CHAPTER XII. 



PREPARATION FOR GATHERING FRUIT. 



To grow a crop of fruit is but the initial step towards 

 the successful termination of the enterprise. 



If the fruit is to be sent to market, then crates, baskets, 

 etc., are necessary for gathering and transporting, all of 

 which should be provided in advance of the ripening of 

 the crop. The number of baskets required per acre can- 

 not be given, inasmuch as the product will not be the 

 same in any two seasons, but it is always best to provide 

 enough, for if the supply should fall short in the busy part 

 of the season, it might cause considerable loss. 



We will suppose that a grower expects to send a thous- 

 and baskets per day to market, during the season, of any 

 particular kind of small fruit, and if he sends them by 

 railroad or steamboat, to a distance of twenty miles or 

 more, he must not expect to have any baskets or crates 

 returned in less time than six to ten days after the time 

 of the first shipment, unless he has better success than 

 usual with fruit growers in this vicinity ; consequently 

 he will have to provide six to ten thousand baskets to en- 

 able him continue gathering. 



Sometimes, owing to the negligence of the commission 

 merchant, no baskets will be returned for two or three 

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