268 SMALL FRUIT CULTUBIST. 



tickets pass current at the stores in the vicinity, ami the 

 merchants take them in exchange for goods, and when the 

 season is over, present them to the proper persons for re- 

 demption. 



At the time of gathering, each picker is furnished with a 



stand, figure 117, 

 holding ten to 

 twenty-five baskets. 

 When all are filled, 

 they are carried to 

 the tent and put 

 into the crates, 



Fig. 117. BASKET STAND. , ,. ,. 



ready for sending 



to market. The small Jersey baskets are put into crates 

 holding from one hundred and fifty to two hundred each, 

 but when pint and quart baskets are used, from thirty to 

 sixty go in a crate. 



The pickers have to conform to certain rules promulgat- 

 ed by the nabob of the tent, for there must be discipline 

 and system observed in fruit gathering, as in every other 

 business, to produce the best result. No picker must be 

 allowed to encroach upon his neighbor, and when a row 

 or bed is selected at the start, it must be retained until all 

 the fruit for that time is gathered. The next bed or row 

 must be taken by lot and no dodging because it happens 

 to be a poor one. 



The time of the vintage is one of rejoicing in the vine 

 countries of Europe, and equally so is the time of gather- 

 ing the small fruits in America. Good feelings prevail on 

 all sides, and particularly if the crop is abundant, for both 

 employer and the employed are abundantly rewarded for 

 their labor. 



