IMPROVING SMALL FRUITS 41 



nuts during the past twenty years has been par- 

 ticularly remarkable, and they are in fact coming 

 to be regarded as food staples, as they certainly 

 should be. 



As an illustration, take the case of the straw- 

 berry. This was the first small fruit commer- 

 cially grown in the United States to any great 

 extent. Early in the nineteenth century a few 

 were raised in New Jersey for the market in New 

 York City. Those who first engaged in this en- 

 terprise soon found that, to keep up with the in- 

 creasing demand, it was necessary to go into the 

 business on a much larger scale, and raising 

 strawberries by the acre for the market became 

 an industry. 



At the time it was prophesied that there would 

 be an overproduction of strawberries, and that 

 they could not be sold. But now whole train- 

 loads of strawberries and other berries are 

 brought into New York City daily during the 

 season. 



Probably a carload of strawberries is con- 

 sumed to-day in the United States to every cul- 

 tivated strawberry that was eaten one hundred 

 years ago. 



The consumption of the tree fruits, grapes, 

 and other small fruits has increased in a some- 

 what similar proportion. 



