Regarding bush berries, he says, you will get a small crop the second year after planting and for the third and subsequent years a full crop.  The important thing is to keep the dead canes well pruned out, as the cane borer is one of the worst insect pests.  When they appear they can be stopped by cutting off the shoot several inches below the puncture as soon as it begins to droop, and burning the part cut off.  Again, Mr. Powell says, “Currants require rich soil.  A clay or heavy loam is better than a heavy dry soil.  They should be planted in the fall.  The average from ten thousand bushes should be about four quarts each.  The cherry currant is perhaps the largest in size, but not so prolific as some others.  Currants are shipped and sold in thirty-two quart crates and have to be carefully packed to get to market in good condition.”

Gooseberries are raised by the acre.  Mr. A. M. Brown, Kent County, Delaware, in The American Agriculturist, tells of a plantation in Central Delaware where over twenty four thousand pounds were gathered from a scant four acres.  The product was sold to the Baltimore canners for six cents a pound, making $1440 in all.  In addition to the gooseberries grown on six acres, a large crop each of apples and pears were grown on the same ground.  Like currants, the gooseberry must be sprayed to destroy the worms, and cut back and burnt to destroy the cane borer.

There is little special knowledge required, however, in raising this fruit, and it is well adapted for growers with small acreage and little money.

In going into the cultivation of bush fruits, it is usually best to grow them in great variety near the market where they are to be sold.  The bush fruits are then uniformly profitable.  In Suburban Life Mr. E. C. Powell tells us that the spring is the best time for planting raspberries and blackberries, just as soon as the ground is dry enough to work.  The first season the plots should be well tilled.  It is possible to grow vegetables between the rows the first year before the berries begin to bear, but unless pressed for space, it probably doesn’t pay.

Perhaps the best of small fruits, however, and most largely used is the strawberry.  The strawberry can be planted by the acre.  The ground must be rich loam and plenty of humus, well drained, with a southern exposure.  Well-grown plants set out in the open will bear a small crop the first season, but will not become of maximum bearing till the second year.  After the crop is taken off in the fall a mulch of straw or leaves should be placed over the plants to protect them during the winter.  The strawberries are picked by boys and girls.