SUGGESTIVE EXPERIENCES FROM WIDELY SEPARATED LOCALITIES
It is often said that there is no teaching like experience, and in view
of this sound principle I am led to quote from a few of the letters
that I have received. These statements, from successful and intelligent
cultivators, throw side lights on the preceding pages from various
standpoints. I would advise the reader to note carefully the adaptation
of different varieties to different parts of the country. As we have
just been discussing the subject of irrigation, I will first quote from
California letters, since they touch on this topic.
From Mr. James Shinn's interesting communication, I take the following
facts:
"NILES, ALAMEDA CO., CAL.
"The greater part of the strawberries consumed in San Francisco are
grown in the neighborhood of San Jose, some fifty miles south of the
city. We are situated about halfway between, in the great valley that
borders the bay of San Francisco. We have occupied this place over
twenty years, and have made observations upon the culture of small
fruits, and have always grown more or less ourselves. While, therefore,
I do not claim to be authority on the points you inquire about, I feel
pretty safe in mentioning one or two things in this connection, that I
can hardly be mistaken about!
"_First_--Those who plant extensively for market make it a _sine qua
non_ to have at hand plenty of water; except in very favored
localities, they can't be grown to profit without this essential. I
know that the plants are planted on each side of a small ridge,
previously thrown up for the purpose. The vines along the ridge stand
twelve to fifteen inches apart. The space between the ridges allows
three and a half feet for cultivation and water. The water is allowed
to run between these ridges, and, of course, wets the roots
effectually. It will be perceived that the ground must be nearly level.
I cannot tell how often these rows are watered, but frequently. The
proper season for planting is as early in the winter as the ground can
be put in order--from November 1st, all winter--the earlier the better.
If planted early, a fair crop of berries may be expected the next
summer. For many years the Longwood's Prolific and Peabody Seedling
were the varieties generally grown. Recently some other varieties have
been introduced, but are mostly confined to the hands of amateurs. The
Monarch of the West has, however, certainly secured a strong foothold
among the large growers. This berry commanded a much larger price in
the market than the old varieties. I just remark respecting irrigation
that, of course, as you will see, the object of planting upon ridges is
to place the vines so high that when the water is let in, the berries
will be above its reach. Nearly all our large growers let their fields
to Chinamen, who do all the work, boarding themselves, for half the net
proceeds.
"SAN JOSE, CAL.
"In answer to your letter, asking about irrigation, I would state that
in the first place we grade the land, after first plowing and harrowing
it. We do not like to do too much grading. If the land is very uneven,
we make the rows conform to it, bringing the water on the highest
portions, and cutting escape ditches through the low parts, so that the
water can run off readily. The rows are made three feet apart, and
every alternate row is shovelled or plowed out to make a shallow ditch
about three or four inches deep. Soil is thrown on or between the
alternate rows, making the ground look like small beds. The plants are
set in rows about six inches from the edge of the ditches. We are now
ready for the water, which is nearly all taken from artesian wells. The
first year, the plants do not require so much moisture; but the second
year, we water about once a week. We keep all runners 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. I have
experimented with all leading varieties, since Orange Judd introduced
the _Agriculturist_, but succeed best with Triomphe de Gand,
Longworth's Prolific, Jucunda, and Colonel Cheney. The latter is rather
soft to carry so far to market. I commence sending to market about the
middle of April. About the middle of June the Triomphe begins to ripen
a second crop. Last year they were the largest and finest berries I
ever saw. In September the Jucunda bears a third crop. Prom May until
October we depend entirely on irrigation. Our soil is red, stiff, and
heavy. I use abundantly well-rotted stable manure and barnyard compost.
I prepare by deep plowing, and then harrowing. I then go over the
ground for the plants with Hexamer's pronged hoe, making the soil very
fine. I set the plants two feet apart each way, and where each one is
to grow, I work in a large shovelful of manure deeply and thoroughly. I
give blackberries the same mode of culture, setting them three feet by
eight. No winter protection is needed. In ordinary seasons, there are a
few strawberries all winter long. Strawberries and blackberries are
very productive, and enormous in size, but currants, gooseberries, and
red raspberries do not succeed in this region, the long and intensely
hot and dry season being unfavorable. John Palmer."
"NEW CASTLE, CAL.
"The President Wilder is the finest flavored berry we have ever tasted,
and it is the most attractive in color of all. The Jucunda does not do
well on our light soil. The Monarch is splendid. We grow raspberries
quite extensively, our climate and location being better adapted to
them, perhaps, than any other part of California. The earliest berry
with us is the Red Antwerp (probably the English). It is a week earlier
than the Franconia. The Herstine is a fine berry every way, except as
regards firmness. The cap varieties are inferior in flavor here.
C. M. SILVA & SON"
From other sources I learn that the Triomphe de Gand and Seth Boyden
are among the chief favorites in California.
Mr. Felix Gillet, Nevada City, Cal., author of an excellent little
treatise on the culture of the strawberry in his region, says: "The row
and hill system is certainly the best of all, especially to raise
large, fine fruit. The rows should be two feet apart, or thirty-six
inches, if irrigating by running water in each row as it is done in
California. The plants should be set, the large-growing sorts two feet
from each other in the row, the smaller ones from twelve to eighteen
inches."
"AUSTIN, TEXAS
"I put in water-works, and it is the best investment I ever made. I
supply Austin with vegetables the whole year round. It was very dry
last year, but I loaded three wagons with vegetables every day. We
watered twenty acres regularly, and will water thirty this year. I am
making a large reservoir on a hill, which will be supplied from a large
well through a six-inch pipe. I use Knowles's steam pump, 30
horse-power, capable of pumping 750,000 gallons daily. Of strawberries,
the Kentucky Seedling can stand the most heat and drought. Crescent
Seedling looks well here, also the Forest Rose. Raspberries, currants,
and gooseberries cannot be raised. We plant strawberries one foot apart
in the row, and the rows are three feet apart We mulch early in spring,
and cultivate by horse-power after the bearing season is over. I regard
cow manure, leaf mould, and bone flour 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 done well.
The Charles Downing has flourished as though native and to the manner
born. The Kentucky has done remarkably well; the Wilson not so well.
Raspberries, on the whole, have done well, but currants and
gooseberries will not survive. The strawberries have done better than I
hoped. I have always looked upon the strawberry as a semi-aquatic
plant, and this view has been strengthened by an account of a wonderful
crop produced in this region by abundant and systematic watering. The
great difficulty against which we have to contend is the prolonged
summer, when, for weeks, the thermometer ranges from 90 degrees to 95
degrees in the shade. To this must be added spells of dry weather,
lasting sometimes for six or eight consecutive weeks in July, August,
and September.
"D. S. H. SMITH."
"NEW ORLEANS, LA.
"Experienced cultivators prepare for strawberries by thorough plowing
and subsoiling. We cultivate by subsoil plow, cultivator, and hoe, with
no stones to impede our work. The bearing season lasts about 90 days. I
have had two full crops in the same season. The best time to plant is,
1st, in August; 2d, in December. The Wilson and Charles Downing do
well. The black-cap raspberries succeed: the red raspberries 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 and
the hardy red raspberries do well in his section. They regard sheep
manure as one of the best fertilizers. Dr. Samuel Hape, of Atlanta,
Ga., writes: "In reply to your favor, I would say that strawberries and
blackberries do splendidly here, raspberries moderately, and currants
and gooseberries as exceptions; grapes finely.
"Our soils are mostly loam, with some sand, and a clay subsoil. Bottom
lands have the usual deposits of muck and partially decomposed
vegetable matter. The damp, rich soil, of course, suits strawberries
and blackberries; though the latter grow wild to such perfection, and
in such abundance, as to do away with cultivation almost entirely. The
red raspberry does not succeed very well as a rule. While damp,
under-drained soil and sandy loam are best for strawberries, the dry
uplands have 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 season
to transplant strawberries, by all odds--as soon as the September rains
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? Strawberries
and blackberries do well, but owing to the abundance of wild fruit,
late and early, the blackberry is not cultivated largely. No other
small fruits have been fairly tried. The general opinion is that our
warm weather lasts too long for the raspberry, gooseberry, and currant.
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 the
strawberry thrives, the low hummock bordering on the river. It is rich
in vegetable and mineral matter--clay from two to four feet under
surface. The next is our pine land; soil light, and of grayish color,
nearly devoid of vegetable matter, but largely supplied with lime and
potash. Strawberries and blackberries do well on this soil. We have
what is termed high hummock. It is a yellow loam, with clay, varying
from 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. On each
bed I put four rows of plants, running the full length of beds. For
Wilsons, rows 18 inches, and 12 inches between plants; Charles Downing,
and Seth Boyden, 18 by 18 inches. Cover all the space with pine-needles
by the time warm weather sets in, and shade their fruit from the hot
sun. I cultivate with a small hand cultivator, partly invented by
myself, and by hoeing. 4. What fertilizer do you consider most
efficient? A compost of stable manure, muck, and potash. 5. What winter
protection do you give, if any? None needed. For summer protection,
pine straw between plants; this answers a double purpose--to keep the
fruit clean, also to protect the plants in warm, dry weather, and
retain moisture. 6. Do you consider spring or fall the best season for
planting in your locality? If I have home-grown plants, I prefer
planting from last of August to first of December. Northern plants,
unless grown in pots, do best if obtained in November or December. I
will add here, for your information, Wilson's Albany is very shy of
making runners for the first year or two after coming from the North.
Seth Boyden and Charles Downing take possession of the ground 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 endured
the southern sun well, and that the Captain Jack and Sharpless were
fine with them; all the purple cane and black-cap raspberries did well,
but none of the foreign kinds thrived. Mr. Berkmans remarked that, even
after ten years of bearing, he hesitated to express a positive opinion
concerning a fruit, so great are the differences caused by location and
soil. It is your young men that have been two or three years in the
business, who have positive opinions on every subject.
In the suburbs of Savannah, Ga., I found three-quarters of an acre of
strawberries 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 coat
of manure was harrowed in. Planting was commenced August 10, and the
plants set fourteen inches from each other, in beds with alleys
between, twenty-eight inches wide. They were worked with a cultivator,
mulched with pine straw in January, and stimulated from time to time
with liquid manure. The fact that they secured a good home market
accounts, in part, for the large profit.
Through the courtesy of Captain Sigwald, himself a successful
horticulturist, I was able to visit many strawberry plantations in the
vicinity of Charleston, S. C., and will give a few statistics from one
of the most nourishing. The plants were vigorous, and the long rows
clean and free from runners. The best plants had been set out in the
preceding September. The force employed to set five and a half acres
was: 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 propagating
bed to the fruiting field, and four planting. The expense of planting
was $15 per acre. Prom the five and a half acres, there were shipped to
New York 15,200 quarts, on which the freight, at fifteen cents per
quart, amounted to $2,280. Commission on sales was $413--leaving a
balance of only $1,670, and out of this all other expenses had to come.
Thus it way be seen that the expense of marketing the crop was greater
than the expense of growing it and the net profit combined--a condition
of things that should not last. The freight has been reduced to 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 that
in 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, much suggestion
has been given already.
Mr. J. T. Lovett, of Little Silver, N. J., gives the following list as
the 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 ensure a
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 most
profitable of all sorts, but latterly it is so frequently injured by
winter, and so generally attacked by disease or insects throughout the
State, 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 of
Agriculture, 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 acre
of strawberries, grown on my farm near Newark, during the season of
1878. The ground on which these strawberries were grown was planted
with Early Rose potatoes and heavily manured in the spring of 1877.
These potatoes were dug and marketed during the last week in July and
first week in August of the same year. The ground was at once cleared
off, plowed and harrowed smoothly. Furrows were then opened four or
five inches deep and two and a half feet apart. Between the 15th and
22d of August, 1877, the strawberry plants were set in these furrows
from fifteen to eighteen inches apart, without any manure being added.
Some plants died here and there, but the bulk of those set out made a
strong growth before cold weather. They were kept free from weeds by
running a cultivator twice between the rows and hoeing twice. This
treatment kept the ground absolutely free from weeds. In the middle of
December, the plants were covered over with a compost of the sweepings
of the vegetable and fish markets, with some horse manure mixed through
it. The whole was thoroughly decayed and light in character. About the
middle of April, 1878, the coarsest part of this mulch was raked off
the strawberry plants, and left in the spaces between the rows, the
finer portion being left among the plants. To the coarse part raked off
was added salt hay, pressed under the leaves of the plants on either
side of the rows, enough being added to keep the soil around the plants
moist and the fruit free from grit. There was no disturbance of the
soil in any way in the spring, beyond the cutting off at the surface of
a few straggling weeds that started up here and there.
"The varieties grown upon this acre were Charles Downing and Green
Prolific, and the yield was five thousand four hundred and eighty-seven
(5,487) quarts. The gross receipts from this acre of berries was seven
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 Western
New York Horticultural Society, that they "liked the bedding system,
say four-row beds, with plants one foot apart each way and two-feet
walks between the beds. We fertilize with fine horse manure, spreading
it heavily and plowing it under. We start plants in pots and transfer
them to the beds in September, the earlier the better. These potted
plants form fine large crowns ready for the finest fruit. The beds are
covered 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 but
about ten months, and little or no cultivation is given. It is
practically the same method as that employed around Charleston, S. C.,
and, I am inclined to think, could often be practiced at the North with
great profit. In contrast, Mr. J. K. Sharpless said, on the same
occasion, "We grow in the hill system, and expect the plants to last
four or five years;" adding, "My experience teaches me that
strawberries should not be cultivated deeply until their season of rest
is over, say the last of August." I think this view sound.
Mr. E. B. Underhill, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., said that he "valued the
Golden Defiance for late fruit. The Glendale is more vigorous. I think
highly of the Champion and Kentucky. The Duncan is our best early of
those well tested. As the mid-market in this section will probably be
glutted with Crescents, I shall take great pains with the Cumberland
Triumph, which, picked in pints (on account of its softness), will
yield almost as well, and bring more dollars than any sort I have
tested yet."
From Mr. Frank S. Alling I learn that all the small fruits succeed
finely on the shores of Puget Sound, Washington Territory.
I will close this chapter of experiences with a very interesting letter
from the Rev. Mr. A. A. Von Iffland, of Quebec, who gives an admirable
statement of the conditions of success in the latitude of Northern
Canada. It will be seen that his light, warm soil makes a difference 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 bring
about the best results, but _then_ yields generous returns. It is warm
and quick, and so porous that it can be worked almost immediately after
the heaviest showers. Plants form roots in the soil with marvellous
rapidity. All kinds of vegetables can be successfully cultivated.
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 is best obviated by
plenty of barnyard manure and cultivation. The climate is doubtless
severe, and the winters long, but the abundance of snow affords the
best kind of protection and is of the greatest possible advantage in
the culture of small fruits. Winter sets in with us sometimes as early
as the first of November, sometimes not till the middle of December,
and the snow has not disappeared from the vicinity of the fences till
the last week in April. The average depth of snow is 4 1/2 half feet,
and we have cold spells of three or four days at a time, when the glass
varies between 20 and 30 degrees below zero.
"STRAWBERRIES
"I think that all the varieties which are cultivated in the United
States can be cultivated here under the same conditions of soil. I grow
successfully the Colonel Cheney, Triomphe de Gand, Wilson, Charles
Downing, Nicanor, Green Prolific, Monarch of the West, Seth Boyden, but
have discarded Jucunda and Kentucky. I have the greatest success with
the Cheney, Charles Downing, Wilson, and Triomphe, in the order
written. I plant both in fall and spring, but prefer fall setting when
it can be done early and you have good plants.
"I used to strike plants in three-inch pots, but have abandoned that
plan, and instead, lay the runners as early as I can get them (from 1st
to 20th July), and when well rooted, set them out, with a ball of
earth, from 15th to 20th August. If the season is at all moist, so that
the young plants make good progress before the frosts set in (about
middle of October), I get a good crop (half a full crop) the following
summer. From plants set in the spring, I take no fruit. With this
exception, fall and spring settings are treated alike. As the
cultivation is all done by hand, I have found that planting in beds of
three rows each combines the greatest advantages. The rows are 15
inches apart, and the plants 18 inches apart in the row--in the
quincunx form; each bed is separated from the rest by a path 80 inches
wide. I need not say that the soil has been previously well
enriched--with compost, generally, and well-decomposed manure. In fact,
as I usually 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, I plant alternate beds of some good staminate variety, Charles
Downing, Triomphe, or Wilson. The cultivation of the young plants the
first season consists in cutting off any runners that may form, and
keeping them clear of weeds. When well established, the beds are
top-dressed with an inch or two of old manure; this feeds the plants,
keeps the soil 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 out the weeds. After fruiting, a thorough weeding is effected, and
the runners are cut every three weeks; and before the frosts set in,
the beds are given a top-dressing of old manure. After the second crop
of fruit is taken off, they are weeded, and the runners are allowed to
strike. The third spring, wood-ashes are applied; and after fruiting
the plants are turned under. No winter protection is given to the
plants, unless you except the top-dressing of manures; but this is
sometimes not applied till spring, and I observe no appreciable
difference between the plants with and those without it. What I do
observe is that an early winter, and plenty of snow, kills fewer plants
than a winter in which the snowfalls have been delayed till after
frosts and rains.
"Strawberries begin to ripen with us about the 28th of June, and
raspberries about the 15th of July. With the above treatment, I have
grown Wilsons and Cheneys at the rate of 11,000 quarts, or 344 bushels,
to the acre.
"RASPBERRIES
"I prefer fall planting, which may be done as late as they can be put
in. I have set them the last day of October, without losing one. I
plant them four feet apart, but five would be better, and tie the
canes, 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 laid them down,
and sometimes have tied up the young canes to the stakes in the fall,
and I find but little difference. They always bear, and are never
winter-killed.
"As to blackberries, I have but little experience. That blackberries
will succeed here, some canes I saw 15th August, in a friend's garden,
some two miles from my house, afford ample proof. They were loaded with
clusters of magnificent, large, luscious fruit, and were equally
prolific 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 English
varieties. The native hybrids, of course, are safe enough. Still, under
some conditions, I have seen the English varieties without a touch of
mildew. My English varieties mildewed badly this summer, and the man
from whom I got them says that he has never seen it in his garden, not
far from me. I went to see his bushes, and there was not a sign of
mildew affecting his gooseberries, which were very large and fine."