72 THE STRAWBERRY IN NORTH AMERICA 



and shipping was $283, leaving a clear profit of $2346." 

 Until the great freeze of December, 1894, and February, 

 1895, practically all Florida berries were grown in the 

 northern part of the state and were marketed in March and 

 April. The district in southern Florida, comprising Hills- 

 boro and Polk Counties, which now ships from December 

 to March, has developed since 1896. 



North Carolina. The important strawberry district 

 of the coastal plain of North Carolina, centering at Mt. 

 Tabor, Mt. Olive and Chadbourn, did not begin to develop 

 until about 1890. It had been noticed for some years that 

 there was a break between the Charleston and Norfolk 

 berries, when the market was but scantily supplied. The 

 North Carolina district was developed to fill this gap ; but, 

 in doing this, it crowded Charleston berries off the market. 



No strawberry district, with the exception of the 

 Delaware-Maryland peninsula, had a more remarkable 

 growth during its early years. In 1897 Chadbourn shipped 

 632 quart crates ; in 1898, 6000 crates ; in 1906, 317,000 

 crates, or 1623 cars. It was reported that 226 cars moved 

 from the district on May 5, 1906, and more than 3000 cars 

 that year, all in a rushing season of three weeks, two weeks 

 shorter than the normal. 1 Over 10,000 people took part 

 in that great harvest. The North Carolina district led 

 the world in strawberry production that year. This was 

 the crest of the wave. The business had grown faster than 

 the railroads and refrigerator car service could keep pace. 

 Thousands of bushels were left to rot in the fields or at 

 the depots, because there were no cars. In most cases 

 the railroads paid damages, but this was not sufficient to 

 cover the loss to the growers. Another discouraging 

 factor was the difficulty of securing enough pickers to har- 

 1 Wilmington Messenger, May 6, 1906. 



