208 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
HARVESTING THE BLACKBERRY CROP. 
G. E. WIDGER, CHATFIELD. 
The subject assigned to me I consider a very important one. I have 
had a great deal of experience in the work of harvesting and marketing the 
blackberry crop. I have always had a home and near-by market, so I have 
never had to ship many berries. 
Important factors for the consideration of berry growers are the pick- 
ing, packing and marketing of the berries; this work very often determines 
the success or failure of the business. 
In picking we employ mostly grown people, and no small children. 
Each picker is supplied with a four-quart picking stand, and two persons 
work, one on each side of the row. I have always made it a rule to have 
the boxes well rounded up, and never have any over-ripe or soft berries 
put in the box. 
Each picker is furnished with a ticket. The person employed in the 
packing house is supplied with a conductor’s punch, and when the pickers 
come to the packing house he punches the ticket to correspond with the 
number of full boxes which they have. The person employed in the pack- 
ing house looks over all berries picked by inexperienced workers. 
I never use old or second hand boxes or cases, as I think the sale of a 
package depends almost entirely on its appearance. I do not think a per- 
son can be too strict in picking and handling the blackberry crop. I always 
have experienced people in the berry patch to see that the picking is done 
properly. We generally pick every other day, but sometimes we pick every 
third day. 
I warrant all my berries to be first-class or money refunded, so I have 
no trouble in disposing of them, and they always bring a good price. My 
greatest trouble is that I cannot supply the demand. We supply several 
different towns with berries, and I keep two teams on the road nearly all the 
time during the picking season. I never sell to dealers. I fix my own 
price and the dealers sell on commission. 
Mr. Wright: How many acres of blackberries have you? 
Mr. Widger: Four acres. 
Mr. Elliot: What do your blackberries average you. 
Mr. Widger: Well, they average—I could hardly say. I sold 
them for ten cents, and a few for a shilling. I did not sell any for 
less than ten cents. 
Mr. Wright: Was that this year? 
Mr. Widger: Yes, that was this year; last year I sold them 
for eight. 
Mr. Haggard: What do you pay for picking? 
Mr. Widger: A cent and a half. 
Mr. Haggard: How do you have them sorted? 
Mr. Widger: We have a person in the packing house, and if 
we have boxes come in and do not know what kind of berries they 
contain, we have them emptied out into other boxes and pick out the 
poor berries, and in that way we keep watch of the poor pickers. 
