28 ANNUAL REPORT 



man to superintend the picking, following close behind and see- 

 ing that each one picks clean and fills the boxes pro^ierly. Boys 

 and girls do not work well together. Old men are too slow to 

 make wages. 



Every picker should be provided with a picking rack holding 

 from four to nine full quart boxes or baskets, and one box in each 

 tray reserved for receiving the small and inferior berries. It 

 pays well to assort the fruit, even if the poorest is thrown away. 

 Then it is profitable to use only clean new boxes or baskets and 

 attractive crates, and have the name of the grower stami)ed upon 

 each box or crate. Two varieties should never be mixed to- 

 gether in the same box, and the grower's name should be a 

 guarantee that the top berries are no better than they run 

 through the box. There is no harm in placing the top berries 

 so that the stems and hulls are concealed, provided they are no 

 larger than they run through the box. The strawberry man 

 should have the privilege that others enjoy of showing his goods 

 to the best advantage. 



Snide boxes are used by some growers. To do so ought to be 

 a misdemeanor, and 'meet with prompt punishment. The law 

 requires that berries be sold by dry measure. Every fourth or 

 fifth quart is gained by selling in snide boxes, or by shoveling 

 them into quart cups with a shingle. 



RASPBERRIES. 



The raspberry ranks in importance next to the strawberry. It 

 delights in much the same soil and as it does very well in a par- 

 tial shade, it may, where grown only for family use, be planted 

 upon the north or eiist side of the garden fence. If the ground 

 is naturally good when the planting is made, the fertility may 

 be kept up with mulching and hop dressings. The rows should be 

 set six or more feet apart, and the plants in the rows three to 

 four. Where grown for commercial purposes it is economy to 

 have long rows and use a horse in cultivating. Heavy mulching 

 saves in expense of cultivating and tends to keep the soil moist 

 and cool, which are favorable conditions for the raspberry. If 

 when the caneS reach the height of three and a half to four feet 

 the top is pinched out it will make them grow more stocky and 

 save the expense of tying up. For the convenience of keeping 

 the fruiting canes upright and the fruit off the ground, a row of 

 stakes may be set each side of the rows of plants, say 16 to 



