sun; after this the ditches must be kept full of water so the moisture will rise to the surface; this must be done till the plant starts growth.  This method can only be used in small plantings, as it is too expensive for large plantings, as is also the potted plant method where each plant is grown in a small pot and transplanted by dumping out the earth as a ball with the plant and putting directly in the ground.  From potted plants, set out in the fall, one may count on a fine crop of berries the following spring.  Strawberry plants are never dormant till midwinter, and there is no plant more difficult to transplant when roots are disturbed in the hot season, which usually prevails in the interior valleys of California.  To have a long-lived strawberry field and to get best results, planting must be done in the spring, as soon as the soil can be put in best condition to receive plants.  From this a fall crop can be expected — Answer by Tribble Bros., Elk Grove.

Blackberries for Drying Only.

What variety of blackberries or raspberries are the best for drying purposes?  Are berries successfully dried in evaporators?  This is a natural berry country.  Wild blackberries are a wonder here.  Transportation facilities do not allow raising for the city market.  In your opinion, would the planting of ten acres in berries for drying be a success?

The blackberries chiefly grown in California are the Lawton, Crandall and the Mammoth.  The raspberry chiefly grown is the Cuthbert.  There are very few of these berries dried.  It would be better to dry them in an evaporator than in the sun, but little of it is done in this State.  It is doubtful whether it would pay to plant blackberries for drying only, because there is such a large product flow in various places where the berries are either sold fresh or sold to the cannery, and drying is only done for the purpose of saving the crop if the prices for the other uses are not satisfactory.  To grow especially for drying would give you only one chance of selling to advantage, and that the poorest.

Planting Bush Fruits.

What is the best time to set out blackberries and Loganberries?

Any time after the soil is thoroughly wet down and you can get good, mature and dormant plants for transplanting.  This may be as early as November and may continue until February or later in some places.

Growing Strawberry Plants.

In a patch of strawberries planted this spring, is it advisable to cut off runners or root some of them?

In planting strawberries in matted rows, it is usual to allow a few runners to take root and thus fill the row.  It is the judgment of plant growers that plants for sale should not be produced in this way, but should be grown from plants specially kept for that purpose.

Strawberries in Succession.

Is there any reason, in strawberry culture, when the vines are removed at the end of the fourth year, why the ground may not be thoroughly plowed and again planted to strawberries?