Repeated applications of the flowers of sulphur over the bushes, fromthe time the fruit sets until it is ripe, are probably the bestpreventive. Thorough mulching, rigorous pruning, and high culture arealso to be recommended. Those who garden for pleasure would do well totry some of these fine foreigners. 

The following are some that Mr. Downing and others have recommended:

I. Red Varieties: British Crown, Top Sawyer, Roaring Lion, LancashireLad, Crown Bob. 

II. White: Cheshire Lass, White Lion, Whitesmith, White Honey. 

III. Green: Laurel, Heart of Oak, Jolly Angler, Jolly Tar. 

IV. Yellow: Golden Fleece, Bunker Hill, Conqueror, etc. 

If but two or three foreign berries are to be chosen, I wouldrecommend Crown Bob, Bearing Lion, and Whitesmith. 

I am sorry to say that seedlings of these foreign varieties have thesame tendency to mildew shown by their parents. The Late Emerald wasoriginated in the old garden at Newburgh, and is a sad example of thisfact. For many years it thrived in its birthplace without a trace ofmildew, but on my own place it has behaved so badly that I do notrecommend it. Were it not for this fault, I should grow no othervariety. 

In view of this inveterate evil, mildew, which is so seldom escapedand so difficult to overcome, we must turn to the second great class, our native species, since they are adapted to our climate. Of thesethere are several species, of which the following are the mostprominent:

_Ribes speciosum_, showy, flowering gooseberry of California, cultivated for ornament, especially in England, and likely to succeedin the southern Middle States. It is trained like a climber; hassmall, shining leaves, very handsome flowers resembling those of afuchsia, berry prickly, and few-seeded. 

_R. Rotundifolium_, more common in the West, is often downy-leaved;peduncles slender; the slender stamens and two-parted style longerthan the narrow calyx; berry smooth. 

_R. Cynosbati_ is found in the rocky woods of the North, is downy-leaved, with slender peduncle, stamens and undivided style notexceeding the broad calyx; large berry, usually prickly. 

_R. Lacustre_, Lake or Swamp Gooseberry, with the prickly stemsof the gooseberry, but with a raceme of flowers like those of acurrant; found in the cold bogs and wet woods of the North; small, bristly berries, of unpleasant flavor. 

Last, but by no means the least, is the _Ribes hirtellum_, "commonestin our Eastern States, seldom downy, with very short thorns or none, very short peduncles, stamens and two-cleft style scarcely longer thanthe bell-shaped calyx; and the smooth berry is purple, small andsweet. " (Gray. ) This is the parent of the most widely known of ournative varieties, the Houghton Seedling, named from its originator, Abel Houghton, of Lynn, Massachusetts. The bush is a vigorous grower, that will thrive, with decent culture, on any moderately good soil, and is very rarely injured by mildew. At the same time it improvesgreatly under high culture and pruning. The bush has a slender andeven weeping habit of growth, and can be propagated readily bycuttings. From the Houghton have been grown two seedlings that now arejustly the most popular. 

The first and best of these is the Downing, originated by Mr. CharlesDowning of Newburgh. It is an "upright, vigorous-growing plant, veryproductive. Fruit somewhat larger than the Houghton, roundish-oval, whitish-green, with the rib veins distinct. Skin smooth. Flesh rathersoft, juicy. " I consider this the best and most profitable varietythat can be generally grown in this country. In flavor, it isexcellent. I have had good success with this whenever I have given itfair culture. It does not propagate readily from cuttings, andtherefore I increase it usually by layering. 

The second seedling is Smith's Improved, a comparatively new varietythat is winning favor. It more closely resembles the Houghton in itshabit of growth than the Downing, and yet is more vigorous and uprightthan its parent. The fruit is considerably larger than the Houghton, oval, light green, with a bloom, moderately firm, sweet and good. 

Mountain Seedling, originating with the Shakers at Lebanon, New York, is the largest of the American varieties, but for some reason it doesnot gain in popularity. 

Cluster, or American Red, is a variety of unknown origin. Theancestral bush may have been found in the woods. The fruit is scarcelyas large as that of the Houghton, is darker in color when fully ripe, hangs long on the bush, and is sweet and good. Mr. P. Barry says thatit never mildews. Therefore, it should be made one of the parents ofnew varieties, for in this direction lies the future of this fruit inAmerica. 

In support of this opinion, I am led to quote the following letter, recently received:

"I write to call your attention to a native variety of gooseberry, ofwhich you make no mention in your 'Scribner Papers, ' growing in greatabundance in the Sierra Nevada, at an elevation of from 2, 000 to 3, 000feet, often in the most exposed places, generally on northern slopes. Thinking it may not have come to your knowledge, I will describe it. The bush is of stiff, erect habit, two to three feet high, a stockygrower and an abundant bearer. The berries vary from one-half to oneand one-quarter inches in diameter, are covered with innumerablethorns, scarcely less savage in the green state than those on anordinary wild bush of this country. When cooked, the prickles softendown to the same consistence as the skin, which is rather thick. Whenripe, they are easily peeled, and well repay the trouble, the spinesbeing then much less obdurate than when green. The mature fruit is ofa deep, dull, coppery red color, and in flavor is equal, if notsuperior, to any of the _red_ varieties which I have eaten inEngland. I have often wondered whether cultivation might not removethe spines from the berries, or, that failing, whether a seedlingcould not be raised from them which would give us a berry far morereliable than any good gooseberry we now have. The scorching sun ofthe long, dry season of California seemed to have no effect on thefoliage, and is five years' experience I never found a mildewed berry. 

"The berry is _round_, like the red English berries, instead ofellipsoid, like their white or golden ones. 

"There is also another variety, hairy instead of spiny, about the sizeof your picture of the Downing; bush not so free a grower, rarelyreaching two feet, and the berry, to my taste, much inferior. Tastes, however, differ, and it may be the more promising fruit. 

"Both varieties are common throughout the eastern end of El Dorado, Placer, and Nevada counties. "

The first-named, or thorny gooseberry, probably belongs to the _Ribescynosbati_, and the latter to the _R. Rotundifolium_. The writer iscorrect in thinking that, if such gooseberries are growing wild, cultivation and selection could secure vast improvements. When weremember that English gardeners started with a native species inferiorto ours, we are led to believe that effort and skill like theirs willhere be rewarded by kinds as superb, and as perfectly adapted to ourclimate. 

CHAPTER XXVIII

DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES OF SMALL FRUITS

Nature is very impartial. It is evidently her intention that we shallenjoy all the fruits for which we are willing to pay her price, inwork, care, or skill, but she seems equally bent on supplying thehateful white grub with strawberry roots, and currant worms withsucculent foliage. Indeed, it might even appear that she had a leaningtoward her small children, no matter how pestiferous they are. At anyrate, under the present order of things, lordly man is often theirservant, and they reap the reward of his labors. 

Did not Nature stumble a little when man fell? She manages to keep onthe right side of the poets and painters, for it would seem that theysee her only when in moods that are smiling, serious, or grand. Thescientist, too, she beguiles, by showing under the microscope howexquisitely she has fashioned some little embodiment of evil that maybe the terror of a province, or the scourge of a continent. While thelearned man is explaining how wonderfully its minute organs areformed, for mastication, assimilation, procreation, etc. , practicalpeople, who have their bread to earn, are impatiently wishing that thewhole genus was under their heels, confident that the organs wouldbecome still more minute. 

The horticulturist should be cast in heroic mold, for he not only mustbear his part in the fight with moral wrong, like other men, but mustalso cope with vegetable and insect evil. Weeds, bugs, worms, whathateful little vices many of them seem in nature! I do not wish to bethought indiscriminate. Many insects are harmless and beautiful; and, if harmless, no one can object if they are not pretty. Not a few arevery useful, as, for instance, the little parasite of the cabbageworm. There is need of a general and unremitting crusade against ourinsect enemies; but it should be a discriminating war, for it isdownright cruelty to kill a harmless creature, however small. Still, there are many pests that, like certain forms of evil, will destroy ifnot destroyed; and they have brought disaster and financial ruin tomultitudes. 

Mark Tapley hit upon the true philosophy of life, and it is usuallypossible to take a cheerful view of everything; such a view I suggestto the reader, in regard to the pests of the garden that often lead usinto sympathy with the man who wished that there was "a form of soundwords in the Prayer-Book which might be used in cases of greatprovocation. " Under the present order of things, skills, industry, andprompt, vigilant action are rewarded. Humanity's besetting sin islaziness; but weeds and insects for months together make this vicewellnigh impossible, save to those who are so unfortunate as to liveon the industry of others. Therefore, though our fruits often suffer, men are developed, and made more patient, energetic, resolute, persevering--in brief, more manly. Put the average man into a gardenwhere there were no vegetable diseases, insects, and weeds to copewith, and he himself would become a weed. Moreover, it would seem thatin those regions where Nature hinders men as much as she helps them, they are all the better for their difficulties, and their gardensalso. Such skill and energy are developed that not only are thehorticultural enemies vanquished, but they are often made the means ofa richer and a fuller success. 

In a valuable paper read before the New Jersey State HorticulturalSociety, and recently published in the "American Entomologist, " Mr. A. S. Fuller makes the following useful suggestions:

"Insects and diseases are frequently so closely united, or sodependent upon each other, that the naturalist often finds itdifficult to determine to which the fruit grower should attribute hislosses. Some species of insects attack only diseased or dead plants;others only the living and healthy. If a plant shows signs of failing, we are inclined to speak of it as being diseased, whether the failureis caused by a lack of some element in the soil, attacks of parasiticfungi, or noxious insects. The loss is the same in the end, whetherfrom one or all of these enemies combined. 

"There are two practical methods of combating insect enemies anddiseases of plants; one is to so carefully cultivate and stimulate thegrowth of the plants that they may possess the power of resistingattack; the other is to make war directly upon them by artificialmeans. Of course, the first method is most applicable or practicableagainst the more minute species, such as the plant-lice, rust, smut, and mildew. I do not recommend forcing plants to extremes, in order toenable them to resist their enemies, as this might work an irreparableinjury; but the condition to be aimed at should be a healthy, vigorousgrowth; for anything beyond this is more the sign of weakness thanstrength. 

"The half-starved, overworked and uncared-for horse is sure, sooner orlater, to become the prey of various kinds of internal and externalparasites, which are thrown off, or successfully resisted in theirattacks, by the healthy, vigorous, and well-fed animal; and the sameprinciple holds good all through the animal and vegetable kingdoms--whether the subject be a man, horse, sturdy oak, or delicatestrawberry plant. Not that all diseases are due to loss of vigorthrough starvation and neglect; but that a large number of them are iswell known. "

STRAWBERRIES

We all have seen these principles verified. In the Great Americanstrawberry, I think, we have an example of feebleness resulting fromover-stimulation. The Wilson Seedling, that, in the local vernacular, is sometimes said to be "running out, " is, in contrast, theconsequence of starvation, neglect, and long-continued propagationfrom poor, mixed stock. Feebleness can scarcely be called a disease, and yet it is best counteracted by the tonic treatment suggested byMr. Fuller. 

In loose, light soils, the Aphis, or Green Fly, often penetrates tothe roots of strawberry plants in immense numbers, and they suck awaylife or vitality. The tonic of wood-ashes scattered over the rows willusually destroy the pests. Refuse from the tobacco-factory is alsorecommended. 

I think that wood-ashes and bone-dust are excellent preventives ofburning or sun-scalding. They give the plants such vigor that they areable to resist sudden or great climatic changes, from heat to cold, orfrom drought to moisture. 

Many varieties are enfeebled by their disposition to run profusely. Kerr's Prolific, for example, will speedily sod the ground with small, puny plants, whose foliage will burn so badly that the fruit canscarcely mature. Set out these small plants, and give the tonictreatment of cutting off all runners, and large, bushy stools, withvigorous foliage and superb fruit, will result. Indeed, next tofertilizers and moisture, there is nothing that so enhances the vigorand productiveness of a plant as clipping the runners as fast as theyappear. The uncurbed habit of running depletes almost like disease;and but few varieties will make large fruit buds and runners at thesame time. 

In close, wet weather the fruit and leaf stalks will sometimes sufferfrom mildew; and occasionally a microscopic fungus, known as thestrawberry brand, will attack the foliage. I have also seen, in a fewinstances, a disease that resembled the curl-leaf in raspberries. Theplants were dwarfed, foliage wrinkled and rusty, and fruit misshapen, like small, gnarly apples. In all such instances I believe in tonictreatment, of wood-ashes, bone-dust, guano, and fertilizers of likenature, used with care. Plants do not need over-doses or over-feedingany more than we do ourselves. When a few plants are diseased, Ibelieve in rigorously rooting them out and burning them. If a field isaffected, as soon as possible turn the plants under, and renovate theland with clover, buckwheat, a light dressing of lime, and thoroughexposure to the air, light, and frost. By such methods, and a wiseselection of fertilizers, I believe that strawberries can be raised onthe same ground for centuries. My plants have always beenexceptionally free from all kinds of disease or rust, and I attributeit to the liberal use of wood-ashes. 

But there is one enemy that inspires me with fear and unmingleddisgust. It is the type of a certain phase of character in societymost difficult to deal with, and which the mantle of charity is rarelybroad enough to cover--the stupidly and stolidly malignant, who havejust sense enough to do a great deal of mischief, and to keep ithidden until too late for remedy. Science has dignified the detestablething with a sonorous name, as usual--the _Lachnosterna Fusca_, already referred to. It does not deserve even its name in the commonvernacular--White Grub; for its white is of a dingy hue, and its headdark, like its deeds. Has it a redeeming trait? "Give the de'il hisdue, " says the proverb. The best I can say of the white grub is thatcrows, and an odorous animal I forbear to name, are very fond of it, This fact, I think, is its sole virtue, its one entry on the creditside; but there is a long, dark score against it. Of its havoc on thelawn and farm I will not speak, since it is sufficient for ourpurposes to state that it is the strawberry's worst foe. 

The best method of circumventing the "varmint" is to learn its ways;and therefore I shall outline its history, beginning at a period inits being when stupidity predominates over its evil-that is, when itis the May beetle or June bug, that blunders and bumps around in utterdisregard of itself and every one else. In this stage it is like theawkward village loafer, quiet by day, but active and obtrusive in theearly evening. It dislikes honest sunshine, but is attracted byartificial light, at which it precipitates itself with the same lackof sense and reason that marks the loafer's gravitation toward alighted groggery. Moreover, in the beetle phase, it is sure to appearat the most inopportune times and unsuitable places, creating theinevitable commotion which the blunder and tactless are born to make. As it whisks aimlessly around, it may hit the clergyman's nose in themost pathetic sentence of his sermon, or drop into the soprano's mouthat the supreme climax of her trill. Satan himself could scarcelyproduce a more complete absence of devotion than is often caused bythese brainless creatures. 

Because quiet by day, they are not out of mischief, as defoliatedtrees often prove. As midsummer approaches, they die off; but neveruntil each female beetle has put into the ground about two hundredeggs, which never fail to hatch. The first year, the grubs are little, and, while they do all the harm they can, the small roots they destroyare not seriously missed by the plants. The second year, their abilitykeeps pace with their disposition, and they occasionally destroystrawberries by the acre. More often, certain patches of a field orgarden are infested, and sometimes will be kept bare of plants inspite of all one can do. Too often, the presence of the grub islearned only after the mischief is complete. You may have petted astrawberry plant for a year, and after it has developed into nobleproportions, and awakened the best expectations from its load ofimmature fruit, you will, perhaps, find it wilting some morning. Youthen learn, for the first time, that this insidious enemy has been atwork for days, and that not a root is left. An inch or two beneath thedying plant, the grub lies gorged and quiet in the early morning; butif undisturbed it soon seeks the next-best plant it can find, and itis so voracious that it is hard to compute the number it can destroythroughout the long season in which it works. 

Having made its full growth in the spring of the third year, this grubpasses into the chrysalis state, and in May or June comes out aperfect insect or beetle. It is "one, two, three, and out. "

While there are beetles every year, there is, in every locality, aspecial crop every third year; in other words, if we observe beetlesin great numbers during the coming May and June, we may expect themagain in like quantities three years after; and every second year fromsuch super-abundance they will be very destructive in all those fieldsthroughout the locality wherein the eggs were laid. 

REMEDIES

When once our soil is full of them, scarcely any remedy is possiblethat year. Surface applications that would kill the grubs would alsokill the plants. Where they are few and scattering, they can be dugout and killed. Sometimes boys are paid so much a pint. When seeing awilting plant, it would scarcely be human nature not to dig out thepest and grind it under our heel. Prevention of the evil is usuallyour best hope. Mr. Downing writes to me: "I believe that if you woulduse refuse salt three or four years in succession, at the rate of fiveor six bushels to the acre, the grubs would not trouble you much. Saltwill not kill the full-grown larvae, but those in a very young state. "The reader will remember a statement in Mr. Hale's letter oncommercial fertilizers confirmatory of this view. 

Experiments in this direction should be carefully made, since, in oneinstance that I am aware of, a fruit grower remarked, "I do not knowwhether the salt killed the grubs, but I know it killed my plants. " Itis my purpose, however, to try this agent very thoroughly. There isdanger of our being misled in our estimate of the value of remedies, from forgetfulness of the habits of the insect. We find our groundfull of larvae one year, and apply some cure or preventive. Thefollowing spring, the larvae become beetles and fly away, and, even ifthey fill the same ground with eggs again, the grubs are too small tobe noticed that year; and therefore we may claim that our remedy iseffectual, when there may have been no effect from it whatever. 

One of the best preventives is to keep the soil under cultivation, forthis beetle rarely lays its eggs in loose soil, preferring old meadowsand moist, loamy, sodded land; the larvae are equally fond of grassroots. This is one of the reasons why a year or two of cultivationmust often precede the planting of strawberries. When this fruit isgrown in matted beds, they afford as attractive a place for thedeposit of eggs as grass land; and this is another fact in favor ofthe narrow-row system and thorough cultivation. 

Mr. Caywood, a nurseryman, says that he has prevented the approach ofthe grub by mixing a teaspoonful of sulphur in the soil just beneath aplant, when setting it out. Mr. Peter B. Mead recommends the pomace ofthe castor bean spread on the surface around the plants. I have nevertried these preventives. One thing certainly might be done;exterminating war might be waged on the beetles. In the morning theyare sluggish and easily caught; and in the evening we can treat themas whiskey venders do the loafers--burn them up. "Every female beetlekilled heads off 200 grubs. " If one could discover a complete remedyfor this pest, he would deserve a statue in bronze. Mr. Fuller had adomesticated crow that would eat a hundred of these grubs daily. "Whendomesticated, " he adds, "the crow forgets the tricks of his wildnature, and, not being a timid bird, he is not frightened by hoe orspade, but when the earth is turned over, is generally there to seeand do his duty. "

A fruit grower writes to Professor C. V. Riley: "I inclose specimensof a terrible pest on my strawberry vines. The leaves are almostentirely destroyed. I must fight them some way, or else give up thefruit entirely, " etc. In a letter to the "New York Tribune, " ProfessorRiley replied:

"The insect referred to is the Strawberry Worm (_Emphytus maculatus_), the larva of a saw-fly, which is of quite frequent occurrence in theWest. I quote the following account of it from my Ninth Report:

"'Early in the spring numerous flies may be seen hanging to and flyingabout the vines in fields which have been previously affected. Theyare dull and inactive in the cool of the morning and evening, and atthese hours are seldom noticed. They are of a pitchy black color, withtwo rows of large, transverse, dull, whitish spots upon the abdomen. The female, with the saw-like instrument peculiar to the insects ofthis family, deposits her eggs, by a most curious and interestingprocess, in the stems of the plants, clinging the while to the hairysubstance by which these stems are covered. 

"'The eggs are white, opaque, and 0. 03 of an inch long, and may bereadily perceived upon splitting the stalk, though the outside orificeat which they were introduced is scarcely visible. They soon increasesomewhat in bulk, causing a swelling of the stalk, and hatch in twoweeks--more or less, according to the temperature; and during theearly part of May the worms attract attention by the innumerable smallholes they make in the leaves. Their colors are dirty yellow and gray-green, and when not feeding, they rest on the under side of the leaf, curled up in a spiral manner, the tail occupying the centre, and fallto the ground at the slightest disturbance. After changing their skinfour times they become fully grown, when they measure about three-fourths of an inch. 

"'At this season they descend into the ground, and form a weak cocoonof earth, the inside being made smooth by a sort of gum. In this theysoon change to pupae, from which are produced a second breed of fliesby the end of June and beginning of July. Under the influence of Julyweather, the whole process of egg depositing, etc. , is rapidlyrepeated, and the second brood of worms descend into the earth duringthe fore part of August, and form their cocoons; in which they remainin the caterpillar state through the fall, winter, and early springmonths, till the middle of April following, when they become pupae andflies again, as related. 

"'The remedy is the same as that employed against the currant worm, which belongs to the same family. It consists of white hellebore, usedeither in powder or liquid. '"

I think that tobacco dust or a strong decoction from the stems wouldprove effective, also. 

I have never had any experience with this worm, but have read ofinstances in which fields had been entirely cleared of the pest byyoung chickens and turkeys. 

The common little flea-beetle has often caused great injury to myrecently planted beds. I once paid nearly $100 for a new, high-pricedvariety, and before I was aware of it every plant had been devoured. They rarely injure large, fully matured plants, but are often verydestructive to those recently planted, especially if set during thesummer. You can not catch them; for, as your hand approaches a leaf onwhich they cluster, they scatter with a sudden bound, and are at oncelost to view, so nearly do they resemble the color of the ground. Slight dustings of dry wood-ashes impede their feeding somewhat; but Ithink we must cope with this insect as we do with the Colorado orpotato beetle. It must be poisoned. Paris green, of course, willfinish them speedily, but such a deadly poison must be used with greatcare, and if there is any green or ripe fruit on the vines, not usedat all. Hellebore, London purple, tobacco dust, may destroy them; andwhen little chickens can be employed, they are a sure remedy. 

"Black eyes, " or the receptacle turning black, is caused by lightfrosts, to which the open flowers are very susceptible. If one'sstrawberry bed were in bloom, and there was a prospect of a frostynight, I think the blossoms could be saved by covering the bed withfour or five inches of straw or hay, and raking it off again as soonas the temperature rose sufficiently high in the morning. 

Without doubt, new diseases and enemies to the strawberry will bedeveloped in the future, and as they come we must experiment till wefind some means of mastering them. 

RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES

These two fruits are so near akin that they are subject to the attacksof the same diseases and enemies. The most fatal scourge of redraspberries that I have seen is what is called at Marlboro' the curl-leaf; and, if unchecked, it will eventually banish the famous HudsonRiver Antwerp from cultivation. As yet, no remedy has been found forit that I am aware of. I believe it to be contagious, and would advisethat the plants be dug out and burned immediately, and thatplantations of strong, healthy plants be made on new land that hasnever been in raspberries. I also suggest the free use of wood-ashesand well-decayed compost. As far as my experience goes, this diseaseis confined to foreign varieties, and almost wholly, as yet, to theAntwerps. 

Mr. Fuller, in the paper already named, describes a disease amongblackberries that resembles the raspberry curl-leaf so closely that itmay be identical, and spring from the same cause. 

"Some ten years ago, the cultivators of the blackberry in variousparts of New Jersey noticed that the ends of the young, growing canes, in summer, would occasionally curl, twist about, and often assume asingular, fasciated form, resulting in an entire check to theirgrowth. The leaves on these infested shoots did not die and fall off, but merely curled up, sometimes assuming a deeper green than thehealthy leaves on the same stalk. At the approach of winter, theinfested leaves remained firmly attached to the diseased stems; andall through the cold weather, and far into the spring, these leaf-laden and diseased stems were a conspicuous object in many of theblackberry plantations of this State. 

"If the infested shoots are examined in summer, thousands of minuteinsects, of a pale yellow color, and covered with a powdery exudation, will be found sucking the juices of the succulent stem and leaves, causing the crimping, curling, and twisting of these parts asdescribed. 

"This parasite resembles somewhat an ordinary greenfly (_Aphis_) orplant louse; but, according to the observations of Professor Riley, it belongs to the closely allied Flea-lice family (_Psyllidae_), distinguished from the plant-lice by a different veining of thewings, and by the antennae being knobbed at the tip, like those of thebutterfly, the knob usually terminating in two bristles. These insectsjump as briskly as a flea, from which characteristic they derive theirscientific name. The particular species in question was called byProfessor Riley the 'Bramble-Flea-louse (_Psylla rubi_[Footnote: "Itcan not be distinguished from _Psylla tripunctata_, Fitch (Catalogueof Homoptera, etc. ), and, what is most singular, the same species isvery common on pine-trees all over the eastern part of the continent, from Florida to Canada. "]), ' in the American Entomologist (Vol. I. , p. 225). It has increased rapidly during the past half-dozen years ormore, and unless fruit-growers make a more vigorous fight than theyhave yet done, it will soon get the mastery of many blackberryplantations. The only practical method as yet discovered for checkingthe ravages of this insect is to cut off the ends of the infestedcanes and burn them. This operation should always be performed eitherin the morning or during cool, wet weather, else many of the insectswill escape; and at all times the severed shoots should be immediatelydropped into bags, and in them carried to the place where they are tobe burned, and there emptied into the fire. If every one havingblackberry bushes in their gardens would practice this method ofdestruction, this pest would soon cease to do much harm. "

There are species of borers and gall insects that attack these twofruits, but as yet they have not become formidable. All infestedcanes should be cut out and burned with their contents, or else thepests may so increase as to cause much injury. 

The larvae of the _Selandria rubi_, an insect nearly related tothe imported currant worm, and known as the raspberry saw-fly, isdestructive in some regions. It is semi-transparent, and so like thefoliage in color that it could scarcely be detected, did not theragged, perforated leaves indicate both its presence and its mischief. This worm measures half an inch in length, when fully developed. Ithas two black eyes, like spots, upon a green head, and usually aslightly fuzzy body. The remedies recommended are the same as thoseused against the currant worm. I have had no experience with thispest. 

The Orange-rust (_Uredo rubrum_) is one of the worst of foes to boththe blackberry and raspberry--the _Rubus occidentalis_, or black-capfamily, suffering the most, usually. I have seen fields of the EarlyWilson and Kittatinny blackberries in New Jersey that presented amelancholy appearance. It is believed to be very contagious, and itcan be spread by both trimmer and pickers. Mr. Chas. A. Green, ofMonroe County, N. Y. , writes: "The end plant of a row in my garden wasaffected, and I let it remain, as an experiment. In three years, nearly every plant in the row was more or less diseased. We have triedpicking the leaves and cutting back the canes, without relief, andhave found that the only safe method is to dig out and destroy allaffected plants without delay. " Mr. Fuller says that "application oflime, salt, or some similar substance, may check the disease; but Iknow of no remedy except that of rooting up every affected plant, andburning it. " Mr. Downing recommends the same course. It is one ofthose evils that should be stamped out at once. If a plantation weregenerally affected with this yellow symbol of contagion, it would bewell to destroy all the plants, and, obtaining new, healthful stockfrom a distance, start again on different grounds. Should the snowytree-cricket become very abundant, it might cause much injury, chieflyby cutting off the leaves, as the ordinary cut-worm serves the stem ofa young plant. 

CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES

We have not only imported our best currants from Europe, but alsotheir worst enemies. The most formidable of these is popularly knownas the currant worm. Robert Thompson, the English authority, thusdescribes it: "The magpie moth (_Abraxas grossulariata_) depositsits eggs upon the foliage, and from them is hatched a slightly hairycream-colored caterpillar, spotted with black, and marked with orangealong the sides, and which forms a loop in walking. It feeds upon theleaves, devouring all but the petiole, and often entirely defoliatingboth gooseberry and currant bushes. It changes into a pupa in May orJune, and in about three weeks afterward, the perfect insect makes itsappearance. " Very naturally, this currant worm made its debut nearRochester, N. Y. , a great fruit centre, receiving annually largeimportations of plants. Its first appearance was in 1857. 

In England, the caterpillar of the _Phalaena vanaria_, a similarinsect, is often destructive. Whether it has appeared among us yet, Iam not informed. They fight it abroad as they do the ordinary worm. 

The gooseberry and currant saw-fly (_Nematus ribesii_), anotherpestiferous foreigner, has made its appearance in some localities. 

We have, besides, a native saw-fly (_Pristiphera grossulariae), which resembles its European congener, and emulates it in mischief. The larva of this fly feeds upon both, the currant and the gooseberry, but prefers the latter. 

Nature is liberal, and has given us, in addition, a native gooseberryspan-worm, the larva of a small moth. These several worms, unchecked, would soon render the culture of the currant and gooseberry impossiblein the regions where they abounded; and, at first, horticulturistswere almost in despair, for the pests seemed proof against the usualinsecticides and means of destruction. It was eventually discoveredthat powdered white hellebore was a specific remedy. Usually, it isapplied unmixed with other substances; and pains should be taken toget a genuine article, or else it will not destroy the worms. 

Mr. H. T. Jones, of Rochester, recommends the following:

"To one pailful of wood-ashes, add one quart each of white helleboreand flowers of sulphur; mix thoroughly; apply by sifting on the busheswhile the dew is on them. I used nothing else on my plantation of overtwo acres last season, and want nothing better; but it must be used_daily_ as long as any worms are seen. "

I have heard that, if applied in a liquid form, a heaping table-spoonful of hellebore to a gallon of water is a good proportion. 

At the meeting of the New Jersey Historical Society, it was stated bygood authorities, as the result of actual experience, that tobacco-dust would kill the worms as readily as hellebore. I hope this istrue, since the latter is expensive when applied on a large scale, andthe tobacco-dust can be bought at from two dollars to three dollarsper barrel. I shall try it next year. 

I also quote the following from a recent editorial by Mr. Fuller, inthe New York "Weekly Sun:"

"White hellebore has long been considered one of the most efficaciousof all poisons for the imported currant worm, but a New Jersey fruit-grower of considerable experience informed us not long ago that hehad found strong tobacco water quite as good as the hellebore, and itwas also soon washed off by heavy rains, whereby the fruit was notrendered unfit for use, as when other and more virulent poisons areemployed. To make a strong solution, put a half-bushel or bushel oftobacco stems, or even the leaves, into a cask or barrel, and pressdown and hold in place with a stone or other weight; then pour on hotwater enough to cover the tobacco, and leave it for a few days tosteep. After steeping, the cask may be filled up with warm or coldwater, and the solution is ready for use. If a half-pound or pound ofcrude potash is added, or a quart or two of soft soap is stirred in, the solution will be much improved, especially in its destructiveproperties. After using the first liquid, the barrels may be filledagain with water, and left to steep a few days longer than the firsttime, or some fresh tobacco may be added, to give the solution therequired strength. Tobacco water is certainly a cheap insecticide, andwill frequently be found quite as efficacious as those that are morecostly and troublesome to apply. "

A gentleman from Erie, Pa. , writes to me that he has used this remedyfor years, with complete success. 

Mr. J. McK. Beattie, of Pictou, Nova Scotia, has written to me of astill simpler method:

"I notice in the April number of 'Scribner's Monthly' that you intendto use tobacco-dust to destroy the currant worms. It will proveeffectual; but as I can give you a far more simple plan, I take theliberty of writing. It is one which I have proved for the past sevenyears, and never have known it to fail wherever tried. 

"After digging about my bushes, and manuring in the spring, I coverthe earth around the bushes with tobacco stems, and place a handful inthe middle of the bush, and the work is done for the season. I foundthat when using the dust I had to renew it after every heavy rain, whereas the stems did not need renewing, unless it was a very wetseason, and then, if any worms appeared, a handful of fresh stemsscattered through the bushes made them disappear. 

"The stems have several advantages: they are cheaper than dust; theyserve as a mulch to keep the ground off the fruit; and when dug inabout the bush, they make an excellent manure. I think if you oncegave them a fair trial you would never be tempted to try any othermethod. 

"Last year stems were very scarce here, and I could not get enough tomulch all my bushes, so I only put a generous handful in the centre ofa good many bushes, and they were not troubled; but I would not liketo recommend that plan until I experimented further. "

For the past two years the worm has attacked my bushes savagely; but, as I am very fond of currants, and relish white, powdered sugar morethan hellebore, I fought the pests successfully by hand-picking. Ikept a boy, at moderate wages, whose business it was to kill insectsand worms. He had a lively time of it occasionally, for Naturesometimes appeared to take sides with the pests. 

The cautious use of lime and salt around and under the bushes mightprove beneficial, since the worm descends into the soil beforechanging into a pupa. 

The current and gooseberry are also infested with several species ofplant-lice. A gentleman whose bushes were attacked by lice and thecurrant worm at the same time, wrote to the "Country Gentleman" thathe destroyed both by a strong decoction of white hellebore, appliedfrom a fine rose-sprinkling can. The bushes were turned back andforth, so as to get the solution on the under side of the leaves. Thewriter concludes:

"The decoction of hellebore must be strong to be effectual. I make itas follows: To a gallon of boiling water add a tablespoonful ofpulverized hellebore. After standing fifteen or twenty minutes, addthree gallons of common soapsuds. When cool, apply with a sprinkler, Ido not know that there is any virtue in the soapsuds, excepting itmakes the solution stick to the leaves. "

There are three species of currant borers with unpronounceable names. Their presence is shown by yellow foliage and withering fruit insummer, and by brown, shrivelled branches in winter. Cutting out andburning is the only remedy. Usually, a vigorous bush will outgrow theattacks of this enemy; and good cultivation gives vigor, and alsodisturbs and brings to the surface the worms that have entered thesoil to undergo their transformation. From first to last, tonictreatment supplements and renders more effective our direct efforts todestroy diseases and enemies. 

Most earnestly would I urge caution in using all virulent poisons likeParis green, London purple, hellebore, etc. 

Whenever it is possible to substitute a less poisonous substance, doso by all means. Some good people regard tobacco as the bane of banes;but to many it does not cause the feeling of repugnance and fearinspired by hellebore and more poisonous insecticides. Let all sucharticles be kept under lock and key; and one person should have chargeof their use, and be held responsible for them. Moreover, anywatering-can used with Paris green and like substances should bemarked with the word _Poison_, in large letters. If insecticidesare used in the form of a powder, great care should be exercised tokeep it from falling on other vegetation or fruit that might be eatenby man or beast. I have known of pigs and horses dying from eatingherbage on which Paris green had blown from a potato field. Londonpurple, which, as a cheaper and equally effective article, is takingthe place of Paris green, must be used with the same caution, since itis a compound of arsenic, and equally poisonous. 

It is my wish and intention to experiment carefully with the variousmeans and methods of coping with the diseases and enemies of smallfruits, and to give this chapter frequent revisions. 

CHAPTER XXIX

PICKING AND MARKETING

In the proceedings of the New Jersey State Horticultural Society, Ifind the following interesting paper from the pen of Mr. C. W. Idell, a commission merchant, whose intelligent interest in fruits extendsbeyond their current price. He gives so graphic a picture of thediminutive beginning of small fruit growing and marketing, that I amled to quote freely:

"About the earliest knowledge I could obtain of the strawberry in ourState is that it first grew wild in many regions, particularly in thecounty of Bergen. The negroes were the first to pick this fruit forthe New York market, and invented those quaint old-fashioned splintbaskets, with handles, that were and are still in use in that county. These berries were taken to New York, the baskets being strung onpoles, and thus peddled through the city. I would state, for thebenefit of those who have not seen these baskets, that it was theintention of the original makers of them to have them contain a half-pint each, but soon they became so reduced in size that each buyer wascompelled to guess at the contents of those he bought. 

"Just when cultivated berries made their appearance, I am unable tosay, but I am inclined to think they were derived from seedlings ofthe wild fruit. From the information I have gathered, I think that thecultivation of the fruit for the market originated in the vicinity ofHackensack, Bergen county, and from there spread over the State. Asthere were no railroads in that section at that early date, all theberries had to be carted to New York in wagons, crossing the Hudson atHoboken. Quite recently I met with Mr. Andrew M. Hopper, of Pascack, who gave me several interesting points from his early recollections. 

"Mr. Hopper said: 'I am sixty-five years old, and can well rememberpicking berries for my father, when a boy ten years of age. At thattime we had no crates as we have now, but packed them in large basketsthat we called hampers. 

"'Our only shipping point to New York was Piermont, on the Hudson, NewYork State, a distance of about eight miles. 

"'At this point there was a line of sloops that sailed semi-weekly, when wind and tide permitted. In those days there were no commissionmerchants in New York that dealt in berries, and each farmer wascompelled to go with and sell his own fruit. The fare on these vesselswas one shilling for a round trip, board not included; and as itsometimes required two days to reach the city, each farmer provided alunch for himself before starting from home, as well as provender forhis team, which was left at the landing to await his return. The usualfee for caring for the team while they were gone was twenty-fivecents. '

"The Hautbois was the first named variety he could remember, which wasintroduced among them in 1835. In about 1840 the Scotch Runner wasintroduced at Hackensack. It was a valuable variety for the growers, as it was hardy, a good bearer, and the fruit grew unusually large forthat period. An incident connected with the introduction of thisvariety is worth mentioning, showing the eagerness of the cultivatorsto procure the plants. 

"A gentleman living at 'Old Bridge, ' which is a few miles aboveHackensack, secured quite a number of plants and set them out in hisgarden for the purpose of propagating them, so that he could in duetime plant a large patch of them. The vines being in great demand, hisneighbors insisted upon his selling them; but this proposition hepositively refused, and the consequence was that, one night, someperson entered his garden and stole every plant he had. At this periodand up to the introduction of the Wilson, all strawberries in thatsection were picked and marketed without the hulls. 

"For a long time I have been trying to find out the originator of thequart-berry-box and crate, and, thinking Mr. Hopper might possess someknowledge on this point, I inquired of him. He replied: 'I knownothing about the quart box, for I never used them, but I do about thecrate. 

"'In 1840 I made the first crate ever used in our section, if not inthe State, and I will tell you how I came to do it. In those days Iraised large quantities of apricots, and marketed them in such basketsas we happened to have. In the year named my fruit was very large andfinely colored, and knowing they would be damaged by carting in theusual way, I had a number of small baskets made, and then Iconstructed a crate to fit them. The next day after I made them, Gen. Acker, who was an old fruit grower, called on me, admired thearrangement, and suggested that they would answer to pack berries in, and requested me to make two for him, which I did. From these the useof them became general. '

"The cases referred to were skeleton cases, some with and otherswithout lids, each grower making them to suit his own convenience forhandling; but they generally contained from one to two hundred basketseach. The number of baskets in each was marked either on the lid orslat. "

From the above quotation, the reader can realize what vast changeshave taken place within the last fifty years. A few sable pedlers, with little baskets strung on poles, form a decided contrast with aCharleston steamer, bringing in one trip North far more strawberries, in patent refrigerators, than were then sold in a year; or with an OldDominion steamship, discharging six thousand bushels as a single itemof cargo. Ninety-four car-loads of strawberries have passed over theDelaware railroad in one day. According to one computation alreadygiven, New York consumes $25, 000, 000 worth of small fruits annually. If the business has grown to such proportions within the last half-century, may we not expect even greater increase in the future? Theappliances for preserving fruit, and for transporting it quickly andsafely, become more perfect every year. Thus a market is created invast regions which, though populous, are not adapted to the raising offruit. 

The modern conditions of marketing fruit are just the reverse of thosedescribed by Mr. Idell. Then the berries, both in size and quantity, were small; but the labor and difficulty in reaching the consumer wereimmense. Now, strawberries that in size resemble tomatoes can beforwarded by the ship and car load, with brief printed labels, and thecommission merchant sells for his correspondent, who may residehundreds of miles away, and for years never follow his fruits to theirmarket. Our chief ground for solicitude is success in finding acommission house able to dispose of our fruit promptly at currentrates, and sufficiently honest to make exact returns at the end ofeach week. There are many who do this, and not a few who do not. Ifone has not satisfactory business acquaintance in the city, I suggestthat they learn from their neighbors who have been in the habit ofshipping produce, the names of merchants that uniformly have made thebest returns. Moreover, it is often well, if one has considerablefruit, to ship to two or more parties, and compare prices. The homelyproverb hinting that it is not wise to put all our eggs in one basket, is sound. 

FRUIT PACKAGES

My experience and observation have led me to market my strawberries insquare quart baskets, and round pints, and raspberries in half-pints;although pints answer equally well for a firm raspberry, like theCuthbert or Brandywine. 

If I were shipping long distances, I would prefer baskets of which, the round Beecher quarts and pints are the types. Such packages occupytoo much space, however, to be forwarded in refrigerators. I thinkberries remain in good condition longer in this circular, open basketthan in any other. Of the crate, it is sufficient to say that itshould be light, strong, and so constructed as to permit freecirculation of air. Few of the square "quart baskets" hold a quart. Indeed, there are but few honest baskets in the market; and the facthas come to be so well recognized that they are now sold by the"basket, " the majority being aware that they are simply packages offruit. I think there should be a change in this respect, and that theseveral packages should hold a full quart, pint, etc. Square quartsfill a crate compactly, requiring the least amount of space; there isno chance for the baskets to upset, and when the crate is opened thereis a continuous surface of fruit, which is very attractive. Verylarge, showy strawberries appear best, however, in round baskets. Ifmy market were a near one, I would plan to dispose of the bulk of mycrop in round pints, since they could be used for strawberries, thefirmer raspberries, and blackberries. Thus one stock and style ofbaskets would last throughout the whole season. 

A little good taste bestowed upon the appearance of a fruit packageoften adds several cents per pound or quart to the price received, andthus it comes that the brand of certain growers is sought after in themarket. A few green leaves, judiciously placed, cost nothing, but maycatch the eye and secure a fancy price. 

After much inquiry in the market, however, I am led to the conclusionthat the size, quality, and appearance of the fruit count for far morethan ail other considerations combined. 

The old Marlboro' thirds, still largely in use on the Hudson, shouldbe superseded as soon as possible by baskets that permit circulationof air. We should use boxes cheap enough to be given away with thefruit. There is a box of this kind, called the "Sunnyside fruit-box, "which can be obtained for about $10 per 1, 000. The purchaser sees apretty box of fruit at a shop, buys and takes it with him, and is atno trouble to return the box. The present frequent practice of pouringthe fruit into brown-paper bags is villanous. 

Mr. J. T. Budd, of Wilmington, Del. , in a sensible letter, givesseveral excellent reasons why it would be better, and, in the end, cheaper, to use such cheap crates and baskets that one could afford tolet them go with the fruit. The expenses of transportation would thusbe reduced, and the prices of the berries enhanced, not only becausethe purchaser would not have the trouble of returning packages, butchiefly for the reason that the fruit would always appear in fresh, new baskets, instead of those soiled, and often musty, from long use. Mr. Budd shows that, in Delaware, crates and baskets could be madesufficiently cheap for this practice. 

PICKING

Having procured the baskets which suit us best, the next thing is tofill them properly, and get them into market looking fresh andattractive. It is just at this point that very many wrong themselves, or permit themselves to be wronged, The time is past when allstrawberries will sell as such, at so much per quart. Appearance oftendoubles the price, or makes it difficult to sell the fruit at all. Soiled, muddy berries, even though large, will fetch but wretchedprices; therefore the importance of mulching. The fruit may be inbeautiful condition upon the vines and yet be spoiled by carelesspicking. The work is often performed by children, or by those who havehad no experience, or who, from inherent shiftlessness, do everythingin the worst possible way, I have seen beautiful berries that in theirbrief transit through grimy hands lost half their value. Many pickerswill lay hold of the soft berry itself and pinch it as they pull itoff; then, instead of dropping it into the basket, they will hold itin the hand as they pick others, and as the hand grows fuller, willsqueeze them tighter, and when, at last, the half-crushed handful isdropped into the basket, the berries are almost ruined for marketpurposes. Not for $10 per day would I permit such a person to pick forme, for he not only takes fifty per cent from the price of the fruit, but gives my brand a bad reputation. If possible, the grower shouldcarefully select his pickers, and have them subscribe to a few plainrules, like the following:

1. Each berry must be picked with the thumb and forefinger nails, andnot held in the hand, but dropped into the basket at once. 

2. No green, decayed, or muddy berries will be received. 

3. There must be no getting down upon all fours in the beds, thuscrushing both green and ripe fruit. 

4. There must be no "topping off" with large berries, but the fruitmust be equally good all through the basket. 

In the early pickings of Wilsons, when many of the berries are of goodsize, and of all the large, choice kinds, it is best to make twogrades, putting the large and small by themselves, and keepingvarieties separate. A small frame, with short legs at the corners, anda handle, is a convenient appliance to hold six or more baskets whilepicking. Give to each picker two sets of baskets, one for the smalland one for the large berries, and pay equally for both, or perhaps alittle more for the small ones, so that there may be no motive tothwart your purpose; one and a half to two cents per quart is theusual price. Have two styles of tickets, red and blue, for instance;the red having a higher value and being given to those who bring theberries to the place of packing in good order, according to rule; letthe baskets not picked in conformity to the rules be receipted forwith the blue tickets. Receiving many of the latter soon becomes akind of disgrace, and thus you appeal to the principle of self-respectas well as self-interest. Get rid of those who persist in carelesspicking as soon as possible. Insist that the baskets be full androunded up, and the fruit equal in quality down to the bottom. As faras possible, let the hulls be down out of sight, and only the fruitshowing. If you have berries that are extra fine, it will pay you topick and pack them yourself, or have some one to do it who can bedepended upon. Do not pick the fruit, if you can help it, when it iswet with dew or rain; still, there are times when this must be done tosave it. Never let the baskets or crates stand long in the sun andwind, as the berries so treated soon become dull and faded. As soon asa crate is filled, put it under cover in a cool place till shipped tomarket. As far as possible, insist upon careful, gentle handling. 

Raspberries should be treated with even greater care thanstrawberries, since they are softer and more perishable. They shouldnever be put into anything larger than a pint basket, while thirds ofa quart and half-pints are much better. Round half-pints seem to becoming into favor. There is a wide, shallow basket made in Rochester, that some growers think highly of. With most varieties of raspberries, if any considerable number are placed together they soon become asoft, mouldy mass. The ideal raspberry basket, therefore, is small, open, and shallow; and the crates should permit free circulation. Pickthe fruit when dry, and as soon as it is ripe, as over-ripe berriesdecay quickly. Keep varieties by themselves. Mr. Parry says thatraspberries will pay at ten cents per quart, but the margin of profitwill be small. They usually sell at much higher figures. Black-caps oflate years have scarcely brought paying prices in New York market. Thefollowing statement shows what a difference variety, and thereforequality, makes in the same market. On the 7th day of July, 1871, raspberries were sold at wholesale, in Philadelphia, as follows, viz. :

Black-cap .................... 5 cents per quart. Philadelphia ................ 8 "Pearl ................... 16 "Susqueco, or Brandywine .... 30 "Hornet ..................... 60 "

Blackberries sell well in both quart and pint baskets, but if one issending a long distance, pints will carry the fruit in bettercondition. One of the best methods of shipping currants is to havetills, or shallow boxes, two or three in number, fitting in one'sberry crates, which can thus be made to serve a double purpose. Markon these tills the net weight of the fruit. For large, Cherrycurrants, quart and verbena baskets are often used. Many like a longmarket basket, holding about twenty-five pounds, while those who raisegrapes often make the same shallow boxes answer for both. 

Gooseberries are shipped in all kinds of packages, from barrels toquart boxes. I prefer a crate with tills, for both gooseberries andcurrants. These two fruits, especially the latter, are becomingincreasingly profitable every year. In summing up, it may be brieflystated that with all fruits, and in all the large markets, beauty, size, and good keeping qualities are the points which are chieflyconsidered. Very few know much about the names of varieties, buteagerly purchase that which appears the most attractive. The growerwho can make his crates of berries, when opened, look better thanothers near, will always receive good prices. If he tops off poorfruit with large berries, he will scarcely find a market eventually. If he always fills his baskets _well_ and _honestly_, and gives goodweight, taking pains to make his packages appear attractive, his fruitwill soon be in much demand and spoken for in advance. 

CHAPTER XXX

IRRIGATION

This is a topic on which a book might be written. The reader will drawa sigh of relief, however, on learning that I shall content myselfwith giving a few facts and suggestions, since I am well aware that, in spite of its title, this chapter will be dry to many. 

The first rays that fall from the lamp of history reveal vast systemsof irrigation in full operation. In many parts of the globe artificialwatering is absolutely essential, and there are few agriculturalregions which might not be rendered far more productive if the supplyof moisture could be regulated in accordance with the needs of eachcrop. The question, as we shall consider it, is a practical one. InCalifornia and other sections, the land _must_ be irrigated; here, andwherever the rainfall is more equally distributed throughout the year, we _can_ water if we find the practice remunerative. The increasedyield from the proper application of water is often marvellous. Mr. James Neilson, in a paper read before the New Jersey State Board ofAgriculture, gives some interesting facts observed abroad. In regionsalong the Cavour Canal, the people were able to mow in one season sixheavy burdens of grass, and in the vicinity of Edinburgh, by the useof sewage water, five or six crops of grass annually. In Belgium, "sandy, barren land (resembling the pine barrens of New Jersey) wasput into profitable cultivation when it could be irrigated. " The plainof Gennevilliers, near Paris, seemed utterly worthless forcultivation. It consisted almost wholly of coarse gravel, and bore norent. No land owner would make any effort to use water, so the city ofParis bought about twenty-five acres and turned upon it part of thesewage. It now rents for nearly $50 per acre, with sewage supplied. Inparts of Spain, land is worth $2, 500 irrigated, and but $125 withoutthe privilege of water. The enormous and long-continued crops ofstrawberries raised in California prove that water is equallyeffective in our new land, where the climate is similar, as in theolder countries. Will irrigation pay in our latitude, where we hopefor seasonable rains? I think that in many sections it will, andoccasionally I hear of remarkable results obtained by the free use ofwater. In one instance a gravelly hillside, almost worthless forordinary cultivation, became the wonder of the neighborhood, so largewere the crops of strawberries secured by irrigation. 

Mr. Chas. W. Garfield, Secretary of the Michigan State PomologicalSociety, gives an interesting account of his visit to Mr. Dunkley, asuccessful gardener, at Kalamazoo: "A force, " he writes, "were pickingstrawberries from rows of vigorous plants, and as we opened the vinesin advance of the pickers, a more delightful strawberry prospect wehad never seen. The varieties were Monarch, Seneca Chief, and Wilson, and under the system of irrigation employed they were just prime formarket, after all the other berries in the vicinity had ripened andwere gone. Very remunerative prices were thus secured. His vines werevigorous and independent of the rains. Every berry that set reachedperfection in size and form. " The abundant moisture greatly increasesthe size of the fruit, but retards the ripening. When the fruit hasreached the proper stage for maturity, the water is withheld, and thenthe berries ripen fast, but in their perfect development are firm, andare shielded from the sun by the luxuriant foliage. "We water, " saidMr. Dunkley, " only to supplement the rain. If the season is wet, weemploy our artificial system but little, or not at all, and in suchseasons get no profit from our investments; but generally, sometimeduring a season there is a drought that shortens some crop; then weirrigate, and have the advantage of neighboring gardeners. " Thisstatement suggests the practical question, Do droughts or dry seasonsoccur with sufficient frequency to warrant the outlay required forirrigation? In a very interesting paper read before the MassachusettsHorticultural Society, Mr. W. D. Philbrick gives much information onthe subject of artificial watering, and its need in our latitude andsection, and I quote from him freely:

"The amount of water required will depend largely on the rainfall, velocity of the wind, atmospheric humidity, soil, etc. A loose, sandysoil will require much more water than a retentive clay. In general, however, it may be assumed that in the warm, growing months of May, June, July, August and September, most vegetation requires an inch indepth over the entire surface of the land every five days. This is, ofcourse, only an _average_. This quantity, estimated as needed byour gardens, would be equivalent to six inches per month of rainfall. If we compare this amount with the actual rainfall, we shall arrive atan idea of what is to be supplied artificially. 

"The rainfall at Boston for the past six years (to 1878), for the fivegrowing months named, varies from a maximum of 10. 5 inches, in August, 1872, to a minimum of 0. 65 inch, in June, 1873. During these six yearsthere was not a single season when we did not suffer more or less fromdrought during some portion of the summer. Twenty-one of the thirtymonths in question had less rainfall than six inches per month, andthe average of these twenty-one months was about 3. 02 inches permonth, or only about half of what was needed. Some of the protractedseasons of drought were almost entirely rainless for six weeks, duringwhich the weather was excessively hot and windy, and vegetationsuffered extremely in consequence. "

Mr. Philbrick estimates that 27, 000 gallons, or 108 tons, of water areneeded per acre at each watering, which, in a dry period, should berepeated every five days. This enormous quantity leads him to suggestthat--

"before embarking in an enterprise of irrigation, it would be best tomake sure that the source can be depended upon for a sufficient supplyof water in the driest seasons; for it is precisely at such times thatthe most water is needed. Ordinary springs and wells, therefore, areentirely inadequate to furnish water for anything more than a smallpatch or garden. The only sources to be depended upon for large areasare unfailing streams, lakes, and ponds. There are few gardens sofavorably situated that the water can be drawn from canals and ditchesdirectly from some pond or stream. When this can be done it is by farthe cheapest method; and it is in this way that the extensiveirrigating works of Lombardy, Spain, France, California, and Coloradoare constructed. Where this system is adopted, considerable expense isrequired to grade the land into inclined beds, so as to distribute thewater easily and evenly; but, once done, the water is applied at avery trifling cost--so cheaply that it is used for farm crops inLombardy and the South of France. "

In most instances, however, our land is so located that we cannotirrigate it by a natural flow and fall of water. In this case, it maybe distributed by water-carts and by hand. This can be done only on avery small scale. The cost in time and labor would be much too greatfor profitable returns, and the ground would be so beaten and trampledas to cause much injury. Such methods may answer very well for smalland well-mulched fruit gardens, making the home supply certain andlarge, but it is inadequate from a business point of view. Distributing water through pipes laid underground, beneath the plow, does not work well at all, practically, and is not in accordance withnature. Most of the water is wasted. 

Mr. Phil brick continues:

"The only method of distributing water much used in gardens wherepumping is practiced is the system of iron pipes laid underground, with hydrants distant 200 feet asunder, from which the water isdistributed by 100 feet of India rubber hose. This is also the planadopted by gardeners who make use of the public water supply. "

When practicable, such iron pipes should be carried along ridges andheadlands, so as to let the water flow where we wish it by gravity asfar as possible. 

"Where the water has to be distributed by hose and sprinkler it willbe found good economy to use a powerful pump, that will give a head ofat least thirty feet, and to use for distribution pipes of not lessthan one and a half inches in diameter; provided, of course, that anyconsiderable area--an acre or more--is to be watered. Thus, forexample, we will suppose that it is required to water five acres ofland, and that we have near by a never-failing pond or river; we canlocate a steam pump near the river, and, while at work watering, weload the safety-valve upon the delivering water pipe at fifteen poundsper square inch, which corresponds to a head of about thirty feet ofwater. We have 300 feet of iron pipe, two inches in diameter, and 100feet of India rubber hose, one and a half inches in diameter, for thedelivery of the water. This apparatus would be capable of delivering45 gallons per minute, or 27, 000 gallons per day of ten hours--enoughfor the thorough wetting of one acre per day, or every acre of thefive once in five days; by running nights, ten acres could be watered. 

"When only a limited area is to be watered--less than an acre--thewind-mill furnishes a cheaper source of power than the steam pump. Tomake it available, large storage of water must be provided at a highlevel, so that the mill may work during stormy weather and store thewater until needed. A wind-mill, costing with pump and tank about$500, will furnish water enough for one or two acres of land, providedstorage can be provided for 200, 000 gallons of water. To provide thisstorage might cost as much as a steam pump. Where elevated reservoirscan easily be made, and the amount of water needed is not over 10, 000gallons daily, the wind-mill is, without doubt, cheaper power thansteam. "

Mr. Philbrick shows conclusively that where a gardener pays at therate of twenty-five cents per 1, 000 gallons, or even much less, onlycrops approaching $1, 000 per acre in value will warrant the outlay. When land can be easily graded, and irrigated through canals andditches, the yearly cost has been reduced, in some cases, as low asfrom one to three dollars per acre per year. 

"Wherever drainage is not perfect, it must be made so beforeirrigation can be safely practiced; otherwise, if a heavy fall of rainshould occur just after application of water, the plants might sufferseriously from being too wet. "

In the discussion which followed the reading of this paper, Mr. JohnB. Moore said, among other things: "No crop takes the moisture out ofthe soil more quickly than strawberries, and, for these and othercrops which soon suffer from dryness, he lets the water run down therows all night from half a dozen large pipes. "

Hon. Marshall T. Wilder then remarked that "the secret how Mr. Mooreproduced his large strawberries had now come out. "

(In a letter recently received, Mr. Moore further states: "In thegarden, I have had the best results where I have let the water run outof open hose between the rows of raspberries, strawberries, etc. , always making it a rule to wet the ground thoroughly, and then stop, and not apply any more until there is good evidence of the soilneeding it again. A constant drizzle is detrimental to vegetation. ")

Mr. W. C. Strong said that the "even distribution of water was veryimportant; otherwise, the ground became sodden in places, and otherparts received no benefit. He thought that considerable part of thebenefit of irrigation arose from showering the foliage, especially atnight, as in a green-house. "

Mr. Philbrick said that he applied water in sunshine sometimes, butthat in general he did not like to do so. (I would caution the readerto be very careful about wetting foliage under a hot sun, as it oftencauses both leaves and fruit to scald. I once lost a crop ofgooseberries through a midday shower, followed by a hot afternoon. )

Mr. E. P. Richardson had found a hose perforated with holes an eighthof an inch in diameter, and about three or four inches apart, veryconvenient for applying water. It can be laid anywhere, in a straightor crooked line, and under plants whose leaves are injured by wateringin the bright sun. Such a hose may be left for hours withoutattention. 

In the garden at Kalamazoo already referred to, the water was obtainedby damming up a spring. "The water was conveyed in a wooden conduit, made of two-inch plank, and rendered water-tight by coal tar. " Thewhole apparatus was very inexpensive, and proves that in manyinstances the ingenious and enterprising horticulturist can work out asimple system of his own that, at slight cost, will answer hispurpose. 

This chapter aims at little more than to put the reader on the righttrack for further investigation, and to suggest a few of the firstprinciples and requirements of irrigation. The great majority havelittle realization of the amount of water required, and very oftenmuch loss is incurred and injury caused by attempting artificialwatering with an insufficient supply. Mr. Dunkley, at Kalamazoo, started with a wind-mill, but found it wholly inadequate. Partialwatering is worse than useless. By liberal mulching, very much lesswater is required, and much longer intervals between irrigation mayelapse. 

If one designs to undertake irrigation upon a large scale, he shouldemploy the services of an expert, and "make haste slowly. " At the sametime, many fruit farms are so located, or might be, that the laborerwith a pick and shovel could solve the problem of an abundant supplyof water. 

When unfailing moisture can be maintained, and plants are notpermitted to bear in June, nor to make runners, almost a full crop maybe obtained in the autumn. 

CHAPTER XXXI

SUGGESTIVE EXPERIENCES FROM WIDELY SEPARATED LOCALITIES

It is often said that there is no teaching like experience, and inview of this sound principle I am led to quote from a few of theletters that I have received. These statements, from successful andintelligent cultivators, throw side lights on the preceding pages fromvarious standpoints. I would advise the reader to note carefully theadaptation of different varieties to different parts of the country. As we have just been discussing the subject of irrigation, I willfirst quote from California letters, since they touch on this topic. 

From Mr. James Shinn's interesting communication, I take the followingfacts:

"NILES, ALAMEDA CO. , CAL. 

"The greater part of the strawberries consumed in San Francisco aregrown in the neighborhood of San Jose, some fifty miles south of thecity. We are situated about halfway between, in the great valley thatborders the bay of San Francisco. We have occupied this place overtwenty years, and have made observations upon the culture of smallfruits, and have always grown more or less ourselves. While, therefore, I do not claim to be authority on the points you inquireabout, I feel pretty safe in mentioning one or two things in thisconnection, that I can hardly be mistaken about!

"_First_--Those who plant extensively for market make it a _sine quanon_ to have at hand plenty of water; except in very favoredlocalities, they can't be grown to profit without this essential. Iknow that the plants are planted on each side of a small ridge, previously thrown up for the purpose. The vines along the ridgestand twelve to fifteen inches apart. The space between the ridgesallows three and a half feet for cultivation and water. The water isallowed to run between these ridges, and, of course, wets the rootseffectually. It will be perceived that the ground must be nearlylevel. I cannot tell how often these rows are watered, but frequently. The proper season for planting is as early in the winter as the groundcan be put in order--from November 1st, all winter--the earlier thebetter. If planted early, a fair crop of berries may be expected thenext summer. For many years the Longwood's Prolific and PeabodySeedling were the varieties generally grown. Recently some othervarieties have been introduced, but are mostly confined to the handsof amateurs. The Monarch of the West has, however, certainly secured astrong foothold among the large growers. This berry commanded a muchlarger price in the market than the old varieties. I just remarkrespecting irrigation that, of course, as you will see, the object ofplanting upon ridges is to place the vines so high that when the wateris let in, the berries will be above its reach. Nearly all our largegrowers let their fields to Chinamen, who do all the work, boardingthemselves, for half the net proceeds. 

"SAN JOSE, CAL. 

"In answer to your letter, asking about irrigation, I would state thatin the first place we grade the land, after first plowing andharrowing it. We do not like to do too much grading. If the land isvery uneven, we make the rows conform to it, bringing the water on thehighest portions, and cutting escape ditches through the low parts, sothat the water can run off readily. The rows are made three feetapart, and every alternate row is shovelled or plowed out to make ashallow ditch about three or four inches deep. Soil is thrown on orbetween the alternate rows, making the ground look like small beds. The plants are set in rows about six inches from the edge of theditches. We are now ready for the water, which is nearly all takenfrom artesian wells. The first year, the plants do not require so muchmoisture; but the second year, we water about once a week. We keep allrunners cut off. "J. H. Ogier. "

"Brown's Valley, Yuba Co. , Cal. 

"My business is raising strawberries and blackberries for market, which is eleven miles distant, and I send all my fruit by stage. Ihave experimented with all leading varieties, since Orange Juddintroduced the _Agriculturist_, but succeed best with Triomphe deGand, Longworth's Prolific, Jucunda, and Colonel Cheney. The latter israther soft to carry so far to market. I commence sending to marketabout the middle of April. About the middle of June the Triomphebegins to ripen a second crop. Last year they were the largest andfinest berries I ever saw. In September the Jucunda bears a thirdcrop. Prom May until October we depend entirely on irrigation. Oursoil is red, stiff, and heavy. I use abundantly well-rotted stablemanure and barnyard compost. I prepare by deep plowing, and thenharrowing. I then go over the ground for the plants with Hexamer'spronged hoe, making the soil very fine. I set the plants two feetapart each way, and where each one is to grow, I work in a largeshovelful of manure deeply and thoroughly. I give blackberries thesame mode of culture, setting them three feet by eight. No winterprotection is needed. In ordinary seasons, there are a fewstrawberries all winter long. Strawberries and blackberries are veryproductive, and enormous in size, but currants, gooseberries, and redraspberries do not succeed in this region, the long and intensely hotand dry season being unfavorable. John Palmer. "

"NEW CASTLE, CAL. 

"The President Wilder is the finest flavored berry we have evertasted, and it is the most attractive in color of all. The Jucundadoes not do well on our light soil. The Monarch is splendid. We growraspberries quite extensively, our climate and location being betteradapted to them, perhaps, than any other part of California. Theearliest berry with us is the Red Antwerp (probably the English). Itis a week earlier than the Franconia. The Herstine is a fine berryevery way, except as regards firmness. The cap varieties are inferiorin flavor here. C. M. SILVA & SON"

From other sources I learn that the Triomphe de Gand and Seth Boydenare among the chief favorites in California. 

Mr. Felix Gillet, Nevada City, Cal. , author of an excellent littletreatise on the culture of the strawberry in his region, says: "Therow and hill system is certainly the best of all, especially to raiselarge, fine fruit. The rows should be two feet apart, or thirty-sixinches, if irrigating by running water in each row as it is done inCalifornia. The plants should be set, the large-growing sorts two feetfrom each other in the row, the smaller ones from twelve to eighteeninches. "

"AUSTIN, TEXAS

"I put in water-works, and it is the best investment I ever made. Isupply Austin with vegetables the whole year round. It was very drylast year, but I loaded three wagons with vegetables every day. Wewatered twenty acres regularly, and will water thirty this year. I ammaking a large reservoir on a hill, which will be supplied from alarge well through a six-inch pipe. I use Knowles's steam pump, 30horse-power, capable of pumping 750, 000 gallons daily. Ofstrawberries, the Kentucky Seedling can stand the most heat anddrought. Crescent Seedling looks well here, also the Forest Rose. Raspberries, currants, and gooseberries cannot be raised. We plantstrawberries one foot apart in the row, and the rows are three feetapart We mulch early in spring, and cultivate by horse-power after thebearing season is over. I regard cow manure, leaf mould, and boneflour as the best fertilizers. I consider fall, October or November, as the best time for planting. 

 "WILLIAM RADAM. "

"PALESTINE, TEXAS. 

"The Charles Downing, Seth Boyden, and President Wilder have donewell. The Charles Downing has flourished as though native and to themanner born. The Kentucky has done remarkably well; the Wilson not sowell. Raspberries, on the whole, have done well, but currants andgooseberries will not survive. The strawberries have done better thanI hoped. I have always looked upon the strawberry as a semi-aquaticplant, and this view has been strengthened by an account of awonderful crop produced in this region by abundant and systematicwatering. The great difficulty against which we have to contend is theprolonged summer, when, for weeks, the thermometer ranges from 90degrees to 95 degrees in the shade. To this must be added spells ofdry weather, lasting sometimes for six or eight consecutive weeks inJuly, August, and September. 

 "D. S. H. SMITH. "

"NEW ORLEANS, LA. 

"Experienced cultivators prepare for strawberries by thorough plowingand subsoiling. We cultivate by subsoil plow, cultivator, and hoe, with no stones to impede our work. The bearing season lasts about 90days. I have had two full crops in the same season. The best time toplant is, 1st, in August; 2d, in December. The Wilson and CharlesDowning do well. The black-cap raspberries succeed: the redraspberries are thus far a failure. Blackberries do very well. D. M. WIGGINS, _Agricultural editor_, 'N. 0. Times. '"

Mr. H. W. Lamb, of Colorado Springs, writes me that strawberries andthe hardy red raspberries do well in his section. They regard sheepmanure as one of the best fertilizers. Dr. Samuel Hape, of Atlanta, Ga. , writes: "In reply to your favor, I would say that strawberriesand blackberries do splendidly here, raspberries moderately, andcurrants and gooseberries as exceptions; grapes finely. 

"Our soils are mostly loam, with some sand, and a clay subsoil. Bottomlands have the usual deposits of muck and partially decomposedvegetable matter. The damp, rich soil, of course, suits strawberriesand blackberries; though the latter grow wild to such perfection, andin such abundance, as to do away with cultivation almost entirely. Thered raspberry does not succeed very well as a rule. While damp, under-drained soil and sandy loam are best for strawberries, the dry uplandshave almost invariably produced well. As to fertilizers, well-decomposed stable manure and bone meal have done the best with us. 

"No winter protection is needed. The fall, with us, is the best seasonto transplant strawberries, by all odds--as soon as the Septemberrains set in. DR. SAMUEL HAPE. "

"JACKSONVILLE, FLA. , Dec. 23, 1878. 

"With pleasure, I answer your questions to the best of my ability. 1. What varieties of small fruits do best in your locality? Strawberriesand blackberries do well, but owing to the abundance of wild fruit, late and early, the blackberry is not cultivated largely. No othersmall fruits have been fairly tried. The general opinion is that ourwarm weather lasts too long for the raspberry, gooseberry, andcurrant. I have given the raspberry a trial, and cannot recommend it. 2. What soils are best adapted to them? We have two soils on which thestrawberry thrives, the low hummock bordering on the river. It is richin vegetable and mineral matter--clay from two to four feet undersurface. The next is our pine land; soil light, and of grayish color, nearly devoid of vegetable matter, but largely supplied with lime andpotash. Strawberries and blackberries do well on this soil. We havewhat is termed high hummock. It is a yellow loam, with clay, varyingfrom two to six feet from surface. The orange, peach, grape, fig, quince and plum do well on this soil. 3. What is your mode of culture?For strawberries, I lay off beds, slightly raised, 8 feet wide. Oneach bed I put four rows of plants, running the full length of beds. For Wilsons, rows 18 inches, and 12 inches between plants; CharlesDowning, and Seth Boyden, 18 by 18 inches. Cover all the space withpine-needles by the time warm weather sets in, and shade their fruitfrom the hot sun. I cultivate with a small hand cultivator, partlyinvented by myself, and by hoeing. 4. What fertilizer do you considermost efficient? A compost of stable manure, muck, and potash. 5. Whatwinter protection do you give, if any? None needed. For summerprotection, pine straw between plants; this answers a double purpose--to keep the fruit clean, also to protect the plants in warm, dryweather, and retain moisture. 6. Do you consider spring or fall thebest season for planting in your locality? If I have home-grownplants, I prefer planting from last of August to first of December. Northern plants, unless grown in pots, do best if obtained in Novemberor December. I will add here, for your information, Wilson's Albany isvery shy of making runners for the first year or two after coming fromthe North. Seth Boyden and Charles Downing take possession of theground after fruiting is over. WILLIAM JAMES. "

Mr. P. J. Berkmans, the well-known horticulturist of Augusta, Ga. , informed me that the Kentucky, Charles Downing, and Crescent enduredthe southern sun well, and that the Captain Jack and Sharpless werefine with them; all the purple cane and black-cap raspberries didwell, but none of the foreign kinds thrived. Mr. Berkmans remarkedthat, even after ten years of bearing, he hesitated to express apositive opinion concerning a fruit, so great are the differencescaused by location and soil. It is your young men that have been twoor three years in the business, who have positive opinions on everysubject. 

In the suburbs of Savannah, Ga. , I found three-quarters of an acre ofstrawberries that had yielded a clear profit of $800 in one season. The preparation and culture for this profitable crop were as follows:A good coat of manure was spread early in spring and plowed under. Cow-peas were then sown and plowed under in August, when another coatof manure was harrowed in. Planting was commenced August 10, and theplants set fourteen inches from each other, in beds with alleysbetween, twenty-eight inches wide. They were worked with a cultivator, mulched with pine straw in January, and stimulated from time to timewith liquid manure. The fact that they secured a good home marketaccounts, in part, for the large profit. 

Through the courtesy of Captain Sigwald, himself a successfulhorticulturist, I was able to visit many strawberry plantations in thevicinity of Charleston, S. C. , and will give a few statistics from oneof the most nourishing. The plants were vigorous, and the long rowsclean and free from runners. The best plants had been set out in thepreceding September. The force employed to set five and a half acreswas: five hands taking up the plants with a large patent transplanter, that brought away a ball of earth with the roots; five more laborers"toting, " or carrying on hand-barrows, the plants from the propagatingbed to the fruiting field, and four planting. The expense of plantingwas $15 per acre. Prom the five and a half acres, there were shippedto New York 15, 200 quarts, on which the freight, at fifteen cents perquart, amounted to $2, 280. Commission on sales was $4l3--leaving abalance of only $1, 670, and out of this all other expenses had tocome. Thus it way be seen that the expense of marketing the crop wasgreater than the expense of growing it and the net profit combined--acondition of things that should not last. The freight has been reducedto ten cents per quart this year, I understand. 

The Monarch seems peculiarly adapted to East Tennessee, and Mr. Ed. S. Sheppard, who first introduced them, found a sensation resulting thatin its proportions resembled the mammoth berry. 

The Crystal City and Captain Jack are favorite varieties in Missouri. 

For the latitude and climate of New York, and westward, muchsuggestion has been given already. 

Mr. J. T. Lovett, of Little Silver, N. J. , gives the following list asthe best selection for their light sandy soils:

FOR THE HOME GARDEN

_Strawberries_

French's Seedling--best early crop. 

Charles Downing--best medium, or main crop. 

Kentucky--best late. 

_Red Raspberries_

Herstine--best early. [Footnote: "Requires winter protection to ensurea crop. "]

Turner--best entirely hardy early. 

Cuthbert--best medium and late. 

_Black-cap Raspberries_

Doolittle's Improved--best early. 

Mammoth Cluster--best medium and late. 

_Mammoth Blackberries_

Wilson's Early--best early. 

Kittatinny--best main crop. 

_Currants_

Cherry--best red. 

Red Dutch--best for culinary purposes. 

White Grape--best white. 

Victoria--best late. 

Black Naples--best black. 

_Gooseberries_

Downing

FOR MARKET--OF VALUE IN THE ORDER NAMED

_Strawberries_

Wilson's Albany, }Captain Jack, } For shipment. 

Crescent Seedling, }Charles Downing, } For near market. Downer's Prolific, }

_Red Raspberries_

Cuthbert. 

Brandywine. 

_Black-cap Raspberries_

Mammoth Cluster. 

Doolittle's Improved. 

_Blackberries_

Kittatinny. 

Wilson's early. [Footnote: "In former years this was the mostprofitable of all sorts, but latterly it is so frequently injured bywinter, and so generally attacked by disease or insects throughout theState, as to render it uncertain. "]

_Currants_

Cherry. 

Red Dutch. 

Black Naples. 

_Gooseberries_

Downing. 

Houghton Seedling. 

In the Sixth Annual Report of the New Jersey State Board ofAgriculture, I find the following interesting statement from the well-known horticulturist, Mr. P. T. Quinn. 

"ONE ACRE OP STRAWBEREIES. 

"NEWARK, October, 1878. 

"The following are the methods of culture and the products of one acreof strawberries, grown on my farm near Newark, during the season of1878. The ground on which these strawberries were grown was plantedwith Early Rose potatoes and heavily manured in the spring of 1877. These potatoes were dug and marketed during the last week in July andfirst week in August of the same year. The ground was at once clearedoff, plowed and harrowed smoothly. Furrows were then opened four orfive inches deep and two and a half feet apart. Between the 15th and22d of August, 1877, the strawberry plants were set in these furrowsfrom fifteen to eighteen inches apart, without any manure being added. Some plants died here and there, but the bulk of those set out made astrong growth before cold weather. They were kept free from weeds byrunning a cultivator twice between the rows and hoeing twice. Thistreatment kept the ground absolutely free from weeds. In the middle ofDecember, the plants were covered over with a compost of the sweepingsof the vegetable and fish markets, with some horse manure mixedthrough it. The whole was thoroughly decayed and light in character. About the middle of April, 1878, the coarsest part of this mulch wasraked off the strawberry plants, and left in the spaces between therows, the finer portion being left among the plants. To the coarsepart raked off was added salt hay, pressed under the leaves of theplants on either side of the rows, enough being added to keep the soilaround the plants moist and the fruit free from grit. There was nodisturbance of the soil in any way in the spring, beyond the cuttingoff at the surface of a few straggling weeds that started up here andthere. 

"The varieties grown upon this acre were Charles Downing and GreenProlific, and the yield was five thousand four hundred and eighty-seven (5, 487) quarts. The gross receipts from this acre of berries wasseven hundred and ninety-five dollars and sixty-one cents ($795. 61). Deducting the commissions and picking the fruit, the net returns were$620. 60. "

Messrs. Gibson and Bennett, of New Jersey, stated before the WesternNew York Horticultural Society, that they "liked the bedding system, say four-row beds, with plants one foot apart each way and two-feetwalks between the beds. We fertilize with fine horse manure, spreadingit heavily and plowing it under. We start plants in pots and transferthem to the beds in September, the earlier the better. These pottedplants form fine large crowns ready for the finest fruit. The beds arecovered with manure January 1. The fruit is picked the following June, and the beds then plowed under at once and planted with other crops. "

By this system, it will be seen that the plants occupy the ground butabout ten months, and little or no cultivation is given. It ispractically the same method as that employed around Charleston, S. C. , and, I am inclined to think, could often be practiced at the Northwith great profit. In contrast, Mr. J. K. Sharpless said, on the sameoccasion, "We grow in the hill system, and expect the plants to lastfour or five years;" adding, "My experience teaches me thatstrawberries should not be cultivated deeply until their season ofrest is over, say the last of August. " I think this view sound. 

Mr. E. B. Underhill, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. , said that he "valued theGolden Defiance for late fruit. The Glendale is more vigorous. I thinkhighly of the Champion and Kentucky. The Duncan is our best early ofthose well tested. As the mid-market in this section will probably beglutted with Crescents, I shall take great pains with the CumberlandTriumph, which, picked in pints (on account of its softness), willyield almost as well, and bring more dollars than any sort I havetested yet. "

From Mr. Frank S. Alling I learn that all the small fruits succeedfinely on the shores of Puget Sound, Washington Territory. 

I will close this chapter of experiences with a very interestingletter from the Rev. Mr. A. A. Von Iffland, of Quebec, who gives anadmirable statement of the conditions of success in the latitude ofNorthern Canada. It will be seen that his light, warm soil makes adifference of several degrees of latitude in his favor. 

"My soil is of a light gravelly nature, with a subsoil of coarse sand. It requires annual applications of large quantities of manure to bringabout the best results, but _then_ yields generous returns. It iswarm and quick, and so porous that it can be worked almost immediatelyafter the heaviest showers. Plants form roots in the soil withmarvellous rapidity. All kinds of vegetables can be successfullycultivated. Potatoes, tomatoes, squash, corn, carrots, parsnips, melons, cucumbers, beans, and peas are grown to perfection. Of course, it is liable to suffer severely in a drought--an evil which I find isbest obviated by plenty of barnyard manure and cultivation. Theclimate is doubtless severe, and the winters long, but the abundanceof snow affords the best kind of protection and is of the greatestpossible advantage in the culture of small fruits. Winter sets in withus sometimes as early as the first of November, sometimes not till themiddle of December, and the snow has not disappeared from the vicinityof the fences till the last week in April. The average depth of snowis 4 1/2 half feet, and we have cold spells of three or four days at atime, when the glass varies between 20 and 30 degrees below zero. 

"STRAWBERRIES

"I think that all the varieties which are cultivated in the UnitedStates can be cultivated here under the same conditions of soil. Igrow successfully the Colonel Cheney, Triomphe de Gand, Wilson, Charles Downing, Nicanor, Green Prolific, Monarch of the West, SethBoyden, but have discarded Jucunda and Kentucky. I have the greatestsuccess with the Cheney, Charles Downing, Wilson, and Triomphe, in theorder written. I plant both in fall and spring, but prefer fallsetting when it can be done early and you have good plants. 

"I used to strike plants in three-inch pots, but have abandoned thatplan, and instead, lay the runners as early as I can get them (from1st to 20th July), and when well rooted, set them out, with a ball ofearth, from 15th to 20th August. If the season is at all moist, sothat the young plants make good progress before the frosts set in(about middle of October), I get a good crop (half a full crop) thefollowing summer. From plants set in the spring, I take no fruit. Withthis exception, fall and spring settings are treated alike. As thecultivation is all done by hand, I have found that planting in beds ofthree rows each combines the greatest advantages. The rows are 15inches apart, and the plants 18 inches apart in the row--in thequincunx form; each bed is separated from the rest by a path 80 incheswide. I need not say that the soil has been previously well enriched--with compost, generally, and well-decomposed manure. In fact, as Iusually plant on soil from which a crop of potatoes has been removed, the ground has received two applications the year the plants are set. As the Colonel Cheney is my favorite, in order to fertilize it, Iplant alternate beds of some good staminate variety, Charles Downing, Triomphe, or Wilson. The cultivation of the young plants the firstseason consists in cutting off any runners that may form, and keepingthem clear of weeds. When well established, the beds are top-dressedwith an inch or two of old manure; this feeds the plants, keeps thesoil about the roots moist, and acts as a mulch when the fruit sets, and yields the following summer. The following spring and summer, nothing is done to these beds till after fruiting, except to hoe outthe weeds. After fruiting, a thorough weeding is effected, and therunners are cut every three weeks; and before the frosts set in, thebeds are given a top-dressing of old manure. After the second crop offruit is taken off, they are weeded, and the runners are allowed tostrike. The third spring, wood-ashes are applied; and after fruitingthe plants are turned under. No winter protection is given to theplants, unless you except the top-dressing of manures; but this issometimes not applied till spring, and I observe no appreciabledifference between the plants with and those without it. What I doobserve is that an early winter, and plenty of snow, kills fewerplants than a winter in which the snowfalls have been delayed tillafter frosts and rains. 

"Strawberries begin to ripen with us about the 28th of June, andraspberries about the 15th of July. With the above treatment, I havegrown Wilsons and Cheneys at the rate of 11, 000 quarts, or 344bushels, to the acre. 

"RASPBERRIES

"I prefer fall planting, which may be done as late as they can be putin. I have set them the last day of October, without losing one. Iplant them four feet apart, but five would be better, and tie thecanes, when grown, to stakes four and a half feet high. [Footnote:"The following fall, of course; when planted, the canes are cut back, so as to be only six inches above ground. " ] Sometimes I have laidthem down, and sometimes have tied up the young canes to the stakesin the fall, and I find but little difference. They always bear, andare never winter-killed. 

"As to blackberries, I have but little experience. That blackberrieswill succeed here, some canes I saw 15th August, in a friend's garden, some two miles from my house, afford ample proof. They were loadedwith clusters of magnificent, large, luscious fruit, and were equallyprolific last year. My friend told me he was obliged to give them. Very warm protection--literally bury them in straw and earth. 

"Red and black currants grow well with us, under ordinary treatment. Gooseberries, however, are liable to mildew; that is, the Englishvarieties. The native hybrids, of course, are safe enough. Still, under some conditions, I have seen the English varieties without atouch of mildew. My English varieties mildewed badly this summer, andthe man from whom I got them says that he has never seen it in hisgarden, not far from me. I went to see his bushes, and there was not asign of mildew affecting his gooseberries, which were very large andfine. "

CHAPTER XXXII

A FEW RULES AND MAXIMS

Suggestive experiences and the methods of successful men are usuallyfar more helpful than a system of rules. Nevertheless, I have thoughtthat some concise maxims and formulas would be of use to those not yetwell versed in the labors of a fruit farm. Such rules, also, may be ofservice to the unfortunates who are dependent on the "hired man, "since they can be copied and given to this minister of destiny whosehands work out our weal or woe so largely. There are two types ofworkmen that are incorrigible. The one slashes away with his haphazardhoe, while he looks and talks in another direction. His tongue, atleast, is rarely idle, and his curiosity awakes when he does. If anyone or anything goes by, he must watch it while in sight and thencomment and expectorate. He is not only versed in all the coarsegossip concerning his neighbors, but also can talk by the hour of theshort-comings of even their horses and dogs. The virtues of man orbeast, however, make but little impression on what answers in hisorganism for a mind. That which is good, wholesome, and refinedinterests him no more than strawberries would a buzzard. To the degreethat he is active, he usually makes havoc. The weeds do not sufferseriously from his efforts, but if you have a few choice plants, asingle specimen or two of something unpurchasable and rare, or aseedling that you dream may have a future, the probabilities are that, unless watched and warned, he will extirpate them utterly. It rarelyhappens that you can teach this type of man better things. The leopardmay change his spots and the Ethiopian his skin, but this man--thoughresembling both outwardly, through his uncleanliness--never changes. His blunders, garrulity, and brainless labor, however, would transformIzaak Walton himself into a dragon of irritability. The effort toreform such a man would be heroic, indeed, but let those who enterupon such a task give their whole souls to it, and not attemptgardening at the same time--unless the garden is maintained for thesake of the man, and they, in their zeal, approach Titania in hermidsummer-night's madness, when she bade her attendant fairies to"feed" the "translated" weaver-

 "With apricocks and dewberries, With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries. "

This degenerate descendant of Bottom, however, needs no suchconsiderate attention; he will help himself to the choicest andrarest. 

Scarcely better than the type portrayed above is the deliberateworkman, who can soon show you how easy it is to spend two dollars inorder to make one. His wages--the one thing he is prompt about--willleave little margin of profit on the berries that he has packed, although, by reason of his ancient pipe, they may outrank all thefruit in the market. This man never walks nor runs, no matter howgreat the emergency and press of work; he merely jogs around, andpicks a raspberry as he would pry out a bowlder. He does his workfairly well, usually; but the fact that it would require a hundredsuch men to care for a small place causes not the slightestsolicitude. He would smoke just as stolidly and complacently afterbringing wreck and ruin to a dozen employers. 

Men of these types are as disastrous on a fruit farm as the_Lachnosterna_ or currant worm. Unless the reader has far morenative goodness and acquired grace than the writer, he had betterdismiss them speedily, or his feelings may resemble those that SamJubilee described on previously. I have given two extreme examples, but there are also gradations of these characters, who had better findemployment from those requiring "hands" only. Successful work on afruit farm, or in a garden, requires a quick brain, a keen eye, abrisk step and a deft hand. Many of its labors are light, and noprofit can follow unless they are performed with despatch, at theright time and in the right way. 

The majority of those we employ wish to do right and to givesatisfaction. They are not only willing but are glad to learn; andwhile only actual and long-continued experience can make a thoroughgardener, perhaps the following rules, maxims, and principles, embodying the experience of others, may be of service to beginners, giving them a start in the right direction:

1. Never put off till spring work that might be done in the fall. Spring is always too short for the labor it brings, even when not wetand late. 

2. Plow in the fall all heavy, loamy land that you intend to plant inspring. This exposes it to the action of frost, and if done late, tends to destroy insects and their larvae. Do not plow sand in thefall unless there is upon it sod, stubble, etc. , that is to decay. 

3. Top-dress very light land with an inch or two of clay or heavy loamin November, and let the winter frosts and rains blend the two diversesoils to their mutual advantage. Harrowing in fertilizers on lightground is better than plowing them in. 

4. In the fall top-dress all the small fruits with compost, bone-dustor other fertilizers that have staying powers, spreading it alongclose to the rows and over the roots, and working it into the soillightly by cultivation. This gives everything a vigorous start in thespring. 

5. If possible, take out before winter all perennial weeds--sorrel, white clover, etc. --but do not greatly disturb the roots ofstrawberries, just on the approach of winter. 

6. In most localities and soils, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, and blackberries do better if planted any time after they drop theirfoliage in the fall. Such planting can be continued even into thewinter, on mild, still days, when frost is neither in the air norsoil. Frozen earth should never come in contact with roots. I plantstrawberries, also, all through the autumn, even into December; andbefore the ground freezes, hoe upon them one or two inches of soil, raking it off as soon as freezing weather is over in the spring. 

7. The earlier plants are set out in spring, the better, if the groundand weather are suitable. It is usually best to wait till the dangerof severe frost is over. Do not plant when the ground is wet andsticky, or dry and lumpy, at any season, if it can be helped. Do notplant in a high, hot or cold wind. Make the most of mild, still, andcloudy days. If plants can be set before a storm or shower, much isgained; but this is not essential if roots are imbedded their wholelength in moist (not wet) earth, and the soil made very firm, aroundthem. Plantings may be made in very dry weather if the land is forkedor plowed late in the afternoon, and the plants set immediately in thefresh, moist earth. Keep the roots from contact with unfermentedmanure. 

8. In handling plants at any time, _never_ let the _little_ rootletsdry and shrivel. Keep them from sun, frost, and wind. If the roots ofplants received in boxes are frozen, let them thaw out in a cellarundisturbed. If roots are black, shrivelled, or musty from longtransportation, wash them in clean water, and, in the case ofstrawberries, shorten them one-third, and then plant at once in moistsoil. 

9. In cultivating strawberry plants recently set, stir the surfacemerely, with a rake, _not over half an inch deep_. 

10. Never disturb roots by working among them in dry weather. At suchtimes, stir the _surface only, and often_. 

11. If you water at all, water thoroughly, and keep the soil moisttill rain comes; otherwise watering is an injury. 

12. The easiest and cheapest way to keep a garden clean is to rake theground over once a week on sunny days. This method destroys the weedswhen they are just appearing, and maintains moisture. 

18. Pick fruit, if possible, when it is dry, and before it is over-ripe. Do not leave it in the sun or wind, but take it at once tocoolness and shade. Pack carefully and honestly. A quart of small, decayed, green, or muddy berries scattered through a crate of finefruit may reduce its price one half. 

14. Mulch everything you can. Save all the leaves and litter that canbe gathered on the place, and apply it around the plants only when theground is moist. _Dry_ ground covered with mulch may be kept dry allsummer. 

15. Practice summer pinching and pruning only when plants are in theirspring and early summer growth, and not after the wood begins toripen. If delayed till then, wait till the plant is dormant in thefall. 

16. Sandy or gravelly land can usually be worked immediately afterrain; but if heavy land is plowed or cultivated when wet, or so dry asto break up in lumps, it is injured. 

17. Watch all crops daily. Plants are living things, and needattention. Diseases, insects, drought, or wet may destroy them in afew days, or even hours, if left uncared for. 

18. If you cultivate strawberries in the spring, do the work _veryearly_--as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. After the fruitbuds show themselves, stir the ground with a rake or hoe only, andnever more than an inch deep. I advocate early spring cultivation, and then the immediate application of the mulch. 

19. Just as the ground begins to freeze, in the fall or early winter, cover strawberry plants with some light material that will preventalternate freezing and thawing during the winter. Never use heavy, unfermented manure for this purpose. Leaves, straw, salt, hay, _light_ stable manure, or any old litter from the garden, answer. 

20. In setting raspberry plants, or any fruit, never set in hard, unprepared soil. Do not stick them in little, shallow holes, nor indeep, narrow ones, wherein the roots are all huddled together; makethe holes large and deep, either with the plow or spade, fill thebottom partly with fine, rich, moist, surface soil, free from lumpsand manure, and _spread_ the roots out on this, then fill in withvery fine pulverized earth, setting the plant, in light land, one ortwo inches deeper than it grew naturally; and in heavy land at thesame depth. If manure is used, spread it on the surface, _around_, not up against, the stem of the plant. 

21. Both for the sake of economy and thoroughness, use the plow andcultivator rather than fork and hoe, whenever it is possible. Groundcan be laid out with a view to this rule. 

22. In cultivating crops among trees, use short whiffle-trees, withthe traces so fastened as to prevent the young trees from beingscratched and wounded. 

23. Save, with scrupulous economy, all wood-ashes, soap-suds, and allarticles having fertilizing qualities. A compost heap is like asixpenny savings bank. Small and frequent additions soon make a largeaggregate. The fruit-grower and his land usually grow rich together, and in the same proportion. 

24. Once more I repeat--in handling and setting out plants, _never_let the roots shrivel and dry out. After plants and cuttings are inthe ground, never leave them just long enough to dry out and die. Keepthem moist--not wet and sodden, but _moist_ all the time. In settingout plants, especially strawberries, spread out the roots, and makethe ground _very firm_ about them. In trenching stock, put the rootsdown deeply, and cover well half-way up the stems. The gardener whofails to carry out the principles under this number has not learnedthe letter A of his business. 

Mr. William Parry gives the following rule for ascertaining the numberof plants required for one acre of land, which contains 43, 560 squarefeet:

"Multiply the distance in feet between the rows by the distance theplants are set apart in the row, and their product will be the numberof square feet for each plant or hill, which, divided into the numberof feet in an acre, will show how many plants or hills the acre willcontain, thus:

"Blackberries . . . 8 feet by 3 == 24)43, 560( 1, 815 plants. Raspberries . . . 7 " 3 == 21)43, 560( 2, 074 plants. Strawberries . . . 5 " 1 == 5)43, 560( 8, 712 plants. Strawberries . . . 3 " 16" == 4)43, 560(10, 890 plants. "

The same rule can be applied to all other plants or trees. 

I would suggest that fruit-growers take much pains to securetrustworthy pickers. Careless, slovenly gathering of the fruit may robit of half its value. It often is necessary for those who live remotefrom villages to provide quarters for their pickers. Usually, thebetter the quarters, the better the class that can be obtained to dothe work. 

CHAPTER XXXIII

VARIETIES OF STRAWBERRIES

To attempt to describe all the strawberries that have been named wouldbe a task almost as interminable as useless. This whole question ofvarieties presents a different phase every four or five years. Therefore I treat the subject in my final chapter, in order that I maygive revision as often as there shall be occasion for it, withoutdisturbing the body of the book. A few years since, certain varietieswere making almost as great a sensation as the Sharpless. They are nowregarded as little better than weeds, in most localities. Thus theneed of frequent revision is clearly indicated. In chapter thirteen Ihave spoken of those varieties that have become so well established asto be regarded as standards, or which are so promising and popular asto deserve especial mention. More precise and technical descriptionswill now be given. I shall not copy old catalogues, or name thosekinds that have passed wholly out of cultivation. Such descriptionswould have no practical value, and the strawberry antiquarian can findthem in the older works on this subject. Neither shall I name manyforeign kinds, as the majority of them have little value this side ofthe Atlantic. Soil, climate, locality, and other reasons, cause suchgreat differences in opinion in regard to varieties that I expectexceptions to be taken to every description. Many of the new sortsthat I am testing have not, as yet, proved themselves worthy ofmention. 

_Agriculturist. _--Originated with the late Mr. Seth Boyden, ofNewark, N. J. Through the courtesy of an old friend of Mr. Boyden, Iam able to give his description of his own berry, copied from hisdiary by a member of his family:

"No. 10. --Name, Agriculturist. A cross between No. 5 and Peabody'sGeorgia; a hardy, tall grower, with much foliage and few runners;berries very large, broad shoulders, slightly necked, often flat, andsome coxcombed or double, high crimson color to the centre, very firm, and high-flavored. A staminate variety. "

(No. 5 is the Green Prolific. ) The Agriculturist was once verypopular, and is still raised quite largely in some localities, but isfast giving way to new varieties. It is peculiarly adapted to lightsoils, but on my place has scalded and "dampened off" badly. Itseemingly has had its day. 

_Boyden's_ No. 30 (_Seth Boyden_). --I again let Mr. Boyden describehis own seedling:

"Plant above medium size; round leaf, deep green; bears the summerheat well; berries necked, rather long, large; abundance of seed; darkred; has buds, blossoms, and ripe berries on the same peduncle; is ofthe Agriculturist family, and an eccentric plant. Perfect flower. "

From the reference above, I gather that No. 5, or Green Prolific, isone of the parents of this famous berry. Mr. Boyden speaks of some ofhis other seedlings more favorably than of this--another instance ofthe truth that men do not always form the most correct judgments oftheir own children. No. 30 will perpetuate Mr. Boyden's name throughmany coming years, and all who have eaten this superb berry havereason to bless his memory. No. 5 and No. 10 are rapidly disappearingfrom our gardens. The Boyden (as it should be named) is one of thelargest and sweetest berries in cultivation--too sweet for my taste. It responds nobly to high culture, but it is impatient of neglect andlight, dry soils. It is one of the best market berries, and althoughnot hard, is firm and dry, and thus is well adapted for shipping. Itis one of the few fancy berries that will endure long transportationby rail. As I have stated, Mr. Jerolemon has raised 327 bushels ofthis variety on an acre, and received for the same $1, 386. Give itmoist soil and cut the runners. 

_Bidwell. _--Foliage light green, plant very vigorous; truss 3 to5 inches high; berry very conical, bright scarlet, with a neck highlyglazed, glossy; flesh firm, pink; calyx close; season very early. 

Not yet fully tested, but giving remarkable promise. It has seemed tome to be the best of the new early berries. Staminate. 

_Beauty. _--Plant fairly vigorous, leaf crinkled; truss 4 to 6 incheshigh; berry obtusely conical; long, glazed neck; crimson, 3 to 6inches in circumference; flesh light pink; flavor excellent; calyxspreading; season early--a very fine and beautiful variety for theamateur and fancy market. It requires petting, and repays it. It makesvery few runners. It originated with Mr. E. W. Durand, of Irvington, N. J. Staminate. 

_Black Defiance. _--Plant vigorous, if the soil suits it; foliage darkgreen, low, bushy; downy leaf-stalk; truss low; 2 1/2 to 4 inches;berry very dark crimson; very obtuse conical, often round andirregular; early, flesh dark crimson, flavor sprightly, high, andrich; moderately productive; calyx spreading; inclined to stool; itsrunners bear fruit in September. It is one of the best varietiesoriginated by Mr. Durand, who has given me the following history: "Itis a seedling of Boyden's Green Prolific, impregnated by the Triomphede Gand. The seed was planted in 1860. The berry was exceedingly tartwhen first red, and was on that account pronounced worthless bycompetent judges (so considered). Having but limited experience at thetime, I threw it aside, but afterward retained five plants to finish arow of trial seedlings. Eventually it was shown at the exhibition ofthe New Jersey Agricultural Society, and was awarded the first prizeas the best new seedling, by such competent judges as A. S. Fuller, Dr. Thurber, and Chas. Downing. " From that day to this all lovers ofgood fruit have indorsed their opinion. It is firm, and can be shippedlong distances. Staminate. 

_Black Giant. _--Said to be a decided improvement on the above, and tohave the same general characteristics; but not yet tested by generalcultivation. 

_Black Prince. _--An old and once popular English variety, one ofKeen's seedlings, now rarely grown in this country. 

_Brilliant. _--Originated with W. B. Storer, of Akron, Ohio, whodescribes it as "a large conical berry; color a dark, glossy red, anddeep red all through; flavor rich. Plant very hardy and prolific. "

_British Queen. _--One of Myatt's seedlings, of which Mr. J. M. Merrick writes: "It is perhaps the most famous berry ever raised inEngland, where it is a favorite for market. " Unfortunately, it doesnot come to full perfection here, and is not only tender but verycapricious in choice of soils. It is the parent of many excellentkinds. The fruit is of the largest size and highest flavor. Staminate. 

_Brooklyn Scarlet. _--One of the best-flavored berries, but too soft, except for home use. Originated with Mr. A. S. Fuller. Staminate. 

_Boston Pine. _--Once a favorite in the vicinity of Boston, and largelyused to fertilize Hovey's Seedling. But few are raised now, to myknowledge. Fruit quite large; slightly conical; deep, glossy crimson;rather firm; juicy, and of good flavor. The plant requires hillculture in rich soil. Staminate. 

_Burr's New Pine. _--A medium-sized, roundish berry; scarlet in thesun; pale in the shade; juicy, sweet, aromatic, early, very soft. Pistillate. 

_Belle. _--One of Mr. J. B. Moore's seedlings. New. I give an extractfrom the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's report: "The Belle, wethink, is the largest strawberry ever exhibited on our tables. " Asyet, not generally tested. 

_Captain Jack_. --Plant moderately vigorous; leaf-stalk smooth, wiry;very dark green foliage, which in many regions is inclined to burn;truss 5 to 7 inches; recumbent; very much branched, with from 12to 18 berries; berry light scarlet, round, fair size and uniform;flesh pink, moderately firm; flavor poor; calyx close; season late;very productive; flowers grow above the leaves; the fruit endurestransportation remarkably well; staminate. Originated with Mr. S. Miller, of Bluffton, Mo. , and is a seedling of the Wilson. 

_Charles Downing_. --Plant very vigorous; foliage light green; tall andslender; leaf-stalk downy; truss 6 to 7 inches, slender, drooping; 8to 10 berries, which are scarlet, with a pale cheek--crimson whenfully ripe; berry round to obtuse conical; regular, the first slightlyridged; somewhat soft; flesh juicy, light pink; flavor very fine; size3 to 5 inches in circumference; calyx spreading and recurved; seasonmedium; very productive. 

This is one of the best family varieties, and is planted every yearmore largely for market. With care, it endures transportation verywell, and those who once taste it ask for it again. There are few, ifany other, varieties that do so well throughout the country at large. Originated with Mr. J. S. Downer, Fairview, Ky. Staminate. 

_Champion_. --Plant vigorous; foliage dark green; leafstalk downy;truss 5 to 6 inches, branched; berry dark crimson, round; flesh rathersoft, crimson; flavor very good when fully ripe, but poor when itfirst turns red; size 2 1/2 to 5 inches; calyx recurved; season mediumto late; exceedingly productive. One of the best and most profitablefor near market. Originated with Dr. J. C. Neff, Carlisle, Pa. Pistillate. 

_Caroline_. --Plant a moderate grower; foliage light green; leaf-stalksomewhat downy; truss 4 to 5 inches; berry bright scarlet, with avarnished appearance; bulky, conical; flesh scarlet; flavor good;size 3 to 4 inches; calyx spreading; season medium. Originated with J. B. Moore, Concord, Mass. Staminate. 

_Crescent Seedling_. --Plant vigorous, tall, with dark green andvery slender foliage; leaf-stalk rather smooth; truss 6 to 8 inches, well branched; bearing 12 to 18 berries; bright scarlet berry, roundto conical, with a peculiar depression near the apex; large onessomewhat irregular; size 2 to 4 inches; flesh scarlet; flavor notgood, unless grown on light land and the berry ripens in the sun;calyx recurved. Soft for long carriage; but its bright color and fairsize, under good culture, cause it to sell readily in near markets. Ithink the public will demand better-flavored berries. It certainlyshould. There are few weeds that can compete with the Crescent invigorous growth. It does well in the hot climate of the South. Indeed, there are few soils so poor and dry that it cannot thrive upon them;and, at the same time, under high culture, with runners cut, itimproves wonderfully. It has yielded at the rate of 15, 000 quarts tothe acre. Originated with Mr. William Parmelee, of New Haven, Conn. , in 1870. Pistillate, or nearly so. 

_Centennial Favorite_. --Plant vigorous, tall, with light greenfoliage; truss 3 to 7 inches, much branched; berry dark scarlet, roundto flat, inclined to have a neck, 2 to 4 inches; smooth and glossy inappearance, uniform in size, flesh dark scarlet; flavor fine; calyxspreading; season medium to late; moderately productive. Originatedwith Mr. E. W. Durand, Irvington, N. J. Pistillate. 

_Cinderella_. -Plant very vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf-stalks soft, downy; truss 4 to 6 inches; berry conical, sometimesnecked, bright scarlet, glossy; flesh moderately firm, light pink;flavor fair, but not high; size 3 to 5 inches; season early to medium;calyx spreading. 

The young plants are not very productive, but I think they wouldimprove greatly in this respect if the runners were cut, and that theywould bear better the second year. The berry is almost as beautifuland attractive as the Jucanda, which it resembles somewhat; and it canbe grown on light soils, where the Jucunda cannot thrive. Originatedwith Mr. Oscar Felton, of New Jersey, 1878. Staminate. 

_Continental_. --Plant vigorous; leaf-stalk smooth; truss 5 to 7inches, well branched, bearing 12 to 18 berries; berry dark crimson, obtusely conical; flesh firm, scarlet; flavor good; calyx recurving;season late; moderately productive, and, under hill culture, veryprolific. Originated with Mr. Oscar Felton. Staminate. 

When visiting Mr. Felton, I saw several other seedlings of greatpromise, which I hope he will send out at an early date. 

_Colonel Cheney_. --Plant low, spreading, vigorous, with light greenfoliage; leaf-stalk downy; truss 3 to 5 inches, low, branching;berry light scarlet, long, conical, necked; large ones very irregular;flesh pink, watery, soft; the core tends to pull out with the hull;flavor poor; calyx spreading; season medium to late; very productive, and Mr. A. M. Purdy, editor "Small Fruit Recorder, " writes to me thatfor near markets it is still grown with great profit in western NewYork. Pistillate. 

_Crimson Cone_. --(Scotch Runner or Pine-apple). About fourteen yearsago, according to Mr. Fuller, there were more acres of this old-fashioned variety cultivated for the New York market than of all otherkinds together. They were also called "Hackensacks, " and were broughtin the small, handled baskets already described, and were hulled asthey were picked--their long neck making this an easy task. They aresmall, regular, conical, firm, with a rich, sprightly, acid flavor. Itis not a pistillate, as many claim, Mr. Fuller asserts, but a spuriousvariety, largely mixed with it, is a pistillate. It is one of thehistorical strawberries, but it has had its day. In size and flavor itis a near approach to the wild berry. 

_Cumberland Triumph_. --Plant vigorous, with dark green foliage; leaf-stalk smooth; truss 6 to 7 inches; well branched; berry round andvery uniform in shape, pale scarlet; flesh light pink, soft; verylarge; size 3 to 6 inches; calyx close; season early to medium. 

One of the best for family use. Under high culture, it is superb. Originated with Mr. Amos Miller, of Carlisle, Pa. Staminate. 

_Damask Beauty. _--Foliage very dark green; leaf-stalk downy; trusslow, 2 1/2 to 4 inches, berry very light scarlet obtusely conical;size 2 to 4 inches; flesh soft, juicy, pink; flavor fine; calyx close;season early. 

A very distinct variety, and interesting to an amateur, but of nogreat value. Staminate. 

_Duchesse. _--Plant vigorous, tall; leaves dark green; leaf-stalkand midrib very downy; truss 7 inches; recumbent, well branched, 6 to8 berries that hold out well in size; berry round, bulky, veryuniform, moderately firm; bright scarlet; flesh pink, juicy; flavorfine; size 3 to 4 inches; season very early, but continuing quitelong. Inclined to stool, or make large plants from a single root;enormously productive; from 50 to 200 berries to a plant, in hillculture. I regard it as the best early standard berry, and have alwaysfound it one of the most profitable for market. Originated with Mr. D. H. Barnes, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y, Staminate. 

_Duncan. _--Plant vigorous; foliage light green; leaf-stalk downy;truss 5 to 7 inches; berry scarlet, round to oval, often decidedlyconical; large ones irregular, and cox-combed, flesh pink, not veryfirm; flavor very good; calyx close to spreading; a productive, finevariety, that, I am inclined to think, has not been appreciated. Originated by Mr. J. G. Lucas, of Ulster Co. , N. Y. Staminate. 

_Doctor Nicaise. _--A French variety; enormously large; soft; notproductive; and on my grounds wretched in flavor. 

_Downer's Prolific. _--A light scarlet berry; medium to large; oval, roundish, soft; acid, but of good flavor, and perfumed like thewild berry. Plant very vigorous and capable of enduring much neglect;profitable for home use and near market. Originated with Mr. J. S. Downer, of Kentucky. Staminate. 

_Dr. Warder. _--Plant tall, moderately vigorous; foliage light green;leaf-stalk downy; truss 7 to 9 inches, branched, full of different-sized berries; berry long, conical, well shouldered, crimson, firm;flesh pink; flavor good; size 4 to 6 inches; calyx close; season verylate; burns badly, needs to be in shade. Staminate. 

A superb variety if it did not lose its foliage. 

_Early Hudson. _--Plant very vigorous, with light green foliage;leaf-stalk downy; truss 4 to 5 inches, strong, well branched; berrycrimson, flattish-round; when large, somewhat irregular; fleshcrimson, juicy, soft; size 3 to 5 inches; season very early; veryproductive. One of the best for family use, and very productive andfine, with runners cut. Pistillate. 

_Eliza. _--Plant moderately vigorous; dark green; leaf-stalk downy;truss 3 to 5 inches, stout, branched; berry light scarlet, round toconical, necked, large ones irregular and coxcombed; flesh firm, white; flavor excellent; calyx close; season late; moderatelyproductive. One of the best foreign varieties. Staminate. 

_Early Adela. _--Not worth growing on my grounds. 

_French's Seedling. _--Plant vigorous, with light green foliage;leaf-stalk downy; truss 5 to 7 inches; berry round, scarlet; sizemedium; seeds deep-pitted; flesh pink, soft; flavor good; calyxspreading; season early; moderately productive. Found growing wild ina meadow, near Morristown, N. J. 

_Forest Rose. _--Plant moderately vigorous; foliage light green; truss3 to 5 inches, branching; berry bright scarlet, large, and the firstsomewhat irregular, 4 to 6 inches; flesh light pink; flavor veryfine; calyx spreading and recurving; season early. 

One of the best where it can be grown, but in some regions the foliageburns. Discovered growing in a vineyard, by Mr. Fetters, of Lancaster, Ohio. Staminate. 

_Frontenac. _--Foliage light green; plant moderately vigorous; leaf-stalk wiry; truss 5 inches, 6 to 8 berries; berry bright scarlet, roundish and slightly irregular; size 2 to 3 inches; flesh pink, solid; season late; moderately productive; the foliage is inclined toburn. 

_ Glendale. _--This variety is now greatly praised as a market berry. Dr. Thurber and I examined it together, and agreed that its flavor wasonly second-rate; but, as we have already seen, the public does notdiscriminate very nicely on this point. It averages large, sometimesexceeding six inches in circumference. It is long, conical, uniform inshape, necked. The first berries are often ridged somewhat, but I havenever seen it flat or coxcombed. It has a very large calyx, is lightscarlet in flesh and color, very firm, and therefore will probablykeep and ship well, the large calyx aiding in this respect also. Theplant is vigorous and makes a long runner before the new plant forms. Leaves large and dark green; leaf-stalk downy; truss 4 to 6 inches;season very late. Found, by Mr. W. B. Storer, growing wild in GlendaleCemetery, Akron, O. , in 1871. Staminate. I think this berry has afuture as a market variety. 

_Green Prolific. _---One of the late Mr. Seth Boyden's noted varieties, and a parent of far better berries than itself. I quote again from Mr. Boyden's diary: "No. 5; a cross with Hovey's Seedling and Kitley'sGoliath; a large plant, and seldom injured by summer heat; veryluxuriant grower and bearer; berries above medium size and of goodquality. A pistillate. "

This berry was once very popular, but has been superseded. The fruitis very soft, and second-rate in flavor. The plant is so vigorous andhardy that, in combination with a fine staminate, it might be theparent of superior new varieties. 

_General Sherman. _--New. Described as "large, conical, regular, brilliant scarlet; quality good; productive; early. "

_Great American. _--Plant but moderately vigorous; foliage dark green;leaf-stalks downy; truss 4 to 7 inches; berry dark crimson, round toconical; under poor culture, 2 to 3 inches in size, but sometimes verylarge, 10 to 12 inches; flesh pink; flavor only fair; season late;unproductive, unless just suited in soil and treatment. In mostlocalities, the foliage burns or scalds in the sun, and also seemsjust adapted to the taste of the flea-beetle and other insects. Originated with Mr. E. W. Durand, and under his exceedingly highculture and skilful management it yielded immense crops of enormousberries that sold as high as a dollar per quart; but throughout thecountry at large, with a few exceptions, it seems to have been amelancholy failure From this variety was produced a berry measuringover fourteen inches in circumference--probably the largest strawberryever grown. Staminate. 

_Golden Defiance. _--Plant tall, very vigorous, somewhat slender, lightgreen; leaf-stalk moderately downy; truss 5 to 7 inches, 12 to 20berries, well clustered--all the berries developing to a good size;berry dark scarlet, obtusely conical, smooth, sometimes necked, veryuniform, 3 to 5 inches; flesh scarlet, quite firm, juicy; flavor veryfine; calyx spreading and recurving; season late. 

For three successive years this has been the best late berry on myplace, and one of the most beautiful. Unless it changes its character, it will win its way to the front rank in popularity. If its runnersare cut, it is exceedingly productive of fruit that is as fine-flavored as showy. Pistillate. Originated with Mr. Amos Miller, ofPennsylvania. 

_Glossy Gone. _--One of Mr. E. W. Durand's seedlings. A pretty berry, with a varnished appearance, but neither productive nor vigorous on mygrounds, thus far. New. 

_Helen. _--New. Plant tall, vigorous, with dark green foliage, verydowny; truss 5 to 7 inches, branched; berry light scarlet, flat, conical; flesh white, firm; flavor fine; calyx close; season late. Ifear the foliage is inclined to burn badly. Staminate. 

_Hervey Davis. _-New Plant tall, rather vigorous, with light greenfoliage; leaf-stalk smooth, except when young; truss 5 to 6 inches;berry bright scarlet, shouldered, obtusely conical, glossy; flesh verylight pink, firm; flavor good; calyx close; season medium; productive. It has seemed to me the most promising of Mr. J. B. Moore's seedlings. The berry resembles the Jucunda somewhat. Staminate. 

_Hovey's Seedling. _--One of the most famous of the historical berries, and still raised quite largely around Boston. It was originated by Mr. C. M. Hovey, and was first fruited in 1835. Its introduction made agreat sensation in the fruit world, and the fact of its being apistillate gave rise to no end of discussion. Many who first bought itset it out by itself, and of course it bore no fruit; therefore theycondemned it. When its need of fertilization was understood, many usedwild plants from the woods for this purpose, and then found it to bethe largest and most productive strawberry in cultivation at thatperiod. Such large crops were often raised that the theory wasadvanced by many that pistillates as a class would be more productivethan staminates, and horticulturists became as controversial as themost zealous of theologians. The berry and the vexed questions that itraised have both ceased to occupy general attention, but many of thenew varieties heralded to-day are not equal to this old-fashionedsort. Mr. Downing thus describes it: "The vines are vigorous andhardy, producing moderately large crops, and the fruit is always ofthe largest size and finely flavored; the leaves are large, ratherlight green, and the fruit-stalks long and erect; fruit roundish-ovaland slightly conical, deep shining, scarlet, seeds slightly imbedded;flesh firm; season about medium. "

_Huddleston's Favorite. _--New. Thus described by E. Y. Teas, ofDunreith, Ind. : "A vigorous grower, with large, glossy foliage, thatstands the sun well; berries of the largest size, round, with smallcalyx, of a bright, glossy, crimson color, ripening evenly, firm, witha rich, spicy flavor; late; very beautiful in appearance. "

_Jucunda. _--A slow rather than feeble grower, on heavy soils; lightgreen foliage; leaf-stalk smooth; truss 5 to 7 inches; berry high-shouldered, conical, of a bright, glossy crimson, very showy; fleshscarlet, firm; flavor fair and good when fully ripe; calyx close;season late. 

I am indebted to Dr. Hexamer for the following history: "The late Rev. Mr. J. Knox, of Pittsburgh, told me that in a bed of what he receivedas Bonte de St. Julien, he found a number of plants that seemed to hima new variety. Supposing them to be a new and very desirable seedling, he separated them from the others and propagated them under the nameof '700. ' Before he offered them for sale he discovered that they wereidentical with the Jucunda, and when they were brought out, in 1865, it was under the true name, Jucunda (Knox's 700). " One authoritystates that it originated in England, with a Mr. Salter; another saysthat it was imported from Belgium. This is of little consequencecompared with the fact that it is the finest foreign berry we have, on_heavy_ soils. I do not recommend it for light land, unless therunners are cut and high culture is given. Mr. M. Crawford, ofCuyahoga Falls, Ohio, makes the interesting statement that Mr. Knox"sold over two hundred bushels of this variety in one day, at $16 perbushel. " It has always been one of the most profitable on my heavyland. The young plants are small and feeble. Staminate. 

_Kentucky Seedling. _--Plant tall, vigorous, but slender and apt tofall; light green foliage; truss 8 to 10 inches, with 8 to 10 berries;berry scarlet, conical, high-shouldered, somewhat flattened at thetip, regular in shape and uniform in size, a little rough, knobby, with seeds set in deep pits; flesh but moderately firm, and verywhite; flavor of the best; calyx spreading and recurving; seasonlate and long-continued; very productive--one of the very best; size 3to 4 1/2 inches. It succeeds well on light soils and under theSouthern sun, and improves wonderfully under hill culture. Staminate. Originated by Mr. J. S. Downer, of Kentucky. 

_Lady of the Lake. _--Plant tall, vigorous, dark green foliage; leaf-stalk downy; truss 7 to 8 inches; berry crimson, conical necked;flesh pink, firm; flavor good, but rather dry; size moderate; calyxspreading; season medium; productive. Staminate. 

It has been, and is still, a favorite with the market-men aroundBoston. Originated by a Mr. Scott, in Brighton, Mass. 

_La Constant. _--One of the most beautiful of the foreign berries;flesh rosy white, sweet, juicy, very firm, and of exquisite flavor. The plants are dwarf and compact, and they require the highestculture. Even then the crop is uncertain; for the variety, like high-born beauty, is very capricious; but its smiles, in the way of fruit, are such as to delight the most fastidious of amateurs. Originated byDe Jonghe. Staminate. It is one of the favorite varieties abroad forforcing. 

_Lady's Finger. _--An old variety, now not often seen. Conical, andvery elongated, and of a brilliant, dark scarlet color. It was oncepopular, but has been superseded. 

_Lennig's White_ (White Pine-apple). --This is not strictly a whiteberry, for it has a delicate flush if exposed to the sun. The flesh ispure white, juicy, melting, sweet and delicious in flavor, and soaromatic that one berry will perfume a large apartment. The plant isvigorous and hardy, but a shy bearer. Hill culture and clipped runnersare essential to fruit, but, for a connoisseur's table, a quart isworth a bushel of some varieties. It is the best white variety, andevidently a seedling of the _F. Chilensis. _ It originated in thegarden of Mr. Lennig, of Germantown, Pa. Staminate. 

_Laurel Leaf. _--New. Plant moderately vigorous; foliage dark green;leaf-stalk quite smooth; truss 3 to 5 inches, low, stocky; berry verylight scarlet; round to conical, short neck; flesh soft, light pink;size moderate; flavor good; calyx close. Originated with Mr. A. N. Jones, Le Roy, N. Y. Staminate. 

_Longworth's Prolific. _--An old variety, that is passing out ofcultivation; still grown quite extensively in California. It is alarge, roundish-oval berry of good flavor. The plant is said to bevigorous and productive. Originated on the grounds of the late Mr. N. Longworth of Cincinnati. 

_Longfellow. _--New. Described as very large, elongated, conical, occasionally irregular; color dark red, glossy and beautiful; fleshfirm, sweet, and rich; plant vigorous with dark green, healthyfoliage, not liable to burn in the sun; very productive, continuinglong in bearing, and of large size to the last. Originated with Mr. A. D. Webb, Bowling Green, Ky. 

_Marvin. _-This new berry is already exciting much attention, and I amglad that I can give a description from so careful and eminent ahorticulturist as Mr. T. T. Lyon, President Michigan State PomologicalSociety: "From notes taken at the ripening of the fruit: 'Plantvigorous, very stocky, of rather low growth, bearing a fine crop foryoung plants; foliage nearly round, thick in substance, flat orcupped; serratures broad and shallow; fruit large to very large, longish conical; large specimens often coxcombed; bright crimson;began to color June 16, and the first ripe berries were gathered onthe 20th; stems of medium height--strong; flesh light crimson; whitishat the centre, firm and juicy; flavor high, rich, fine, with a verypleasant aroma; seeds prominent; greenish brown. We regard this as ahighly promising, very large, late variety, and especially so formarket purposes. Staminate. '"

Originated with Mr. Harry Marvin, Ovid, Mich. , and said to be from theWilson and Jucunda--an excellent parentage. 

_Miner's Great Prolific. _--Plant vigorous; leaves light green, smooth;leaf-stalk downy; truss six inches, well branched, slender, drooping;berry deep crimson, round and bulky, regular shouldered; tip greenwhen half-ripe; flesh pink, moderately firm; flavor good; calyxspreading; size four to five inches; season medium to late. The berryholds out well in size, and resembles the Charles Downing somewhat, but averages larger. It has seemed to me as promising a new variety asthe Sharpless. I believe it has a long future. Originated with late T. B. Miner in 1877. Staminate. 

_Monarch of the West. _--Plant very vigorous; leaves light, when young, and later of a golden green, somewhat smooth; truss six inches; fourto eight berries; berry often of a carpet-bag shape, squareshouldered, and sometimes coxcombed, large, magnificent; pale scarlet;flesh light pink, tender; flavor very fine; calyx spreading andrecurving; tip of berry green when not fully ripe, but it colorsevenly if given time. When flavor is the gauge of excellence in themarket, this famous berry will be in the front rank. Its color andsoftness are against it, but its superb size, deliciousness and aromashould make it eagerly sought after by all who want a genuinestrawberry. In the open market, it already often brings double theprice of Wilsons. In the home garden, it has few equals. With someexceptions, it does well from Maine to California. The narrow rowculture greatly increases its size and productiveness. I have had manycrates picked in which there were few berries that did not averagefive inches in circumference. Mr. Jesse Brady, of Plano, Illinois, gives me the following history: "The Monarch was raised by me in 1867, from one of a number of seedlings, grown previously, and crossed withBoyden's Green Prolific. The said seedling was never introduced to thepublic. I raised fourteen, and cultivated three of them several years. They were produced from an English berry, name unknown to me. "

_Martha. _--A fine, large berry, but, as I have seen it, the foliageburns so badly that I think it will pass out of cultivation unless itimproves in this respect. Staminate. 

_Neunan's Prolific_ (Charleston Berry). --Foliage tall, slender, darkgreen; fruit-stalk tall; berries light scarlet, inclined to havea neck at the North, not so much so at the South. First berries large, obtusely conical; the latter and smaller berries becoming round; calyxvery large and drooping over the berry; exceedingly firm--hard, indeed--and sour when first red; but growing richer and better inflavor in full maturity; usually a vigorous grower. It was originatedby a Mr. Neunan, of Charleston, S. C. , and scarcely any other varietyis grown in that great strawberry centre. 

_Napoleon III. _--A very large foreign berry, often flattened andcoxcombed. I found that its foliage burned so badly I could not growit. Mr. P. Barry describes the plant as "rarely vigorous, and bearingonly a few large, beautiful berries. "

_New Jersey Scarlet. _--An old-fashioned market berry that succeededwell on the light soils of New Jersey. Once popular, but not muchgrown now, I think. Mr. Downing describes it as medium in size, conical, with a neck; light, clear scarlet; moderately firm, juicy, sprightly. Staminate. 

_Nicanor. _--A seeding of the Triomphe de Gand, that originated on thegrounds of Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, and is described by Mr. Barry as"hardy, vigorous, productive, early, and continuing in bearing a longtime; fruit moderately large; uniform, roundish, conical; brightscarlet; flesh reddish, rather firm, juicy, sweet; of fine flavor. " Ifound that it required heavy soil, high culture, with clipped runners, to produce, on my place, fruit large enough to be of value. The fruitripened very early and was of excellent flavor. Staminate. 

_New Dominion. _--Described by Mr. Crawford, as "very large, roundish, uniform in size and shape; bright red; glossy, firm, of good flavor, and productive; season medium. " I have seen it looking poorly on lightsoil. Originated with Mr. C. N. Biggar, on the battlefield of Lundy'sLane. 

_Oliver Goldsmith. _--New; a very vigorous grower, bearing a long, conical berry with a glazed neck. Untested, but very promising. Staminate. 

_President Lincoln. _--Plant moderately vigorous; foliage light green;truss 5 to 6 inches, strong; berry crimson, conical; often longwith a neck; the first large berries are coxcombed and very irregular;flesh firm, scarlet; flavor of the very best; size 3 to 6 inches;calyx close to spreading. One of the best varieties for an amateur. Among them often, without any apparent cause, are found small bushyplants with smaller leaves, and berries full of "fingers and toes. "These should be pulled out. The variety evidently contains muchforeign blood, but is one of the best of the class. The berries almostrival the Sharpless in size, and are better in flavor, but the plantis not so good a grower. Specimens have been picked measuring overeleven inches in circumference. It is said to have originated with aMr. Smith, of New York City, in 1875. Staminate. 

_President Wilder. _--In the estimation of many good judges, this isthe most beautiful and best-flavored strawberry in existence--anopinion in which I coincide. It has always done well with me, and Ihave seen it thriving in many localities. It is so fine, however, thatit deserves all the attention that it requires. It is a hybrid of theLa Constant and Hovey's Seedling, and unites the good qualities ofboth, having much the appearance of the beautiful foreign berry, andthe hardy, sun-resisting foliage of Hovey's Seedling. It has asuggestion of the musky, Hautbois flavor, when fully ripe, and is of abright scarlet color, deepening into crimson in maturity. Flesh quitefirm, rosy white, juicy, very rich and delicious. The berry isdiamond-shaped, obtusely conical, very regular and uniform; seedsyellow and near the surface. The plant is low, compact, rather dwarf, the young plants quite small, but the foliage endures the sun well, even in the far South. The plants are more productive the second yearof bearing than in the first. Young plants often do not form fruitbuds. Mr. Merrick states that it "originated with President Wilder, in1861, and was selected as the best result obtained from many thousandseedlings in thirty years of continual experimenting. " Staminate. 

_Pioneer. _--Plant vigorous; foliage light green, tall; leaf-stalkdowny; truss 5 to 7 inches; berry scarlet, necked, dry, sweet, perfumed; flesh pink, only moderately firm; flavor of the best; calyxclose to spreading; season early. This seems to me the best of all Mr. Durand's new varieties that I have seen, and it is very good indeed. The foliage dies down during the winter, but the root sends up a new, strong growth, which, I fear, will burn in the South and on lightsoils. Staminate. 

_Prouty's Seedling. _--Plant not very vigorous; leaf-stalk very smooth;truss 3 to 5 inches; berry bright scarlet, glossy, very long conical;flesh pink, firm; flavor fair; calyx close. Very productive, but theplant does not seem vigorous enough to mature the enormous quantity offruit that forms. With high culture on heavy soil, I think it might bemade very profitable. Staminate. 

_Panic. _--Mr. W. H. Coleman, of Geneva, writes me that this varietypromises remarkably well in his region, but on my ground it burns sobadly as to be valueless. It is a long, conical berry, very firm andof good flavor. Staminate. 

_Red Jacket. _--Early, high-flavored, with a rich subacid, suggestingthe wild berry in taste and aroma; of good size, round, dark crimson. Plant vigorous; a promising new variety. Staminate. 

_Russell's Advance. _--A fine-flavored, early variety, but the plantproves not sufficiently vigorous and productive to compete with otherearly berries already described. Staminate. 

_Russell's Prolific. _--A fine, large berry, deservedly popular a fewyears since. It has yielded splendid fruit on my grounds, but it seemsto have proved so uncertain over the country at large as to havepassed out of general favor. It is rather soft for market and nothigh-flavored enough for a first-class berry. Pistillate. 

_Romeyn's Seedling. _--I cannot distinguish it from the Triomphe deGand. Staminate. 

_Sharpless. _--A very strong, upright grower, with large, crinkledfoliage; truss 5 to 8 inches, strong branched; 6 to 10 large berriesoften on each; berry carpet-bag in shape, and often very irregular andflattened, but growing more uniform as they diminish in size; lightred and glossy, 5 to 7 inches; flesh firm, light pink; flavor fine, sweet, perfumed; calyx recurving; season medium. One of the very bestif it proves sufficiently productive over the country at large. 

Mr. J. K. Sharpless kindly writes me: "I have been much interested ingrowing strawberries for the last fifteen years, and after beingdisappointed in many of the new and highly praised varieties, the ideaoccurred to me that a seedling originating in our own soil and climatemight prove more hardy and long-lived. Having saved a fine berry ofeach of the following varieties--the Wilson, Colonel Cheney, Jucunda, and Charles Downing--I planted their seeds in a box in March, 1872. The box was kept in the house (probably by a warm south window), andin May I set from this box about 100 plants in the garden, givingpartial shade and frequently watering, By fall, nearly all were fineplants. I then took them up and set them out in a row one foot apart, protecting them slightly during the winter, and the next season nearlyall bore some fruit, the Sharpless four or five fine berries. It wasthe most interesting employment of my life to grow and watch thoseseedlings. Some of the others bore fine, large berries, but Ieventually came to the conclusion that the Sharpless was the only oneworthy of cultivation. " I am inclined to think that the Jucunda andColonel Cheney formed the combination producing this berry. It is nowin enormous demand, and if it gives satisfaction throughout thecountry generally, its popularity will continue. It is peculiarlyadapted to hill culture, and the plant is so vigorous that it woulddevelop into quite a bush on rich, moist land, with its runnersclipped. Staminate. 

_Seneca Chief. _--Plant vigorous and productive; large, downy leaf;truss low; berry bright scarlet, glossy, occasionally a little wedge-shaped; round to conical, shouldered; flesh firm, pink; seeds yellowand brown; flavor fine, rich subacid; season medium; size 3 to 5inches; calyx close; a fine berry, originated by Messrs. Hunt & Foote, Waterloo, N. Y. Staminate. 

_Seneca Queen. _--Plant vigorous, foliage dark green; leaf-stalkmoderately downy; truss 3 to 5 inches; berry dark crimson, round;flesh red; flavor fair; size 3 to 5 inches; calyx close; seasonmedium; productive; a promising variety. Staminate. 

_Springdale. _--Plant low, stocky; leaf-stalk downy; leaf broad andsmooth; truss 3 to 4 inches; berry bright scarlet, round, broaderthan long, 3 to 5 inches; flesh light pink, juicy, rather soft; flavorvery good; calyx close; season early to medium. Originated by AmosMiller, of Pennsylvania. Pistillate. 

_Sucker State. _--Plant seems vigorous; foliage dark green; leaf-stalkdowny; berry light scarlet; flesh pink, juicy, firm. A new andpromising variety. Staminate. 

_Stirling. _--Only moderately vigorous; foliage low, light green;leaf-stalk downy; truss 3 to 5 inches, well branched; berry crimson, ovate, very uniform, somewhat necked; moderate-sized, 2 to 3 inches;flesh pink, very firm; flavor of the best; calyx close to spreading;season medium to late. The foliage burns so badly in most localitiesthat this variety will pass out of cultivation. Pistillate. 

_Triomphe de Gand. _--Plant light green; leaf-stalk and blade unusuallysmooth, truss 4 to 5 inches, berry, the average ones, round toconical, large ones irregular and coxcombed; light scarlet; glossy;flesh pink, juicy, and solid; flavor of the best; calyx close; size 31/2 to 5 inches; season long; rather feeble grower, and comes slowlyto maturity. Admirably adapted to the narrow row system, and on heavysoils can be kept in bearing five or six years, if the runners are cutregularly. If I were restricted to one strawberry on a heavy, loamysoil, the Triomphe would be my choice, since, on moist land with highculture, it will continue six weeks in bearing, giving deliciousfruit. When well grown, it commands the highest price in market. It isprobably the best foreign variety we have, and is peculiarly adaptedto forcing. It is said to be a Belgian variety. Staminate. The old-fashioned belief that strawberries thrived best on light soils causedthis superb berry to be discarded; but it was introduced again by Mr. Knox, who proved, by a very profitable experience, that heavy land isthe best for many of our finest varieties. 

_Triple Crown_. --Plant tall, slender; foliage light green; leaf-stalkwiry, smooth; truss 5 to 6 inches; berry dark crimson, conical; whenlarge, irregular, with a glazed neck; flesh crimson, remarkably firm;flavor rich and fine; size 3 to 4 inches; season medium; veryproductive. One of the best, and I think the firmest strawberry inexistence. I may be mistaken, but I think this berry will becomeexceedingly popular when it becomes better known. I am testing it onvarious soils. For canning and shipping qualities, it has no equal, and though so exceedingly firm, is still rich and juicy when fullyripe. Originated by Mr. Wm. Hunt, of Waterloo, N. Y. Staminate. 

_Warren_. --Described as very large, roundish, conical; very regular inshape and size; color dark red, ripening evenly; flesh firm and ofgood quality. Plant a luxuriant grower and a good bearer. New anduntested. Originated by Mr. A. S. Webb, Bowling Green, Ky. 

_Wilding_. --Plant tall, vigorous; foliage dark green; leaf-stalkdowny; truss 6 to 8 inches; well branched; 10 to 12 berries; ripefruit and blossoms on the same stalk; berry crimson, high-shouldered, round to conical; size 3 to 5 inches; flesh moderately firm, pink;flavor good. New and very promising. Originated by Mr. A. N. Jones, LeRoy, N. Y. Staminate. 

_Wielandy_. --Plant vigorous, with dark green, very glossy foliage;leaf-stalk downy; truss low; berry bright scarlet, round to conical;flesh pink, soft; flavor fine; size 2 to 3 inches; season medium. Newand untested, but of good promise for the home garden. Staminate. 

_Windsor Chief. _--Said to have been originated by Mr. C. A. Gardner, of Eaton County, Michigan, and to be a cross between the Champion andCharles Downing. The plants that I obtained from Mr. Gardner resemblethe Champion so closely, both in foliage and fruit, that I cannot yetdistinguish between the mother and daughter. This year I shall fruitboth in perfection, and fear that I shall have to record a distinctionwithout a difference. I hope I may be mistaken. All that is claimedfor the Windsor Chief is true if it is as good as the Champion, avariety that I have ever found one of the most profitable on my place. Pistillate. 

ALPINE STRAWBERKIES

_Alpines, White and Red. _--These are the _Fragaria Vesca_, thestrawberries of the ancients, and well worthy of a place in ourgardens to-day. As I have already stated, they are one of the mostwidely spread fruits in the world; for while they take their name fromthe Alps, there are few mountains, where the temperature issufficiently cool, on which they are not found, either in this countryor abroad. In the high latitudes they descend into the fields, andgrow wild everywhere. The berries are conical, medium to small insize, and the fruit-stalks rise above the leaves. In flavor they aregood, very delicate, but not rich. The plants are very hardy, and moderately productive. Grown from the seed they reproducethemselves with almost unvarying similarity, but the young seedlingsproduce larger berries than the older plants. The foliage of the Whitevariety is of a lighter green than that of the Red, but in otherrespects there are no material differences, except in the color. 

_White and Red Monthly Alpines. _--Varieties similar to the above, with the exception that they bear continuously through the summer andfall, if moisture is maintained and high culture given. If much fruitis desired, all runners should be cut, and the ground made rich. Weare often misled by synonymes of these old varieties, as, forinstance, Des Quatre Saisons, Mexican Everbearing, Gallande, etc. Theyare all said to be identical with the common monthly Alpines. 

_White and Red Bush Alpines_. --A distinct class that produces norunners, but are propagated by dividing the roots. In other respectsthe plant and fruit are similar to the common Alpines. No matter howsmall the division, if a little root is attached, it will growreadily. They make pretty and useful edgings for garden walks, andwith good culture bear considerable fruit, especially in the cool, moist months of autumn. Because, throwing out no runners, they givevery little trouble, and I have ever found them the most satisfactoryof the monthly strawberries. I see no reason why a good demand forthem, as a fancy fruit, could not be created. Be this as it may, thereare many who are sufficiently civilized to consider the home marketfirst; and a dainty dish of strawberries on an October evening, and awood-fire blazing on the hearth, form a combination that mightreconcile misanthropy to the "ills of life. " Mr. Downing states thatthe Bush Alpines were first brought to this country by the late AndrewParmentier, of Brooklyn. 

_Wood Strawberries, White and Red_. --These are the English phases ofthe Alpine, or _F. Vesca_ species. Their fruit is not so conical asthe Alpine of the Continent, or our own land, but is "roundish ovate. "They are said to be rather more productive, but I doubt whether theydiffer materially from the other Alpines, except in form. They are thestrawberries that our British forefathers ate, and are the same thatthe Bishop of Ely brought to the bloody Protector from his "gardaynein Holberne. "

_Montreuil_. --Said to be an improved variety of the Alpines. 

_Green Alpine_ (Green Pine or Wood, _Fraisier Vert_). --"This varietywas, by some, supposed to be a distinct species, but the appearance ofthe plant and fruit shows it to be a true Alpine. Berry small, roundish, depressed, greenish brown; flesh green, with a somewhatmusky flavor. " (Fuller. ) Mr. Downing says the berry is tinged withreddish brown on the sunny side at maturity, and that it has apeculiar, rich, pine-apple flavor. 

Under the head of Alpines, one finds in the catalogues a bewilderingarray of names, especially in those printed abroad; but I am quitewell satisfied that if all these named varieties were placed in atrial bed, and treated precisely alike, the differences between them, in most instances, would be found slight indeed, too slight to warranta name and separate existence. 

HAUTBOIS STRAWBERRIES--FRAGARIA ELATIOR

As far as I can learn, this class was more raised in former years thanat present, both here and abroad. At any rate, the musky flavor of the"Hoboys" (as the term was often spelled in rural regions) has not wonfavor, and I rarely meet with them in cultivation. They are well wortha little space in the garden, however, and are well suited to sometastes. _Belle de Bordelaise_ is said to be the best variety. Theberry is described by Mr. Fuller, as "roundish oval, dark, brownishpurple; flesh white, juicy, sweet, with a strong, musky flavor. "

_Common Hautbois. _--Fruit medium in size, reddish green, musky. Thefruit-stalks rise above the leaves--hence the term _Hautbois_, or highwood. Not worthy of cultivation. 

_Prolific Hautbois_--(Double bearing, and having many othersynonymes). --Mr. Downing speaks highly of this variety, saying that itis distinguished by its "strong habit, and very large and usuallyperfect flowers borne high above the leaves. The fruit is very largeand fine; dark colored, with a peculiarly rich, slightly muskyflavor. " Productive. 

_Royal Hautbois. _--Said to be one of the largest, most vigorous, and productive of this class. 

Mr. Merrick writes that the _Hautbois_ strawberries find fewadmirers in the vicinity of Boston, and seem equally neglected abroad. 

I am gathering these and the Alpines into trial-beds, and thus hope tolearn more accurately their differences, characteristics andcomparative values. 

_Chili_ strawberries are now rarely met with in cultivation. Mr. Merrick writes of them: "Although some of them are extolled foramateur culture, they are of little value. They are large, coarse, very apt to be hollow, with soft, poor-flavored flesh. They have beenso thoroughly intermingled with other species that it is difficult tosay of certain named kinds that they are or are not partly Chilis. "True Chili, Wilmot's Superb, and the Yellow Chili are named as thebest of the class. 

There are very many other named strawberries that I might describe, and a few of them may become popular. Some that I have named arescarcely worth the space, and will soon be forgotten. In my nextrevision, I expect to drop not a few of them. It should be ourconstant aim to shorten our catalogues of fruits rather than lengthenthem, to the bewilderment and loss of all save the plant grower. TheDuchess, for instance, is a first-class early berry. All others havingthe same general characteristics and adapted to the same soils, butwhich are inferior to it, should be discarded. What is the use ofraising second, third, and fourth rate berries of the same class?Where distinctions are so slight as to puzzle an expert, they shouldbe ignored, and the best variety of the class preserved. 

I refer those readers who would like to see a list of almost everystrawberry named in modern times, native and foreign, to Mr. J. M. Merrick's work, "The Strawberry and its Culture. "

CHAPTER XXXIV

VARIETIES OF OTHER SMALL FRUITS

I have already written so fully of the leading and profitablevarieties of raspberries, blackberries, currants, and gooseberries, that little more remains to be said; since, for reasons previouslygiven, I do not care to go into long descriptions of obsoletevarieties, nor of those so new and untested as to be unknownquantities in value. I am putting everything thought worthy of test intrial-beds, and hope eventually to write accurately concerning them. 

RASPBERRIES

_Rubus Idceus and Rubus Strigosus_

_Arnold's Orange_. --Canes strong, branching, yellowish brown, almostsmooth, and producing but few suckers. Fruit large, somewhat shorterthan Brinkle's Orange, and of a darker orange color; rich in flavor, Originated with Mr. Charles Arnold, Paris, Ontario, C. W. 

_Antwerp_ (English). --See page 202. 

_Antwerp_ (Hudson Biver). --See pages 202-205. 

_Antwerp_ (Yellow--White Antwerp). --A tender variety that needs winterprotection, good culture, and vigorous pruning; otherwise, the berriesare imperfect and crumble badly in picking. The fruit is exceedinglydelicate and soft, and must be picked as soon as ripe or it cannot behandled. It is much surpassed by Brinkle's Orange. The canes arevigorous and the variety is easily grown. _Brinkle's Orange_. --Fordescription, see page 218. 

_Belle de Fontenay_. --See page 207. 

_Brandywine. _--See page 208. 

_Belle de Palnau. _--A French variety, that thrives in some localities. Canes are strong, vigorous, upright, covered with short, purplishspines, which are more numerous near the ground; berry large, obtuseconical, bright crimson; firm for so juicy and fine-flavored a berry;grains large. The berries were often imperfect on my place. 

_Catawissa. _--See page 216. This variety is well spoken of by somegood authorities. The fact that it bears in autumn should give itsome consideration. 

_Clarke. _--See page 220. 

_Caroline. _--See page 221. 

_Cuthbert. _--See pages 221-225. 

_Franconia. _--See page 206. 

_Fastollf. _--"An English variety of high reputation. It derived itsname from having originated near the ruins of an old castle, socalled, in Great Yarmouth. Canes strong, rather erect, branching;light yellowish brown, with few strong bristles; fruit very large, obtuse or roundish conical, bright, purplish red, rich and highlyflavored, slightly adhering to the germ in picking. " (Downing. )

_French. _--(Vice-President French). --Originated with Dr. Brinkle. "Canes strong, upright, spines short and stout; fruit medium to large, roundish, rich, bright crimson, large grains, sweet and very good. "(Barry. ) It is foreign in its parentage, and uncertain in manylocalities. 

_Herstine. _--See pages 219, 220. 

_Hornet. _--"Raised by Souchet, near Paris. Very productive. Canesvery strong, vigorous, upright spines, purplish, rather stout, andnumerous at the base; fruit very large, conical, often irregular, grains large, quite hairy, compact, crimson; flesh rather firm, juicy, sweet and good, separates freely. " (Downing. ) This variety appears tovary greatly with locality. 

_Kirtland. _--(Cincinnati Red. )--One of the native varieties once grownlargely, but now superseded. Fruit medium in size, obtuse conical, soft, and not very high-flavored. 

_Knevett's Giant. _--Berry large, round, light crimson, adheres toofirmly to the core, and often crumbles in picking, but is juicy andgood. The canes are very strong and productive; spines purplish, short, scattering. An English variety. 

_Merveille de Quatre Saisons. _--A French variety. This and the Bellede Fontenay are almost as hardy as any of our native kinds, and thusthey form exceptions to the foreign sorts, which are usually tender. Good results might be secured by crossing them with our best nativekinds. The canes of this variety must be cut to the ground in springif much autumn fruit is desired. It is not equal to the Belle deFontenay, to which class it belongs. 

_Naomi. _--Identical with Franconia. 

_Northumberland Fillbasket. _--An old-fashioned English variety, sometimes found in the garden of an amateur. 

_Pride of the Hudson. _--See pages 190, 219. 

_Pearl, Bristol, Thwack. _--Native varieties that resemble theBrandywine, but are not equal to it in most localities. They arepassing out of cultivation. 

_Reliance. _--A seedling of the Philadelphia, but judging from oneyear's test, much superior to it, and worthy of cultivation in thoseregions where the finer varieties cannot thrive. It is hardy, and willdo well on light soils. 

_Saunders. _--See page 220. 

_Rubus Occidentalis_

For descriptions of _Davison's Thornless, Doolittle, or AmericanImproved, Mammoth Cluster, _ and _Gregg, _ see Chapter XXII. 

_American Black. _--Common black-cap raspberry, found wild throughoutthe United States. Too well known to need description. 

_American White-Cap_ (Yellow-Cap, Golden-Cap). --"Also scattered widelythroughout the country, but not common. Those who discover it oftenimagine that they have found something new and rare. Berries slightlyoval, grains larger than those of the black-cap, yellow, with a whitebloom. The canes are light yellow, strong, stocky, with but fewspines. Propagated from the tips. It might become the parent of veryfine varieties. " (Fuller. )

_Miami Black-Cap. _--A vigorous, productive variety, found growing nearthe Miami River, in Ohio. The fruit approaches a brownish red incolor, and is not equal to the Mammoth Cluster in value. 

_Philadelphia. _--See page 220. 

_Seneca Black-Cap. _--Raised by Mr. Dell, of Seneca County, N. Y. Thefruit is between the Doolittle and Mammoth Cluster in size, and islater than the former; not so black, having a shade of purple, and isjuicy, sweet, and good. 

_Lum's Everbearing, and Ohio Everbearing Black Raspberries. _--Varieties that resemble each other. If a good autumn crop is desired, cut away the canes in the spring, so as to secure a strong earlygrowth of new wood, on which the fruit is to be borne. 

 _Golden Thornless. _--A large variety of the American White-Cap, introduced by Purdy & Johnson, Palmyra, N. Y. 

_Florence. _--A variety resembling the above. 

_Ganargua and New Rochelle. _--See pages 220, 221. 

BLACKBERRIES

In Chapter xxiv. I have described those varieties that have provedworthy of general cultivation. The Dorchester winter-killed so badlyon my place, and the fruit was so inferior to that of the Kittatinnyin size, that I discarded it. It is good in flavor. The MissouriMammoth is tender and often not productive. There are new varietiesthat promise well, as Taylor's Prolific, Ancient Briton, Knox, Warren, Wachusett Thornless, Cro' Nest and several others. I am testing them, and do not care to express any opinion as yet, or write descriptionsthat would probably need considerable revision within six months. 

CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES

In chapters xxvi. And xxvii. May be found a description of thosedistinct varieties that are of chief value in this country. I find nogood reason why I should fill pages with descriptions of varietiesthat are rarely cultivated, and which might well give place to betterkinds. Eventually, I shall give the results gathered from my trial-beds, in which I am placing all the new and old varieties said to beworthy of cultivation. 

CHAPTER XXXV

CLOSING WORDS

Our ramble among the small fruits is over. To such readers as have notgrown weary and left my company long since, I will say but few wordsin parting. 

In the preceding pages I have tried to take from our practical andoften laborious calling its dull, commonplace, and prosaic aspects. Itshould be our constant aim to lift life above mere plodding drudgery. It is our great good fortune to co-work with Nature, and usually amongher loveliest scenes. Is it not well to "look up to the hills"occasionally, from whence may come "help" toward a truer, largermanhood, and then, instead of going home to the heavy, indigestiblesupper too often spread for those who are weary and feverish from thelong, hot day, would it not be better to gather some sprays of thefruit whose mild subacid is just what the material man requires inmid-summer sultriness? The horticulturist may thrive if he will, inbody and soul; for Nature, at each season, furnishes just suchsupplies as are best adapted to his need. She will develop every goodquality he possesses, especially his patience. 

As we have passed from one fruit to another, I have expressed my ownviews frankly; at the same time, I think the reader will remember thatI have taken no little pains to give the opinions of others. Dogmatismin pomology is as objectionable as in theology. I shall be glad tohave my errors pointed out, and will hasten to correct them. 

As a part of this book appeared as a serial in "Scribner's Magazine, "I was encouraged by words of approval from many of the besthorticultural authorities. I shall not deny that I was very glad toreceive such favorable opinions, for I had much and just doubt of myability to satisfy those who have made these subjects a lifelongstudy, and to whom, in fact, I am largely indebted for the little I doknow. Still more am I pleased by assurances that I have turned thethoughts of many toward the garden--a place that is naturally, and, Ithink, correctly, associated with man's primal and happiest condition. We must recognize, however, the sad change in the gardening as well asgardeners of our degenerate world. In worm and insect, blight andmildew, in heat, frost, drought and storm, in weeds so innumerablethat we are tempted to believe that Nature has a leaning toward totaldepravity, we have much to contend with; and in the ignorant, careless, and often dishonest laborer, who slashes away at random, wefind our chief obstacle to success. In spite of all these drawbacks, the _work_ of the garden is the _play_ and _pleasure_ that neverpalls, and which the oldest and wisest never outgrow. I have delayedmy departure too long, and, since I cannot place a basket of PresidentWilder Strawberries on the tables of my readers, I will leave withthem the best possible substitute, the exquisite poem of H. H. :

MY STRAWBERRY

 O marvel, fruit of fruits, I pause To reckon thee. I ask what cause Set free so much of red from heats At core of earth, and mixed such sweets With sour and spice; what was that strength Which, out of darkness, length by length, Spun all thy shining threads of vine, Netting the fields in bond as thine; I see thy tendrils drink by sips From grass and clover's smiling lips; I hear thy roots dig down for wells, Tapping the meadow's hidden cells; Whole generations of green things, Descended from long lines of springs, I see make room for thee to bide, A quite comrade by their side; I see the creeping peoples go Mysterious journeys to and fro; Treading to right and left of thee, Doing thee homage wonderingly. I see the wild bees as they fare Thy cups of honey drink, but spare; I mark thee bathe, and bathe again, In sweet, uncalendared spring rain. I watch how all May has of sun Makes haste to have thy ripeness done, While all her nights let dews escape To set and cool thy perfect shape. Ah, fruit of fruits, no more I pause To dream and seek thy hidden laws! I stretch my hand, and dare to taste In instant of delicious waste On single feast, all things that went To make the empire thou hast spent. 

APPENDIX

NEW VARIETIES

NEW STRAWBERRIES

_The Jewell. _--I quote the following description by the originators:"This new variety was raised from seed by P. M. Augur & Sons, in 1880, and is one of a lot of seedlings produced from one quart of JerseyQueen and one quart of Prince of Berries (the seed being sown togetherand taken from exhibition berries). The Jewell is the finest growingvariety we have ever seen, producing an abundance of very large, high-colored fruit, of fine quality. Season medium, color bright red, changing to crimson when very ripe; flower pistillate; enormouslyproductive; berry very solid and firm, promising to become the greatmarket strawberry. The plant is robust and vigorous, and has nevershown any signs of rust or blight. " It has received the following highpraise from Hon. Marshall P. Wilder: "The large size, good form, bright color and remarkable solidity and productiveness will make it apermanent variety for years to come. "

_Parry. _--"All things considered, this surpasses any novelty that hasappeared for many years. Fruit extra large, firm, handsome, and good;plant vigorous and productive, We can recommend it both for market andthe home garden. Early to medium. "--J. T. Lovett. This is high praiseof a fruit produced by a rival fruit-grower, and does credit to thefairness of the writer. The Parry strawberry was produced from seed ofthe Jersey Queen, planted in the summer of 1880 by Mr. William Parry, the veteran fruit-grower of New Jersey. He thus describes it. "Plant arank, vigorous grower, clean foliage, and very productive. Berrieslarge, obtuse conical, bright glossy scarlet, firm, and of the bestquality, ripening all over at once. Blossoms perfect. "

Dr. F. M. Hexamer, editor "American Garden, " also speaks highly of it, as follows "The Parry has proved quite satisfactory on my grounds. Theplants are very vigorous, healthy, have wintered well, and haveyielded an abundant crop of large, handsome berries. " It is alsostrongly praised by many other authorities, and has received manypremiums. 

_Jersey Queen. _--The plant is strong, stocky, and vigorous, but onlymoderately productive; the fruit large and beautiful. It must havehigh culture, and not be allowed to run, or it is not satisfactory. Pistillate. 

_Henderson. _--Said to be moderately vigorous, producing handsome fruitof exquisite flavor. Early and perfect in flower. Not yet generallytested, but probably one of the best for amateurs. 

_Daniel Boone. _--"Produces good crops; fruit of large size, attractivein appearance, medium quality, rather soft, and late in ripening;plant hardy and vigorous. "--Charles A. Green. Further south and onlight soils the foliage is said to blight. Pistillate. 

_Dollar. _--"For beauty, firmness, and high quality has but few equals, but the foliage blights so badly at Monmouth as to greatly impair itsvalue. However, it blossoms and fruits quite profusely in the autumn, giving us strawberries when other patches are bare of fruit. Perfectin flower. "--J. T. Lovett. If the tendency to autumn bearing is sogreat as to enable us to secure a fair crop of berries in late summerand fall this variety is a valuable acquisition. I shall certainlygive it a fair trial. Further north and on heavier soils the foliagemay be entirely healthy. 

_Cornelia. _--Highly praised by some, and declared to be unproductiveby others. It undoubtedly requires high culture and runners clipped. With such treatment it promises to be one of the best _late_ berries. Pistillate. 

_Crystal City. _-Said to have been found growing wild in Missouri. I have fruited it for years, and have ever found it the earliest andone of the most delicious of berries. It is not valuable for market, but for home use, if the runners are clipped, it yields a fair crop ofberries, with the genuine wild flavor. 

_May King. _--Described as almost identical with the old Crescent, withthe advantage that the flower is perfect. 

_Garretson. _--Much is claimed for this variety. As its chief virtue itis declared to maintain a uniform size and regular form throughout along picking season. It has been awarded several flattering premiums. Pistillate. 

_Old Ironclad. _--One of the best early berries, produced on anexceedingly vigorous plant that is said to be more productive on thesecond and third years of bearing than on the first. The fruit, notthe plant, closely resembles the Wilson. Perfect flower. 

_Vineland. _-Said to be an improvement on the Kentucky, which itresembles. Perfect flower. 

_Indiana. _--Also said to be an improvement on the Charles Downing. Ifit is we all want it, but we have tried improvements on the fine oldstandards before. Perfect flower. 

_Hart's Minnesota. _--"I know of no variety that responds more readilyto good culture than this. Under neglect the berries are small, but ofa bright scarlet color, quite firm and very good. With high culture itis very large, attractive, and holds its size remarkably well. Perfectflower. "--M. Crawford. 

_Jumbo. _--Another name for the old Cumberland Triumph. 

_Prince of Berries. _--Originated by Mr. E. W, Durand, and, like nearlyall the varieties sent out by him, requiring very high culture. Thefruit is large, meaty, and firm in flesh, of excellent flavor, andpossessing a fine aroma. It is a berry for the amateur to pet andenjoy upon his table, but not adapted to ordinary culture. Perfectflower. 

_Manchester. _--Pistillate. "The Manchester has been a favorite withus, but, like most varieties, has its defects. It is deficient inflavor, is too light in color, is subject to leaf blight, and isexceedingly soft. It is necessary to pick every day in order to get itinto market in good condition. We were pushed hard the past season, and did not pick the Manchester every day. The berries left the farmin apparently good condition, but our men reported that they melted onhot days like so much butter. They were often obliged to throw themaway, from the fact that they were too soft to be sold. This softness, however, might have been obviated in a measure by picking morefrequently. It is very productive, and the berries are of largesize. "--Charles A. Green. The words quoted above embody my ownexperience with this variety. 

_James Vick. _--Should have been a better berry to bear so honored aname. 

After a thorough test I have discarded it. Nevertheless, in somelocalities it has proved a valuable market berry. Perfect flower. 

Many others might be named, but, as far as I can learn, they have butshort careers before them. If by well-doing they win their way to thefront we shall all be glad to recognize their merits. The _Jessie_, and _Crawfard's No. 6_ promise to claim considerable attention in thefuture. 

NEW RASPBERRIES

_Golden Queen. _--This new variety has a curious history. Apparently itis simply an albino of the Cuthbert, for to all intents and purposesit is this favorite berry with the exception of its color. Mr. EzraStokes, of New Jersey, found the parent bush growing in a twelve-acrefield of Cuthberts, but is unable to say whether it is a sport or aseedling. At all events, it was taken up and propagated, and theresult apparently is a fixed and valuable variety for home use. Idoubt whether a white raspberry will ever find much favor in market--not, at least, until the people are sufficiently civilized to buywhite grape currants. In color it is said to be a beautiful yellow; inflavor, hardiness, and vigor it is declared to be superior to itsparent, which it nevertheless closely resembles. 

_Rancocas. _--Another raspberry of New Jersey origin. It was foundgrowing wild. Its discoverer claims that it has a sturdy uprightgrowth, with a tendency to make branches like a miniature tree. Thesebranches load themselves with red berries, which ripen early andnearly all together. Hardiness and other good qualities are claimedfor it by the discoverer, who is the originator of the Hansel. If itis no better than this variety it is not destined to long-continuedpopularity in regions where better fruit can be grown. 

_Hansel. _--Red. A variety of the wild or native type which in mygrounds so closely resembled the Highland Hardy that, apart from itsquality of earliness, I do not regard it of value. It is not by anymeans identical with the Highland Hardy; but, having picked berries ofboth varieties at the same time, I could not tell them apart, eitherin appearance or flavor. Such berries are better than none at all, andmay be grown by those who can raise no better. It is also claimed thatearliness in ripening, and hardiness of plants made the varietyprofitable; and this, no doubt, is true in some localities. 

_Marlboro. _--A large, showy, good-flavored, red raspberry thatwas originated by Mr. A. J. Caywood, of Marlboro, N. Y. It has donewell on my grounds, and promises finely as a market berry, as itsearliness, bright color, firmness, and tendency to ripen its fruitrapidly and all together give the grower a chance to gather and sellhis crop within a short period. I do not advise any one to grow onlythis variety, either for market or home use, for the reason that itgives too short a season. Employed to secure a succession of fruit, itis an excellent variety. I doubt whether the canes will prove hardythroughout any wide extent of country, for it evidently containsforeign blood. I think it well worth protection, however, if, in someregions, experience proves it to be not entirely hardy. 

BLACK-CAPS

Of the newer black-cap varieties the _Souhegan_ is the best thatI have seen or have heard spoken of. I think it may be regarded as thebest early type of this class of berries. The fruit is of good sizeand flavor, moderately firm, and wonderfully abundant. For vigor, hardiness, and freedom from disease I do not know that it is surpassedby any other kind. 

The _Tyler_ in my grounds resembled the Souhegan so closely thatI do not think that a distinction between them is worth maintaining. 

The _Centennial_ promised wonderfully well at first on my place, but after two or three years developed a feebleness and tendency todisease which led me to discard it. 

The _Ohio_ is said to be the most valuable of all for drying purposes, for the reason that it is very firm, and retains its flavor and formbetter than any of the others. It has been stated that but two and ahalf to three quarts of fresh berries will make a pound of driedfruit. I think it would be well for those who are far from market toexperiment with this variety. If it is equal to the claims made forit, it can be made very profitable. 

The _Nemaha_ originated with Ex-Governor Furnas, of Nebraska. CharlesA. Green says of this variety: "The season for ripening with theNemaha is a trifle later than the Gregg. The berries are equallylarge, of better quality, equally productive and vigorous, and by farmore hardy. This point of hardiness of the Nemaha, it is hoped, willmake it the leading late variety, giving it preference over theGregg. " I have fruited it alongside of the Gregg on my grounds, buthave failed to note any difference in fruit, cane, or season ofripening. 

The _Chapman, Hopkins, _ and others have been introduced, but Ifail to see why they should take the place of the fine old standardvarieties already described. For either market or home use theSouhegan (early) and Gregg (late) leave little else to be desired. 

BLACKBERRIES

Of the blackberries recently introduced, _Wilson Junior_ without doubtproduces the largest and finest fruit, and in this respect is probablyunsurpassed by any variety now in existence. But it is a child of theold Wilson's Early, and I do not believe it will prove hardy north ofNew Jersey. It resembles its well-known parent, but the fruit isearlier, finer, and larger, fit for use as soon as black, andsufficiently firm to carry well to market. Those who have tested itaffirm that, although it yields enormously, it has not failed toperfect its crop. I should give it winter protection in this latitude. 

The _Early Harvest_ is said to be the best very early blackberryyet introduced. Mr. J. T. Lovett describes it as "first-class in everyrespect, perfecting its entire crop before any other blackberry can begathered, " and as "wonderfully prolific, " It is of medium size, ofgood flavor, and so firm that it carries to market in excellentcondition. In hardiness it is said to be second only to the Snyder andTaylor. 

_Taylor's Prolific_ is a variety that I was testing when this book waswritten. It has fulfilled its promise. The plants have proved hardywith me, the fruit of medium size, unusually fine-flavored, and veryabundant. 

In the West Mr. M. Crawford speaks of the _Stone_ and especially ofthe _Agawam_ as the hardiest of all the varieties that he had tested. They were comparatively uninjured when nearly all the others werekilled to the ground. 

There are other kinds which are good, but since they do not equal thevarieties already named in this volume, I see no reason for keepingthem before the public. 

The _Industry_ gooseberry has been introduced by Ellwanger and Barry, of Rochester, N. Y. , who think it will "revolutionize gooseberryculture in this country. " It is an English variety, but has succeededso well in this country that it has been propagated and disseminated. It remains to be seen whether it will continue to retain its vigor andhealth in our climate. It is said to be unequalled for size, of fineflavor, very productive, and showing no signs of mildew.