Marketing 195 



sold promptly, in some cases, for one cent a quart straight 

 carloads.'* 



The procession of shipping districts in the market. 



In any large city, fresh strawberries can be bought 

 any month of the year and are abundant about six months 

 of the year. There are fewer strawberries on eastern 

 markets in October and November than at any other 

 time, but limited quantities come from California, and 

 occasionally some from Mexico. A few berries from 

 forced plants are sold to a very limited trade in Novem- 

 ber and December. The first berries from the Plant 

 City district, Florida, appear in northern cities early 

 in December; by Christmas the supply is adequate 

 for the holiday trade. If not too green, they sell for 

 seventy-five cents to one dollar a quart. During January 

 and February Florida shipments increase steadily, mainly 

 from the northern part of the state, and the price falls to 

 thirty-five to fifty cents a quart. Florida growers have 

 possession of the market until about March first, when 

 southern Texas and Louisiana begin to send Klondikes 

 in twenty-four pint cases. These sell for $2.50 to $3 a 

 case; immediately Florida berries drop to twenty-five 

 cents a quart. By the middle of March, Louisiana berries 

 are going forward in car-lots and sell for $L75 to $2.25 a 

 twenty-four pint case. The first berries from southern 

 Mississippi and Alabama are now on the market, at $3.50 

 to $4.50 a twenty-four quart case. By the last of March, 

 Louisiana, Texas, central Mississippi and Alabama are 

 shipping steadily, but Florida offerings are beginning to 

 decline, as the berries are getting soft ; they sell for ten 

 to fifteen cents a quart, wholesale, which hardly pays for 

 picking them. North and South Carolina and Arkansas 



