304 SUCCESS WITH SMALL FRUITS. 



spoiled by careless picking. The work is often performed 

 by children, or by those who have had no experience, or 

 who, from inherent shiftlessness, do everything in the worst 

 possible way. I have seen beautiful berries that in their brief 

 transit through grimy hands lost half their value. Many 

 pickers will lay hold of the soft berry itself and pinch it 

 as they pull it off; then, instead of dropping it into the bas- 

 ket, they will hold it in the hand as they pick others, and as 

 the hand grows fuller, will squeeze them tighter, and when, 

 at last, the half-crushed handful is dropped into the basket, 

 the berries are almost mined for market purposes. Not for 

 $io per day would I permit such a person to pick for me, 

 for he not only takes fifty per cent from the price of the 

 fruit, but gives my brand a bad reputation. If possible, the 

 grower should carefully select his pickers, and have them 

 subscribe to a few plain rules, like the following : — 



1. Each berry must be picked with the thumb and fore-finger 

 nails, and not held in the hand, but dropped into the basket at 

 once. 



2. No green, decayed, or muddy berries will be received. 



3. There must be no getting down upon all fours in the beds, 

 thus crushing both green and ripe fruit. 



4. There must be no "topping off" with large berries, but 

 the fruit must be equally good all through the basket. 



In the early pickings of Wilsons, when many of the ber- 

 ries are of good size, and of all the large, choice kinds, it 

 is best to make two grades, putting the large and small by 

 themselves, and keeping varieties separate. A small frame, 

 with short legs at the comers, and a handle, is a convenient 

 appliance to hold six or more baskets while picking. Give 

 to each picker two sets of baskets, one for the small and 

 one for the large berries, and pay equally for both, or per- 

 haps a little more for the small ones, so that there may be no 



