RURAL ECONOMICS 1 1 77 



los - Strawberry Farming as an Exclusive Cultivation in the South of the United 



States. — I'hc Southern Fruit (irawfr, Vol. XX, Xo. s, pp. loi-im. Chcittaiiuoga, Ten. 

 May 11)1 h. 



In the Southern part of the United States of America the cost price 

 of strawberries relatively to the unit of area varies of course v^^ithin faiily 

 wide limits. In view, however, of the extension undergone by this cultiva- 

 tion in many Southern States, where there are numbers of farms engaged 

 exclusively in .strawberrj* growing, and where instances of farms cultivat- 

 ing more than 740 acres of strawberries and employing from 2000 to 

 3000 work-people at harvest time are not wanting, it is interesting to pub- 

 lish the average data relating to the expenses and production per acre 

 as they result from a large number of statements issued from the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. 



The costs of cultivation, cropping and packing per acre vary within the 

 following Hmits, the lowest of which is considered to be the average of the 

 greater part of the producing centres, while the highest must be regarded 

 as an extreme limit only reached in some parts where the crops are excep- 

 tionally early, such as Florida. 



Interest on capital invested 



Preparation of lyand 



Manure 



Plant purchased 



Setting lants 



Cultivation, hoeing 



Mulching 



Totiil cost per acre for first year. . . . 

 Costs of picking, sorting and packing for an 



average crop of 2 000 quarts per acre . 



Crates and Boxes 



Costs of carriage to railway etc 



Total expenses of cultivation and sali- . . . 



Many strawberry growers secure a yield of 3 000 quarts per acre and 

 yields of 4 000 and 5 000 quarts to the acre are not uncommon. A yield of 

 2 000 quarts is required to make the crop at all remunerative. The low 

 prices ruling for strawberries at the time of greatest production have often 

 caused losses to the growers ; some of them have found themselves under 

 the necessity of leaving from 20 to 25 % of the crop on the field. This 

 drawback is about to disappear owing to the creation of industries which 

 will convert the strawberries into jam, etc., in the centres of production. 

 The manufacturers in some cases, treat the strawberries on the spot, with 

 an equal proportion by weight of sugar. They are put up in barrels and 

 loaded in refrigerator cars, and sent to a cold-storage plant where they are 

 kept imtil needed. 



Some growers are at the present time studying the question of creating 

 co-operative jam factories, with a view to utilising those strawberries 



