Thinking that the failures and drawbacks sometimes experienced could be easily overcome by a thorough understanding of the work at hand, I began by getting all the information possible.  I found that great books such as by Downing, Thomas, etc., were more suitable for the advanced fruit grower, but I studied all the pamphlets and books obtainable during the winter months and put this knowledge into practice during the summer.  Of course I could not put into practice all I had obtained from this reading, but I remembered distinctly the advice to all amateur fruit growers to start out slowly.  This was particularly suited to my case, for the land was covered with timber, some of which I grubbed each summer, gradually adding acres as I cleared the land.

My first venture was in planting raspberries, planting potatoes between the rows the first year.  One delusion I had was in planting as many different and untested varieties as I could afford to buy and not confining myself to those that had been tried and had proven satisfactory.  Fortunately for me, the high cost of plants at this time did not warrant my buying as many different varieties as I desired, and I had to be contented with fewer plants.  From the most promising of these, I saved all the plants possible.

I had an idea that I could do better by sending to some of the Eastern states for my plants, but here again I was mistaken, for the plants often did not arrive until late in May, and by the time they had reached their destination were practically all dried out.  The warm weather then coming on, I lost the greater part of them, although I had carefully hoed and tended them in the hope that they would finally revive.  Here I might also mention that the express charges added considerably to the cost of these already expensive plants.

As a beginner I put much unnecessary labor on these plants.  While I do not wish to leave the impression that hoeing and caring for them is not all right, still there should be a happy medium which I later learned as I became more experienced along this line.  I must admit, however, that this rich, new land thus cultivated certainly yielded some wonderful fruit.

As time went by, I kept adding to my plantation, and owing to the large yield and the good demand for the black caps I took a fancy to raising them.  When the Palmer variety was first introduced, I planted quite a field of them.  I shall never forget the way these berries ripened, and such a lot of them as there were.  Practically every one by this time having planted black caps, their great yield soon overstocked the market, and berries finally dropped as low as 65c or 70c a crate.