Chapter 16 - The Home Fruit-Garden

Amount and kind of land needed
Location
Planting and caring for fruit-trees and plants
Protection from insects and fungous pests
The best varieties of each kind for home use.

In Chapter II some of the advantages of the fruit- and vegetable-garden to the owner of a home were briefly mentioned, and as the aim of this book is to give practical information along all lines of outdoor home ornamentation and comfort, a chapter on fruits will not be out of place, for the fruit-garden may be made to serve also as an important feature of the home ornamentation. What can be more beautiful than fruit trees when in bloom, or again when laden with highly colored fruit ?—and they may be trained to as perfect and beautiful forms as many of the trees used only for ornament.

The shade afforded by a broad-spreading apple-tree is quite as dense and satisfactory as that from many other species. In the frontispiece is shown a large spreading apple-tree on the right of the picture which has afforded delightful shade during the summers for a quarter of a century, and, fruiting every alternate year, has yielded several times 10 bbls. of choice fruit in a single season. The fruit that is obtained from the home garden is so much superior to that obtainable in the markets that it is worth a great effort and considerable annoyance to have on one's table an abundance of such choice, fresh, ripe fruit.

Size of the Fruit-garden.

The amount of land to be devoted to the fruit-garden must depend very much upon size of the lot, the number and locality of the buildings, and the amount of other ornamentation attempted. For the supply of a large family with a liberal amount of all the fruits in their season will be required a garden of considerable area, though it is surprising what a quantity can be grown on a small area when skillfully managed. An estimate of what will be the average yield of the different kinds of fruits under the best conditions is as follows:

Location.

In locating the fruit-garden that part of the lot with a suitable soil should, if possible, be selected, and be located in a rather secluded part, as more or less of the material used and some of the crops grown are not of a distinctly ornamental character in all stages of growth; besides, some seclusion is desirable when carrying on the work of planting, cultivating, fertilizing, or even harvesting the prod acts. Fig. 167 illustrates the fruit-garden located in the southwest corner of the lot.

In this garden the large and small fruits may be grown more or less grouped together, as shown in the above figure, though for the best results each kind should be planted entirely distinct from the others. The arrangement in rows as shown in the figure is made that the work of cultivating may be largely done by the horse-plow and cultivator.

The Soil.

Much of the success of the work in the fruit-garden will depend upon the character of the soil. That which is best for the greater variety of fruits is a deep sandy loam not easily affected by drought. Should the soil in the different parts of the garden vary, the apples, pears, quinces, and red raspberries, currants, and gooseberries should be planted en that which is the heaviest; while the peach, cherry, grape, plum, and blackberry will succeed in lighter soil. Any kind of soil, however, may be improved somewhat in character at a little expense. Thus a light soil may be made more retentive of moisture by plowing under stable manure, leaf-mould, peat, etc., while the moisture in such a soil may be conserved by deep plowing in the spring and frequent stirring of the surface-soil during the summer.

Very heavy soils may be improved by under draining, by deep plowing, by the application of sand, or by plowing the land into beds with rounded surfaces so that the surface-water will run off quickly.

The slope of the laud also affects some crops very materially: thus a southern, southeast, or southwest slope is most favorable to the growth and maturity of the grape and to the early ripening of the other fruits, while the peach, quince, and raspberry succeed better when planted on a northern exposure.

A close sheltered place is not desirable if peaches, cherries, plums, and grapes are to be grown, as fungous diseases are more liable to attack them under such conditions than if planted upon high land. The latter is less subject to late frosts in the spring or early frosts in the fall, while in low land the fruit-buds are often destroyed by these frosts.

It will often be found that the garden selected is not suited to the growth of some of the fruits, while it is especially adapted to the others, in which case it will be found better economy to devote the space to those that do succeed, and purchase such as cannot be grown economically.

Tools.

The tools required for the cultivation of a small garden are not very numerous, and the best will be found none too good and the cheapest in the end if well cared for. They should be light and strong, and after using should always be cleaned and put carefully away where they will be ready for use at any time. If the garden is of considerable size and all the work is to be done by those on the place, the following list of tools will be needed:

1 good side-hill plow and 1 small plow.
 
1 Planet Jr. cultivator with its various attachments will answer all purposes for harrow, cultivator, and marker.

1 one-horse cart or wagon will be needed unless the heavy work is to be hired done.

1 seed-drill with cultivator attachment will be found a very useful tool.

Spades, spading-forks, manure-forks, square-pointed shovels, iron rakes, wooden rakes, hand-roller, garden line and hoes, in number according to the amount of work to be done. A good wheelbarrow or hand-cart will also be found useful.

A spraying-pump of some sort must be provided for the application of insecticides and fungicides. The common hand garden-pump will be sufficient if only a few trees are to be treated, but the barrel-pump will be found much more serviceable and economical.

Arrangement of the Garden.

It is generally best to have all the fruits or vegetables in the home garden grouped as compactly as possible in the rear part of the grounds, and as far from the house as possible, though this part of the grounds should be made to blend with the more ornamental features. Specimen trees of the large fruits may be grouped by themselves or among the other ornamental trees, as shown in Fig. 167. Grape-vines may also serve to ornament the buildings, verandas, or trellises that may screen the garden from too full exposure.

This plan shows the ornamental features of about an acre lot with the fruits grouped more or less in the rear of the house. In the garden proper are arranged 5 apple-trees, 40 ft. apart, with 2 pears, 2 plum, and 3 peaches, 20 ft. from each of the other trees, planted so that all may have clean cultivation; while on. the west and north border as well as in two groups between the house and barn others are located, which must be grown in turf. These more or less blend with the ornamental trees and shrubs. On the northeast border of thin garden are planted grape-vines to serve as a cover to the trellis that screens the garden from the house. Raspberries, blackberries, currants, and gooseberries are planted in rows in the line of and between the trees. The strawberry-bed is located on the south side of the orchard.   An asparagus-bed is also chosen on the west side.

Turf Culture.

One great advantage of close grouping, as has been stated, is that the soil about the trees and plants may be cheaply and thoroughly cultivated, thus preserving the moisture and making it unnecessary to apply as much plant-food as if they were grown in turf. If, however, the lawn is kept mown once or twice each week and a more liberal supply of plant-food is applied, the growth of the trees will be found to be satisfactory.

Should it be found necessary to plant on turf land where a hay crop is to be taken off, much less growth must be expected and a much more liberal application of plant-food be required than where the land is cultivated, and in times of drought a mulch of hay, straw, or other material, two or three inches in thickness, should be used under the trees as far out as the branches spread to prevent serious injury.

Where to Obtain Trees and Plants.

As a rule, where only a small quantity of trees or plants is desired, it is best to buy of the nearest reliable nursery man who has the varieties wanted growing on his grounds. Those selected should be young and vigorous, and it will generally be better for the purchaser to go to the nursery during the growing season and make his selection, having them marked for delivery when they are wanted, or if inexperienced in such matters the selection may be left with reliable nurserymen, specifying that the stock shall be of good size, young, and vigorous. Traveling agents, unless known to the purchaser, should not be patronized.

If the local nurseryman has not the stock wanted, a specific order stating the variety, age, and size of trees or plants wanted sent in early to any of the many reliable nurserymen will be certain to receive prompt attention. If the quantity ordered is not large, such orders should be sent by express, as small packages sent by freight are often delayed in transportation.

Preparation of the Land.

If the land is new, i.e., if it has been in turf for some time or if under neglect, and the preparation can be begun in the fall, deep plowing should be done by following the common plow with the trench- or subsoil-plow, whereby the soil may be loosened from 15 to 20 inches deep. This will make a light soil more retentive of moisture and a heavy soil more porous and furnish a deep and well-pulverized bed for the roots to penetrate.

Digging the Holes for Planting.

In digging the holes for the reception of the trees, where the land has been deeply worked as above, only a space large enough to hold the roots fully spread out need be excavated, throwing out the subsoil, however, and replacing it with good surface-soil. On the lawn or in grass land holes considerably larger than the spread of the roots should be made and the subsoil be dug up deeply or partly thrown out if poor, and be replaced with good soil. The turf removed in digging, if any, may be placed in the bottom of the holes with good results.

Preparation of the Trees for Planting.

No matter how carefully trees may be dug from the nursery, a large per cent of the fibrous roots will be destroyed and many of the larger roots be broken, and if the tree is planted without the removal of some of its branches when it starts into growth in the spring the number of buds is so great that the supply of moisture from the roots will be insufficient to sustain a vigorous growth, and all may finally fail; while if the larger part of the branches had been removed the few buds that remain would start vigorously and sufficient moisture be supplied to sustain continuous and rapid growth until new roots and vigorous leaf-surface is formed, without which good growth cannot take place.

In pruning young fruit-trees for transplanting all branches not needed for the formation of a symmetrical head should be removed, and those remaining be shortened in more or less, according to the amount of injury to the roots. Young trees with few lateral branches are often trimmed up to a "whip-stock." This is especially the practice with peach-trees.

Planting Fruit-trees, Vines, and Plants.

The best time and the methods of planting have already been discussed on pages 53 to 61, which see. All trees should have been ordered in the fall or very early in the spring, and everything possible be in readiness for planting when the trees arrive. Trees or plants never should be planted when the Boil is so full of moisture as to be sticky or compact into solid masses when pressed, but be in condition to crumble finely when turned over with the spade or plow. The subsoil thrown out in digging the holes should never be pat close about the roots, but after planting be spread about on the surface and only good soil be used about the roots.

Forming the Head and Pruning.

When trees are set closely and where small fruits are planted between them, the head or main branches must be carried higher than if only trees were planted in order to facilitate comfortable working among them. The main branches in this case must be started about 5 feet from the ground. On the lawn and where nothing is grown under the trees the branches may start; at 2 or 3 feet from the ground unless it is desired to have them higher for shade or for obtaining views under the branches. If used as a screen, it is desirable to have them branch from the ground up, and low-headed trees are much mere easily cared for, the fruit more easily gathered, and they will generally live longer.

The amount of after-pruning required, if properly formed at planting, is very small if the trees have full exposure on all sides; and if the trees are examined several times during the growing season perfect form may be produced with only the finger and thumb and a small pocket-knife, and this without the loss of any growth of wood, which would be the result if pruning is only done at the end of the growing season.

Up to the time of fruiting all the pruning fruit-trees properly cared for will need is that mentioned above; but after they begin to bear the branches will often droop so much as to require removal, or they may cross one another so as to be injured, but in no case should large branches be removed when it can possibly be avoided, as every cut made on the trunk or main branches of a tree will more or less shorten its life. Broken branches should be cut back to the solid wood and all dead branches be removed, but every wound made in this work should be covered at once with linseed-oil paint, or some other preservative. Where large branches must be removed, the saw should be used and never the axe, as the latter cracks the wood more or less and decay will follow much more quickly than if the saw is used. In removing large branches always cut on the under side of the branch first, that when it falls the bark may not be torn from the trunk. Suckers that come out along the main branches should be removed while they are soft and can be easily rubbed off, that the growth that would go into them if allowed to remain may go into the permanent growth of the tree.

The tops of trees that tend to grow too tall and spindling should be pinched off before they have made much growth, thus forcing the growth into the lower branches, where it is much more desired. Cuts made at the ends of the branches do little or no harm to the vitality of the tree.

Special Treatment for Growing Fruits.

The Apple.

This is one of the most healthful and easily grown of all of the fruits of the temperate zone. It succeeds best in a deep moist loam and begins to bear crops of some value at from 8 to 10 years from planting. For the best result it should be planted at from 30 to 40 feet apart, according to the variety and nature of the soil; such varieties as the Baldwin, King, Roxbury Russet, Gravenstein, etc., on rich land will need the larger space, while on a light soil the smaller distance may be sufficient. The Farneuse, Porter, Astrachan, etc., may be planted even on a rich soil at 30 feet apart.

The varieties that will give the best results vary somewhat in different sections of the country, and those who are thinking of planting should consult successful growers in their own vicinity. This will apply to all kinds of fruits. The author suggests the Astrachan, Gravenstein, Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Sutton Beauty, and Roxbury Russet a3 generally succeeding.

Fertilizers.

One of the most important conditions in securing good fruit is sufficient plant-food to give the tree a moderately vigorous growth and healthy foliage. To give these results on the average soil will require, according to the size of the tree, 5 to 10 lbs. fine-ground rock phosphate, sown in the fall or winter, 2 to 5 lbs. nitrate of soda, sown just as growth is beginning in the spring, and 3 to 5 lbs. of sulphate of potash, sown at any time during the winter or early spring. These materials may be mixed and sown together or put on separately. 10 to 20 lbs. of fine-ground bone, according to size of tree and the soil, may be applied in place of the rock phosphate and nitrate of soda. 25 lbs. of hard-wood ashes with from 2 to 5 lbs. of nitrate of soda per tree will also make a good dressing.

A dressing of stable manure under the trees, at the rate of from 5 to 10 cords per acre, according to the soil, will also give a good growth. In all cases the fertilizing-materials should be spread as far as the branches extend.

If other crops are to be grown on the same land with the apple trees, as in this garden-plan, sufficient plant-food must be added to the above formulae to provide for the growth of all. Either of the above formulas will be suited for the other fruits, used at the rate of about | to 1 ton per acre, but varying them somewhat according to natural condition of the soil. If sufficient growth does not result, more fertilizer should be used, and if the growth is too great it should be reduced.

Thinning the Fruit.

The apple, like most of our fruit-trees, has the habit of producing fruit only on alternate years, which is the result of exhaustion of the tree by its large crop of fruit, and it takes one year at least for it to regain sufficient vigor to produce another crop. To overcome this condition, the trees should be allowed to bear only a moderate crop and the land be kept in a condition to produce a moderately vigorous growth of the tree. It is the practice of many of the most successful fruit-growers to thin their apple as well as other fruit-crops so that the trees will not be weakened by overbearing. This thinning is done when the fruit is about one third grown, removing all the wormy and imperfect fruit, and, in some cases, one half or two thirds of all on the tree. The result of this is that there will be little poor fruit to pick and sort; what remains will be larger and of better quality, while the quantity will probably be as great as if all had been allowed to remain on the tree, and the tree will not be exhausted, for it is the production of the numerous seeds that weakens the tree more than the production of the pulp or soft part of the fruit.

Insects and Fungous Pests.

The limits of this chapter will not warrant a description of the many insects and fungous pests that are injurious to the apple or the other fruits, and the reader is referred to such books as Saunder's " Insects Injurious to Fruits " and " The Spraying of Crops" by Lodeman, etc., and to the directions for the use of insecticides and fungicides on pages 2G2-269. On these subjects the bulletins of the experiment-stations give the best and up-to-date information that can be obtained from any source.

The Pear.

Although the pear is not so largely grown or highly prized as the apple, it is distinctly a home fruit and is easily grown. The trees should be planted about 20 feet apart and succeed best in a rather heavy soil, but will do fairly well on any but a very thin soil. The tree grows in a regular pyramidal form and begins bearing earlier than the apple. The treatment it requires as to preparation of tree for planting, the planting, and care are the same as for the apple and need not be repeated here.

To obtain fruit of the largest size and the best quality, the trees should make a vigorous growth and the fruit must be thinned as directed for the apple. The fruit ripens better, is of better color and quality, if picked before quite ripe. The time for this work is indicated by the wormy specimens becoming mellow. For home use it is best to gather the fruit as it matures, each time picking the largest specimens while they are still hard. The varieties suggested as likely to be most satisfactory are Clapp, Bartlett, Sheldon, Bosc, Seckel, and Hovey.

The Peach.

The peach can only be profitably grown on high, rather light, well-drained land. It sometimes succeeds when planted on low land if located near the house, where the cellar wall gives perfect drainage and the building affords some shelter from severe cold, but generally unless on elevated land the buds are destroyed by severe cold in most northern sections during the winter. While it may not be advisable to plant the peach for profit on low land, the buds sometimes escape and a single good crop from a peach-tree in the home garden will well repay the labor and care of growing and the long years of waiting. Peach-trees cannot be expected to live very long in any section of the country; the average life of the trees throughout the country is probably not more than 10 to 12 years. If the land on which the trees are planted is very rich, it will be well to plant some other crop among the trees to check a too-rapid growth, especially while the trees are young, though when a crop of fruit has been set there is little or no danger of making the soil too rich. A moderately vigorous growth from the beginning to the end of the season gives the best and most hardy wood and the finest flavored fruit, and the latter should always be ripened on the tree, if possible, as it is much better flavored than if picked before ripe.

The best distance for planting is 15 feet apart, and the varieties that probably will give the best satisfaction are Mountain Kose, Crawford Early, Crawford Late, Elberta, and Oldmixou.

The Plum.

Although plum-trees are found in most home gardens, there is but little profit or satisfaction in their growth unless one is skilful in caring for them. To succeed in their growth, the trees should have an abundance of room —15 by 15 feet or 15 by 20 feet—and be planted where there shall be a good circulation of air about them. The trees must be sprayed in the spring before the buds start, again as soon as the blossoms have fallen, and also when the fruit is about one half grown with the Bordeaux mixture (see page 267). Then as the fruit approaches maturity the simple copper-sulphate solution, 4 oz. to 50 gals, of water, must be used immediately after each rain until the fruit has been gathered. The black knot should be cut off as soon as it appears, and if large wounds are made they should be painted with kerosene or linseed-oil paint. If the plum-curculio is abundant, the insects should be caught by spreading sheets or a large frame under the trees and giving the branches a sudden jar with a padded mallet. Those caught may be quickly destroyed by brushing them together on the sheets and dropping them into a pail of water with a little kerosene on top.

Thorough cultivation or an abundance of plant-food must be given, especially when the trees are heavily loaded with fruit. Thinning must be practised to improve the size and quality of the fruit and save the trees from being injured by overbearing. The fruit should be allowed to become very nearly ripe upon the trees before picking for the best quality, though for canning purposes they are sometimes picked as soon as fully grown and well colored.

The varieties that may be recommended are the Bradshaw, Lombard, Imperial Cage, Green Gage, German Prune (Fellemherg), and Damson of the European plums, and the Abundance, Burbank, and Satsuma of the Japanese plums. The last-named variety is valuable only for canning.

The Quince.

Two or three quince-trees in the home garden will be often a source of much satisfaction. If there is a low place about the grounds, yet where there is no standing water with especially rich soil, the quince will succeed under such conditions. 12 by 15 feet is a good distance for planting, and it generally succeeds best where the land is frequently cultivated.

The quince is visually free from serious diseases, but in very wet and hot seasons the cedar-apple rust, leaf-blight,; and fire-blight sometimes does considerable injury. Spray-, ing thoroughly with the Bordeaux mixture before the leaves unfold and again after the fruit has set will be greatly beneficial. The flat-headed apple-borer sometimes is seriously injurious, and the trees must be examined once or twice each year and the borers dug out.

The varieties suggested are the Orange, Reas, and Champion.

The Cherry.

Very few persons succeed in growing the cherry on a small scale from the fact that the birds get the largest share of the fruit, or that the fruit as it approaches maturity is often destroyed by rot if the weather is warm and moist. Very low trees, like those of the sour cherries, can be easily covered by a netting, and the birds prevented from taking all the fruit, and the use of the Bordeaux mixture while the cherries are small and the copper solution, as for the plum, while the fruit is ripening will largely prevent the rot.

The black aphis is the most destructive insect, causing the leaves to curl up and seriously checking the growth of the young shoots. The remedy for this pest is kerosene emulsion or strong whale-oil soap solution sprayed with sufficient force to reach the insects under the curled leaves.

The trees will live much longer if planted in turf land than if in cultivated garden soil, and as they make very regular and shapely trees are well suited for growth upon the lawn or by the roadside. The amount of fertilizers needed is what is just sufficient to make a fairly vigorous growth, too rapid growth often resulting in the cracking of the trunk and an early decay of the tree.

Among the best varieties may be mentioned Napoleon, Gov. Wood, Black Tartarian, and Windsor of the sweet cherries, and Early Eichmond and Large Montmorency of the sour kinds. The fruit should be gathered in dry weather and be picked with the stems attached, so that it shall not be crushed or bruised; otherwise it will decay quickly after gathering.

The Grape.

This is especially a home fruit, from the fact that it can be grown on a lot of the smallest size, it can be trained over the veranda or porch, upon a trellis along the side of the house or stable, on any southern exposure, and produce a large quantity of the most delicious and healthful fruit. It succeeds best in a very warm location and in rather poor soil, but if planted where it is close and moist, with but little air and sunlight, it is sure to be attacked by mildews, rots, and anthracnose. The conditions of success in growing the grape are a moderately vigorous growth of vine well spread out to the full sunlight and air; forcing the growth into a few canes—those bearing the fruit the present season and those that are to bear the fruit the next season—all other parts of the vine being prevented from growing by pinching as soon as they have made one new leaf after the last pinching; and thinning the fruit so that the vines shall not be exhausted by overbearing. The fruit is borne on the wood of the present season's growth, and the more vigorous this growth the larger will be the size of the bunches and the quantity of fruit.

The best support for the vines to run on is made of No. 14 or 10 galvanized iron wire, as the tendrils of the vines will cling to this, it is less expensive, and the vines require less tying to keep them in place than if trained to a wooden trellis. If trained against the building, the vine should be kept six to ten inches from the wall, that the air may better circulate among the leaves and fruit thus preventing disease and the decay of the woodwork.

In very wet seasons mildew will attack the leaves, and rot and anthracnose the berries, and spraying becomes a necessity to insure a crop under these unfavorable conditions. The Bordeaux mixture should be used up to the time the fruit is one half grown, after which the copper solution must be used, making two applications of the former and three or four of the latter, according to the weather.

Among the best varieties for sections north of New York City may be mentioned Campbell's Early, Worden, Win-chell [Green Mountain), and the Delaware. South of this latitude many other choice kinds may be grown.

The Blackberry.

Of all garden-fruits none is so easily grown and yet so often a failure as the blackberry. The conditions of success are a good new soil, if not a deep sandy loam, then a deep well-under drained clay loam. Plant in the fall or very early in the spring in rows from 6 to 8 feet apart or in hills 4 by 6 feet, allowing a space of from 10 inches to 1 square foot for each cane, and all suckers not desired for the next season's fruiting must be treated as weeds. It is best to allow the suckers not wanted to grow G inches to 1 foot, and then pull them up rather than to hoe or cut them off. The critical time of growth is when the fruit is ripening, a large amount of moisture being needed to produce the best fruit, and to secure this the surface-soil should be stirred once or twice each week or a mulch of hay, straw, or other material 2 or 3 inches thick be spread over the surface. At the end of the fruiting season the old canes should be cut out and the small weak new canes be cut or pulled, so that the whole growth may be forced into the canes for the next season's growth. It is the practice of most growers to pinch the ends of the new canes when they are 3 to 4 feet high, which causes them to grow more stocky and require less support. In the more northern sections the canes are bent over and covered lightly with soil to prevent winter-killing. This is a simple matter, and the canes need not be broken if the soil is loosened a little on the south side and they are bent over with a strong pulling motion. They should be bent over toward the south, that the sun during the winter may not strike them with direct rays, and should be uncovered and placed upright as soon as the frost is out of the ground in the spring, as they start earlier when lying on the ground than if standing upright and are thus less liable to be injured by late frosts.

To keep the canes upright when loaded with fruit, they may be tied to stakes or be supported by tying the canes in from opposite sides, one cane thus supporting the other. No. 14 or 16 wires stretched on each side of the rows from 12 to 15 inches apart serve as good supports. When grown on a strong soil, the canes if made to branch by pinching will be large enough to stand up without support.

The varieties that succeed at the north are the Agawam, Snyder, and Taylors, while further south the Early Harvest, Wilson, and Erie may prove more satisfactory.

Under good cultivation the blackberry is very little troubled by insect or fungous pests, but it will generally be best to spray the bushes before they start into growth and again just before the blossoms open with the Bordeaux mixture for the leaf-blight, rust, and anthracnose, which are sometimes destructive in very moist and warm weather, especially if the growth is rather weak.

The Raspberry.

The raspberry is successfully grown under about the same conditions as the blackberry, but perhaps needs a somewhat richer soil, and as the canes make a shorter growth may be planted a little closer, i.e., in rows 5 to G feet apart or in hills 3 by 6 feet. The fruit of the red raspberry should be gathered every day, for if allowed to remain long on the bushes after ripening it decays quickly in moist weather. The pruning, training, and care are practically the same as for the blackberry, and clean cultivation or mulching rather more of a necessity.

The varieties that will probably give the best results are the Cathbert, Loudon, King and Miller.

The Currant And Gooseberry.

There is scarcely a home garden to be found in which an attempt is not made to grow the currant, but in most cases the bushes are planted in some out-of-the-way place where they suffer from neglect, and the fruit, while of some value for making jelly, is not desirable for table use because of its small size and seedy character. There is no fruit that can be improved so much in size and quality by good cultivation as the currant.

Vigorous young plants one or two years old should be planted in rich, rather moist soil in hills 4 by G feet apart. Thorough and clean cultivation must be given and an annual dressing of two or three shovelfuls o£ good stable manure be put about the bushes in the fall or an equal value of some good fruit-fertilizer be applied in the spring.

The pruning needed consists in cutting out the old wood, i.e., that more than three or four years old, in such a way as to give the bushes an upright form and produce young and vigorous wood, upon which only large and fine fruit can be grown. During the time of ripening much fruit will be saved from being spattered with soil if a mulch of 2 or 3 inches is put around under the bushes.

For home use the best varieties are the Versaillaise, Pomona, and White Imperial.
 
The currant-worm is the only insect seriously injurious to this fruit and unless it is destroyed will almost certainly ruin the crop. It comes on with the early unfolding of the leaves, works rapidly, and requires only a few days to completely denude the bushes of foliage. Close watch must be kept, and at the first appearance of this pest powdered hellebore must be applied while the leaves are wet or be put on in water, a large tablespoonful to a pail of water, with the watering-can or spraying-pump. A second brood of these insects appears in about two weeks from the first, when a second application of hellebore is necessary.

Spraying with the Bordeaux mixture before the leaves open, just before the blossoms open, and again after the fruit has been picked will prevent the leaf-blight that often seriously weakens the bushes.

The gooseberry requires the same treatment as the currant, but must be planted in a rather more airy place to prevent the mildew that often ruins the fruit. Spraying with the Bordeaux mixture will sometimes prevent this disease. If the currants and gooseberries are planted together, the first brood of the currant-worms will be found largely on the latter, while the second will be on the former only.

The Strawberry.

This is pre-eminently a home fruit, because it is so easily grown, comes into bearing at one year or less from the time of planting, and produces a large quantity of fruit that is much superior to that which may be found in the markets. All that is required for success is a deep, rich, new soil, thorough cultivation, and a good supply of moisture at the time of ripening. A yield of one bushel of fruit to the square rod is of very common occurrence, while three or four bushels are sometimes produced under the most favorable conditions. The land should be made rich by plowing or spading under manure at the rate of from 10 to 15 cords per acre, and be made fine and mellow before planting. To this amount of manure should be added, at the rate of from 5 to ^ ton per acre, any good fruit-fertilizer, and after being thoroughly worked in to the surface soil the plants be set as early in the spring as the land will work up fine and mellow.

The plants—only young plants with white roots should be used—may be set in rows from 3 to 5 feet apart and from 1 to 3 feet in the rows, according to the system of growing practised. The best berries perhaps, and a large quantity of them, will be produced if the plants are set 2 feet by 3 and three rows of runners be rooted, as shown in Fig.  168, where   x illustrates the old plants and  a the new plants. After the bed or row has thus been established all other runners must be pulled or cut off as soon as started, and the land be kept clean cultivated up to the time the ground freezes in the fall.

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a
x a x a x a x a x a x a x a x a x
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

FIG.  168.

During the winter the bed should be covered with a light mulch of hay, straw, or other material free from weed-seeds to prevent the alternation of freezing and thawing when the ground is not covered with snow. In the spring after growth begins this covering should be drawn from the crowns of the plants into the space between the rows, where it will serve as a mulch and protect the fruit from becoming covered with dirt during heavy rains.

All weeds that appear in the spring must be palled out by hand, as stirring the soil with the hoe at this time is not advisable.

The varieties are so numerous and vary so much under different kinds of soil and location that no list of varieties of much value can be given that will be successful in all locations, and the reader should consult some successful grower in his vicinity and plant the varieties found most valuable. The varieties suggested that may be generally satisfactory are the Minute Man, Brandywine, Sample and the Marshall under high culture.

The insects or fungous growths that are seriously injurious to the strawberry may be largely overcome by thorough and clean cultivation.