162 



Strawberry-Growing 



Fig. 11. — The most 

 common type of box 

 carrier, or " handy." 



riers as there are pickers, so that the pickers need not 

 wait at the packing shed while the full boxes are being 

 removed. Remove the factory dust from boxes with a 

 whisk broom before placing them in the carriers. Do not 

 grasp a full box on both sides when 

 removing it from the carrier; this 

 squeezes the berries. Carriers can be 

 made during the winter for five to 

 seven cents each. F. E. Beatty gives 

 directions for making the carrier 

 shown in Fig. 11 : "Take a board 

 i" thick, 10'' wide, and 15" long 

 for the bottom. Nail a lath on each side and on the 

 ends to hold the boxes in place. Use two inch strips, 

 J'' thick and 5'' long, for legs. Use a piece of barrel 

 hoop for the handle." Many growers prefer carriers 

 without legs, as these catch in the vines; but the legs 

 prevent the carrier from crushing the berries if it is set 

 upon the row. A carrier provided with a strong handle 

 that pickers may rest on is shown 

 in Fig. 12. In the South, especi- 

 ally near Norfolk, carriers are made 

 with board ends and the bottom, _ ^ ^ . 



. , „ , Fig. 12. — Carrier with- 



top and one side or veneer; the out legs and with stout 

 other side is left open for taking handle. 

 out and putting in the boxes. This protects the picked 

 fruit from the sun. 



In the Pacific Northwest, occasionally berries are carried 

 from the field to the packing shed on a wire or cloth sieve, 

 which allows the sand and dust to fall through. The 

 most elaborate device is the overhead carrier used in the 

 Los Angeles district, California (Plate XV). The entire 

 field is planted ; no space is left for roads or paths. Posts 



