150 



it reaches the market. This packing does not imply " facing " 

 where all the big berries are put on top, a practice that it is 

 needless to condemn ; but if honestly and skillfully done it 

 adds materially to the market value of the fruit. 



Strawberries are now universally shipped in cheap quart 

 boxes or baskets that are given away with the fruit. The old 

 system of return packages has been abandoned in nearly all 

 markets. Numerous styles of packages are on the market. 

 The one should be selected that is the most popular in the 

 cities it is proposed to supply. 



Strawberries that are properly handled can be usually 

 shipped safely for twenty-four hours by express. That is, 

 berries picked today can be shipped to markets where they 

 can be sold tomorrow. If the weather is cool and dry they 

 may be saleable on the second day, but there is always con- 

 siderable risk in shipping for forty-eight hours by express. 

 In properly managed refrigerator cars good berries will carry 

 safely for four or five days. Planting strawberries for distant 

 shipment is recommended only at points where such refriger- 

 ator service can be secured. 



Varieties. 



The proper selection of varieties for a given locality is an 

 important question with any fruit. It is especially important 

 with strawberries since many kinds are quite local in range, 

 doing well in one locality and perhaps failing utterly only a 

 few miles away on a different soil or under different cultural 

 conditions. The following thirty-five kinds were planted on 

 the Station grounds during the fall of 1S96. They have, 

 therefore, been under observation during two fruiting seasons. 

 They were planted on a dry sandy ridge. Very little fertil- 

 izer has been used and the cultivation and treatment has pur- 

 posely been made poorer than would be given by the average 

 market grower. The object has been to give the different 

 kinds as severe a test as possible, believing that any kinds giv- 

 ing satisfactory results under such conditions can safely be 

 recommended for general planting. It is thought that the 

 kinds here recommended can be safely planted in all parts of 



