CHAPTER III 



HISTORY OF STRAWBERRY PACKAGES, 



METHODS OF TRAINING, AND 



POLLINATION 



THE packages used for shipping strawberries to market 

 have changed with the generations to meet new condi- 

 tions as they have arisen. The evolution of the modern, 

 cheap, gift package from the clumsy and expensive 

 return package of earlier days has reflected the rapid 

 development of the industry. 



EARLY PACKAGES 



At the beginning of commercial strawberry culture 

 in North America, about 1820, it was natural that the 

 packages should be those approved by English gardeners. 

 In 1821 Massachusetts strawberry growers were advised 

 to carry berries to the Boston markets in "pottles, that 

 is, in inverted cones of basket w r ork." 1 The pottle used 

 in England and Scotland at that time contained "nomi- 

 nally, one Scotch pint. These are packed one above 

 another in square hampers and are conveyed to the 

 market on a light carriage or frame work hung on springs. 

 Near London it is customary to pack fifty or sixty of 

 these pottle baskets in a large basket, which is then 

 Memoirs Mass. Agr. Soc., VI (1821). 

 76 



