248 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. 



after the other two methods, are most productive the sec- 

 ond season, but remain remunerative two seasons more. 

 After the fourth year, the land should be used for some 

 other crop. New beds should be set out every year to 

 replace those going out of use. Top-dressings of ashes, 

 bone meal and muck, or some other fine compost, the 

 best ingredients of which are susceptible of being 

 leached out and carried into the soil by rains, should bo 

 made prior to putting on the rnulch. These should be 

 applied each successive season. 



PICKING AND MARKETING. 



The season for ripening, or for shipping varies more 

 than with any other crop of the truck-farmer. A period 

 of freezing late in the season will destroy any expanded 

 blossoms, or young fruit already formed, and retard the 

 first picking. If there be no black or heavy hoar frost 

 with a low degree of temperature in January or later, 

 the crop will come in early in March. If the roots could 

 be kept moist by irrigation the fruiting season might be 

 considerably prolonged. 



Strawberries as far south as Charleston and Savannah 

 should not be fully ripe when picked for shipment. They 

 should not be pulled from the vines and bruised, but the 

 stems should be pinched oif, leaving a part attached to 

 each berry. The least handling, and that little, carefully 

 done, will tend to insure good quality and satisfactory 

 prices. The picking must be done directly into the 

 quart baskets in which the berries are to be shipped. 

 The stems and " hulls " (the calyxes), will admit air be- 

 tween the berries and prevent bruising. These baskets 

 are packed in separate tiers, in well-ventilated, locked 

 crates, each holding thirty-two baskets. 



It is thought that when the buyer sees fine berries in 

 the top layer he infers there is a good quality throughout 

 the crate, for which reason the best baskets are fre- 



