We only grow two varieties of red raspberries, both of which are perfectly hardy without winter covering, so we have no suggestions to make or experiences to relate regarding winter protection.  I am afraid I would be tempted to quit the business if I had to cover our raspberry bushes for winter protection.  I think it would be as big a task as all the rest of the work combined except picking, and I let some one else do that part.

For a home garden it is even more desirable to select a variety that is hardy without winter covering than when grown in a commercial way, for this is one of the tasks that is liable to be neglected unless one makes a business of it.

In choosing a variety the other qualities to look for besides hardiness without winter covering are size, color, flavor, prolificacy and good shipping qualities.

We are located only twenty-five miles northwest of Minneapolis, and one would naturally suppose we would market our berries there, but we get better prices in towns along the Soo railroad in western Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Although our berries are a variety that crumble unless left on the bushes until ripe they do not spoil readily, which is probably due to the fact they are quite acid, and we ship to points in North Dakota nearly as far west as Chicago is east of us with very little loss.  Wherever our berries have been introduced they have made friends, and there is hardly ever a time that we do not have standing orders for two or three times as many berries as we can furnish.

We usually ship in flat cases, two boxes deep, twenty-four pints to a crate, which brought us $2.00, $2.25 and $2.50 per crate net, f.o.b. shipping point.

There is but one other berry grower near us, so we do not have much difficulty in getting pickers.  The first year we built a couple of small cottages to accommodate people from the city who might care to combine berry picking with a few days’ outing, and it was surprising what a good class this proposition appealed to, but we now have enough local pickers to care for our crop.

The profits in raspberry culture vary all the way from little or nothing above cost of production up to several hundred dollars per acre, depending on the season and how well cared for.

Whether raspberry culture is a money making proposition or not in a commercial way, there certainly is no good reason why every farm or city garden should not have at least a few hills of raspberries for home use.  Even leaving the matter of cost out of the question, there is a difference between fruit just off the bushes and that which has stood around in hot, dusty places several hours or longer waiting for a purchaser.  Try it and be convinced!

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TO INOCULATE SEED.—­Coating the seed of legumes with inoculated soil before planting is a simple method of insuring soil inoculation at slight cost.  County agents in Illinois have found ordinary furniture glue effective in holding particles of inoculated soil to the seeds.  This method gives each individual seed some of the particles of inoculated soil, which it carries with it when it is planted.  The scheme requires but a small amount of inoculated soil and costs but a few cents an acre.  The method is described in Farmers’ Bulletin 704 of the U.S.  Department of Agriculture.