INTRODUCTION. . 13 



one. Fruit-baskets, crates, etc., must be provided, and 

 the capital invested in these should not be allowed to re 

 main idle any longer than is absolutely necessary. If sev- 

 eral kinds are cultivated, commencing with the Strawber- 

 ry, and followed by Raspberries, Gooseberries, Currants, 

 and Blackberries, the fruit-baskets may be constantly em- 

 ployed for at least three months, when if but one kind 

 is grown their use will scarcely extend over as many 

 weeks. Besides this, a better class of help can be secured 

 for gathering the fruit where steady employment for three 

 months can be given, than when for only a few days or 

 weeks. 



The chief object of those who cultivate fruit for mar- 

 ket is that of profit, and to secure the largest return on 

 capital invested requires a judicious selection of varieties. 

 The best in quality are seldom the most profitable for 

 general market purposes. Usually the highest flavored 

 are the most delicate growers and quite unproductive. 

 Individual tastes differ one will choose a variety that an- 

 other will reject. Taste, however, is changeable, and a 

 fruit, which at one time may be quite distasteful, will, by 

 a constant acquaintance, become very agreeable. Our 

 markets are but an aggregation of individuals, conse- 

 quently they often change, and a particular variety of 

 fruit, when first introduced, will find no purchasers, 

 though it may afterwards become exceedingly popular. 



A particular color will often be the cause of rejection, 

 and it will require a constant and persistent effort on the 

 part of the producer to introduce the variety and per- 

 suade the masses to purchase. A case in point is that of 

 the Brinckle's Orange Raspberry, a variety which is ac- 

 knowledged, by connoisseurs in fruit, to be one of the very 

 best in quality ; still, place it beside almost any ordinary 

 red variety in any of the New York markets, and not ten 

 baskets of it will be sold to one hundred of the latter. 



In other cities the results may be quite the reverse, 



