46 THE CONXECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



bruised berries. If for a local market the berries can be al- 

 lowed to hang on longer, and while the picking should be 

 done as carefully, the same problem will not have to be en- 

 countered as when picking for distant markets. All fancy 

 berries should be packed in trays or shallow crates, so that 

 the fruit will not be crushed or bruised, and the quicker it 

 can be put on the market the better for all parties. It is 

 quite necessary that growers should pack their choice fruit 

 in smaller packages, so that it will be easier for householders 

 to buy a small unbroken package. Consumers now ver}- 

 often have to buy three or four boxes of berries in order to 

 get one good one, and consumption would be vastly increased 

 did we but supple people with the very best quality, well 

 packed in small packages. The hill system offers many ad- 

 vantages over matted rows, and briefly stated they are these : 



Less and cheaper labor. 



Longer life to the bed. 



Larger and better fruit. 



Easier to pick and handle. 



Matted rows will, of course, produce splendid fruits, par- 

 ticularly so when much time is devoted to the beds. Setting 

 runners, pulling weeds and cultivating has to be carefully 

 attended to. Should I have a second choice from the -hills, I 

 would prefer the narrow hedge row. Strawberries are now 

 used a great deal in developing young orchards, and when 

 used in this way are particularly useful, and return some 

 mone}- while the young trees are growing. 



It is very necessary that strawberry growers should 

 have a few hives of bees near the beds in order to insure 

 perfect pollenization. Set two rows of imperfect varieties to 

 four rows of perfect. 



llie bush fruits — currants and gooseberries — are splen- 

 didly adapted to planting in young orchards, and as our peo- 

 ple develop a greater appetite for these two fruits the greater 

 will be the demand for them and a new source of income for 

 our growers. Both these fruits need a cool deep rich soil. 



