HINTS FOR FRUIT GROWERS. 



.-r^^lTRAWBERRIES.— With the month 

 of June the fruit season begins with 

 most fruit growers, for usually the 



<^ '■ strawberry begins about the second 

 week and continues until about the end. 

 The wise fruit grower will so plant his fruit 

 crops as to keep up as nearly as possible 

 continuous shipments throughout the sum- 

 mer, and thus provide for himself a steady 

 income, and for his employees constant 

 work. 



It is surprising how slow the growers are 

 in becoming acquainted with the many new 

 varieties of strawberries, and instead of 

 procuring those large, showy varieties 

 which are described in the report of the 

 Fruit Experiment Stations, or of the O. A. C. , 

 Guelph, they continue on with played out 

 varieties which bring low prices in the 

 markets. 



Accounts with berry pickers form no 

 small part of the work of management. If 

 you trust each one to keep his own account 

 you will often be cheated by the dishonest 

 and by the careless, and if you give cheques 

 for every lot brought in some will lose them, 

 and others waste much valuable time count- 

 ng them over. Stahl, of Illinois, gave in 



Popular Gardening a design of bulletin 

 board for daily accounts, which we copy 

 with his description, hoping it may be of 

 some practical use to Ontario small fruit 

 growers. He says : 



A bulletin board is erected just outside of the 

 door of the receiving and packing room. For each 

 day a paper is prepared, to be tacked on the bulle- 

 tin board. Heavy book paper of the required size 

 can be got at almost any job printing establishment. 

 This paper is ruled with lines half an inch apart, 

 and horizontal when the paper is on the board. 

 Along the left margin there is a space ruled oiT for 

 the numbers, next for the' names of the pickers, and 

 then a dozen or more spaces in which to put down 

 the number of quarts brought in by each picker. 

 Every picker has a mmiber. This is important ; 

 let the pickers be referred to by their numbers, not 

 by their names. 



The numbers on the paper begin with one at 

 the top and come in regular order on the paper. 

 Then any picker can at a glance find his or her 

 record. No checks are used dtuing the day. As 

 each picker brings in a load, the number of quarts 

 is marked in a space opposite the number of the 

 picker. As an indelible pencil is used the pickers 

 cannot accuse you of altering the record in their 

 absence. As you put in the number of quarts in 

 the presence of the picker there will be no over- 

 sights or mistakes. The pickers have no checks 

 over which to spend time in counting or disputing 

 when in the field. But the entire record is open to 

 any picker at any time during the day, when she 

 comes to deliver berries. You can see at a glance 

 how each picker is working ; or if you desire to 

 know at any time how many quarts have been 

 brought in you can foot it up in a minute. 



Each evening the record is footed up, the total 

 number of quarts brought in during the day by 



