Marketing 193 



In the large markets strawberries are stored for one to 

 three days only, to prevent loss during a glut, or to carry 

 them over Sunday or a holiday. Perhaps the most com- 

 mon use of storage is to hold berries that are to be canned. 

 In 1902-3 the United States Department of Agriculture 

 conducted experiments on the cold storage of straw- 

 berries, and reported: "In view of the difficulties in- 

 volved in storing and the long season during which fresh- 

 picked supplies can be obtained from various sections of 

 the country, it will continue to be restricted mainly to 

 the preservation of the fruit for a brief period when other- 

 wise it would be lost. Strawberries handled under good 

 commercial conditions kept from one to two weeks in 

 good condition so far as appearance was concerned, but 

 the flavor usually began to deteriorate after three or four 

 days. Some of the firm-fleshed varieties, like Gandy, 

 kept even longer than two weeks. Strawberries which 

 have been stored for several days usually begin to break 

 down within ten to twelve hours after removal from 

 storage. The fruit kept best if picked when mature and 

 fully colored, but still firm." ^ 



THE STRAWBERRY SEASON 



Until 1840, the strawberry season in northern cities 

 was barely six weeks, — June and strawberries came 

 together. The first extension of the season came with 

 the marketing of early berries from New Jersey. Soon 

 after, Delaware and Maryland entered the field, and by 

 1860 Norfolk had begun to compete. After the Civil 

 War, swift steamers gave Charleston, South Carolina, a 



1 S. H. Fulton, Bui. 108. Bu. Plant Ind., U. S. D. A. (1907), pp. 7-23 ; 

 also Rept. Md. Hort. Soc, 1904, pp. 98-102. 

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