A B C OF STR VWBERRY CULTURE 163 



been stationed in front of our factory, where the berries are 

 stored on the north side of our fruit-house, right out upon the 

 walk. To save myself steps, half a'dozen small boys are across 

 the street in the plant-gardens, weeding, picking peas, clean- 

 ing the walks, or doing something to keep themselves busy un- 

 til I need them. If a message comes from t 1 -:e wagon, half a 

 dozen of them can pick peas, go to the berry-patch and help 

 the berry-pickers, or bring in berries on the Daisy wheelbar- 

 rows. Monday we picked 10>^ bushels; yesterday (Tuesday) 

 we picked 9>^ . A heavy rain broke in upon us in the afternoon. 

 This morning the wagon started out with an unusually heavy 

 load ; but by nine o'clock they had sold out. In the meantime 

 I had done a lively business on the sidewalk, selling by the 

 bushel where I had a chance. The price had been running from 

 5 to 7 cts., till one of the boys brought in a basket of Parker 

 Barles. These went off so quickly at 8 cts., that, when anoth- 

 er boy came in with some very choice Edgar Queens, I put the 

 price at 10 cts., and they sold without a bit of trouble. Both 

 of the two above varieties are wonderful acquisitions. The 

 Beder Wood, spoken of in our last issue, have ripened up better 

 than I supposed they could ripen ; but the vines were so over- 

 loaded that the largest part of them are necessarily small. 

 While speaking of varieties, I wish to say a good word for War- 

 field No. 2. It is not a large berry, but it is of the deepest red 

 of any berry that comes in market ; and with this bright at- 

 tractive color comes the most fascinating and dainty tart flavor, 

 and that makes them my favorite berry. It is also quite firm ; 

 and when the weather is so wet that the others are in danger cf 

 mashing down in a heap, the Warfield is firm and solid. Tr- 

 Haverlands, on very rich soil, and with a superabundance < f 

 rain, are rather too soft to be handled. In fact, the Havtrland 

 and Bubach both, many of them, taste watery, and they some- 

 times begin to spoil before they are fully ripe. The matter may 

 be remedied somewhat by planting them in single hills instead 

 of matted rows ; and this gives still larger berries ; but it is 

 quite expensive to mulch where plants are, say, a foot apart. 

 In the matted row, very little mulching keeps all the berrit s 

 out of the dirt. We have lost bushels and bushels of beautiful 

 berries this season because the excessive wetness and lack of 

 mulching made them too muddy to bring even half price. I 

 should not forget to add, that, when all other resources failed 

 to get rid of a great quantity of berries, the cook in our lunch- 

 room has disposed of many bushels by making them into straw- 

 berry jam. 



