Small Fruits. 187 



give empties, and tickets. This enables the pickers to keep their 

 places and saves a great deal of careless moving around on the 

 bed. The overseer should pass around frequently among the 

 pickers, and see that they are doing their work right, examining 

 their partly filled boxes often, and looking after their rows to see 

 if picked clean. 



If the pickers get scattered so as to make it inconvenient to 

 wait upon them, those whose rows are ahead should be placed on 

 the row or rows that are behind, right opposite where they 'are, 

 and work back until they meet, then each should take his own row 

 again. The overseer will find time to case the berries ready for 

 market, and have them put in a cool place as soon as full cases 

 are gathered. When through picking for the day, count the tick- 

 ets of each picker, and place the number, with the price paid per 

 quart for picking, in pickers' account book, to his credit. 



If berries are picked in the middle of the day they should be 

 cooled through before forwarding, if possible, by placing in a cool, 

 dry cellar. They should be carried on springs, handled with care, 

 and forwarded to fruit dealers that have a good retail trade. After 

 we have been to the expense, and succeeded in growing tine fruit, 

 and placing it in the express office in good condition, we are often 

 surprised to hear from our dealers that it arrived in poor condi- 

 tion ; we know that our local express agents are usually interested 

 in our business, and handle our fruit with care; but if we are at 

 the train when it is put aboard, we may often see the messenger 

 on the train throw it about the car as though it were so much 

 cord wood. You will not wonder then that your fruit does not 

 arrive at destination in good condition. If we politely suggest to 

 the messenger that we have an interest in the fruit he is handling, 

 and request him to handle it with care, we usually make matters 

 worse, and return to our homes discouraged in the business; but 

 if a plain statement of the facts be addressed to the superintend- 

 ent of the company, the reckless messenger will be instructed to 

 attend to his business in a proper manner, or lose his position. 



I find it the fairer way, both for the grower and dealer, to send 

 the berries regularly through the season, giving the dealer the 

 power to fix the price from day to day, with the understanding 



