PROFITABLE FRUIT CULTURE. By Charles B. Whiteiiead.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 8

PROFITABLE FRUIT CULTURE. By Charles B. Whiteiiead.

( Although written for England these articles are by no means devoid of interest to colonists )

V. - STRAWBERRIES AND RASP-

BERRIES. STHAWBERHIES.

Strawberries should be the most popular fruit under cultivation, as they bear in a short time, are a very profitable crop if rightly managed, and take up a small space owing to their dwarf habit of growth. Except on very suitable soil it is best to take only three crops off the plant ; on very gcod land adapted to its culture growers allow their strawberries to remain as long as from six to nine years, but under ordinary circumstances the plant eheuld remain only from four to five years. In the South of England strawberries are usually planted in rows of 32in, tho plants being 16in apart, In the north the plants are placed even closer.

The best strawbsrry-growero prefer to plant the fruit by itself, but frequently plantations are formed of bush fruits, and strawberries between them.

Strawberries are propagated by means of the runners which the parent plant thrown off from it. If there runners were allowed to remain they would weaken the plant considerably, It is essential to obtain early runners, and the runner nearest the parent plant generally succeeds beit and is the strongest. Before strawberries are planted tho land is usually manured so that the effect of this may extend over the time allowed for the plant to remain on the land, The only manuring after the strawberries are planted should be of suoh ( nature that it can.be pat on as a top-dressing,

The land should be perfectly clean before the plants are put in. Weeds, especially couch, if not eradicated beforehand, will quickly smother the crop. It must be borne in micd that strawberries must never be dug, but simply lightly forked over and hoed ; therefore jt is most desirable that there should bo in the first place a clean seed bed. Sound, healthy plants should be obtained, as in dry seasons many plants die, especially if weak in tho first instance. The plants are usually dibbled in. The general cultivation is to keep the plants free- from weeds, to cut off all the runners, and when the fruit is ripening to supply a mulching of straw. This mulching, which is usually barley straw, keep 3 the fruit fresh and clean when washed by rains, and also keep 3 the ground below moist. Sir John Lawes makes the following remarks, which apply especially to the cultivation of strawberries, although they affect all crops. ■ 1. Keeping the soil stirred, if only £tn, increases the water content of the first 12in. 2. The deeper the tillage— at least up to 4in— the greater the increase in water content. 3. The rate of increase diminishes as the depth increases. 4. A slight mulch exerts afar greater influence in. retaining water than tillage <Hn deep.

Such facts as these should be familiar to every cultivator. It is wonderful what an effect a little science, or ra'her common sense, will' produce on lr's land, his income, and expenditure. Many farmers, gardeners, and cottagers do these and similar works on their holdings without knowing tho real reason;

It is' thus shown that mulching for strawberries is a beneficial factor in two directions. Some growers further increase this benefit by pouring liquid manure over the straw. After the picking of the fruit the straw is usually raked off and stored for another year. It is a practice in some plantations to mould up the strawberries in the autumn with a mould-board X>lGugh. Soot, bone manure, kainit, nitrate of soda, fiih guauo, and superphosphate are often u-ed as top-dres3ingu. Thus :— .

4 cwt of fish guano ..."| 2c w i of <Bupetpap jphate > per acre 3cwt of kainiti j is a good mixture for light land ; the potash might be omitted with advantage on heavy soils.

The varieties of strawberry are Jegion, and freßh ones are introduce.! every year. In selec ing kinds it should be remembered t£at some ere specially adapted for ths field, the garden, or tho forcing pit; also, that some are mo3t suitable for the market, the jam factory, or the table. j The best forcing varieties are Keen's seeding, Garibaldi, or La Grosse Siuree, Auguate Nicaise ; these all succeed under glass and come into marked early. President and Sir J. Pftston may be forced as later varieties. They should beplaced early in small pots, and when the roots have grown they are cat off and potted into 6in pots containing gocd turfy loam. The plunt must be tightly rammed down. When taken into the house some growers place the pot 3on ,a layer of &hort manure. The plants should ba watered with 1-quid manure occasionally, but no stimulant should bo. applied u&ttl it is ascertained that the pants are growing and have obtained good xoot-hold. As a rule it is best tob to apply the manure until the planis are flowering. The temperature should be at first about 45deg at night and 60ileg by d-iy ; if a bottom hsat of from 50deg to 60deg can bs obtained, it will be found very beneficial. Aftoi: the fruit is set the temperature may be raised. _ There are numerous other methods of forcing strawberries, and every grower has his own system. Tha earliest out-dcor strawberries ome from Cornwall and Kent, Alice Maud and British Queen being the varieties chiefly grown. Other good early marketing strawberries are— Garibaldi, Laxfcbn's noble, La Grosße Sucree ; for the main crop, Sir J. Paxton, president, Dr Hogg, Stirling C-tstle, Sir Charles Napier. The" bast late strawberriss are— Eleanor, Elton pine, and Laxton'* latest of all.

For jam a gcod firm strawberry is best, as strawberries in jam should ba kept a? whole as possible. The small alpine strawberries, or tcarlet, are in great request at jam factories owing to their firm body anal wonderful colour. The pine flavour iv these strawberries, and in Elton pine and Carolina superba, adds greatly to the taste of the jam.

For gardens, Kitley'e Goliath, British Queen, James Veitch, and mammoth might be added to the list. A new sort called Captain has been found to answer on heavy lands. Doubtless new kinds, both early and lato, will be introdured more generally in a few years.

Strawberries should be picked and packed just before they are ripe, as it is found that they will ripen in transit.

BASPBERBIES.

The raspberry belongs to the same family as the strawberry, and the cultivation of the two plants is somewhat similar. The raspberry is 6imply a straw berry on an elongated stem. The raspberry is easily cultivated, v and as the demand for this fruit is great it is generally a profitable crop. Raspberry plantations are usually very much neglected,, and are crowded with spawns and tuckers. As a rule growers consider that this plant requires little attention ; but this is not the case, as the raspberry delights in a clean, good tilth, and in such conditions produces fruit of large size. The best soil for this crop is a sandy loam with a welldrained subsoil, for although the fruit likes moisture, the soil must not be saturated with wet. The plant is one that essentially grows on the surface, and for this reason'in selecting canes those with the most fibrous roots should be preferred. Again, since its habit of growth is to spread its roots throughout tho surface coil, the raspberry should never be dug deeply, bub like the strawberry should be lightly forked over and hoed. Land intended for raspberries is generally ploughed, and in some cases the ■ plants are simply placed in the furrow, but this is a slovenly process, and they are bitter planted in holes ready dug for them. Raspberries are usually grown in rows by themselves, but sometimes they are , put in between other fruit bushes, or beneath { trees. The rows are from 4ft to 6ft apart, and a distance of a foct is allowed between each plant. Most kinds of raspberries grown for market purposes on a large scale require no support, although wire 3 and hurdle-rods are occasionally pUced on each side of them ; this is generally done when they are grown in gardens or in small quantities. When the dines are planted in the autumn they are usually nhorteued to within a foot of the ground. They will throw up new canes in the following summer, when the old canes fchould be cut off, and the tuckers, or spawn, pulled out ; this spawn is the means by which the plant is propagitod. Five or six new, strong, ' and shortwoodedc anes are left in the stock, or stool, and shortened ; these will produce fruit the following year. The summer cultivation is simply to keep the rows clean from weeds with horsa or hand boa*; the winter culture comprises prun*

ing and manuring and lightly forking the ground over. Land for raspberries should be heavily manured before the plants are pnfc in ; afterwards it is best to spread manure on as a topdressiug, or only fork it in lightly. The beet kinds of raspberries for general culture are :— F&stolf, a good dwarf kind. Carter's prolifio, a very fruitful sorb. Norwich wonder, a robust grower. Semper fldelis, rather acid in flavour ; birds do not reliah the fruit. It is good for jam-. Superlative, a new variety, and likely to become popular. . Yellow raspberries are not grown for market purposes, and are generally met with in gardens. Magnum bonum and yellow Antwerp are the belt varieties, -

ing and manuring and lightly forking the ground over.