184 Strawberry-Growing 



keep two delivery wagons busy. It is a mistake to ship 

 the best berries and try to sell the second grade and 

 culls locally. 



Selling through retail dealers. 



The most satisfactory method, when not more than 

 five acres are grown, is to arrange with a grocer or fruiterer 

 to retail them. If the town is small, give one man ex- 

 clusive sale ; in larger towns, have three or four repre- 

 sentatives. The wholesale dealer has a commission of six 

 to ten per cent, but the retailer must have twenty per 

 cent to make a profit. Put an advertisement in the local 

 papers, directing consumers to the dealers who handle 

 the berries. Elmer G. Tufts, of Indiana, tells of the 

 methods that have been successful with him : ^ " Arrange 

 with three or four retail grocery men or fruiterers to sell 

 your berries. Watch the wholesale market and price the 

 berries to them ten to twenty cents a crate higher. They 

 should be paid a percentage of the retail price. Deliver 

 the berries every morning, if possible, and establish the 

 retail price for that day ; do not allow the retailer to sell 

 for less without your consent. The same grade of berries 

 should be sold at the same price at all the stores. If it 

 becomes necessary to reduce the price during the day, 

 telephone each retailer. When berries are scarce, divide 

 them among the retailers fairly. If there is a glut, make 

 the price low enough so they can sell the berries anyhow. 

 Use the sectional trays which can be taken apart to dis- 

 play the berries. In the bottom of every quart of the 

 two better grades put a neatly printed card, giving your 

 name and address and where the same kind of berries 

 can be secured each day." 



1 Rept. Ind. Hort. Soc, 1903, pp. 90-4. 



