1891.] ESSAYS. fi5 



In the fixmily plot, if the small boy will not, the women gener- 

 ally have to i)ick the berries. For, market, good girls and women 

 make the best pickers. Boys are a nuisance usually. Not more 

 than a dozen pickers can be managed by one superintendent. I 

 pick early in the morning for local markets. For shipment it is 

 better to pick towards night. The fruit picked when dry in the 

 afternoon will keep 48 hours longer than that picked when wet 

 with dew. Berries should be packed honestly in new white 

 liaskets. Don't pack a basket of berries you would not be satis- 

 tied to buy yourself or give to your best girl. 



The Crescent Seedling is, perhaps, the best known variety. 

 The Haviland sells well and is profitable. The Bubach is 

 another profitable berry. The Crescent lacks fertilizing proper- 

 ties, and other varieties, such as the Ironclad, have been planted 

 with them to furnish pollen. The Warfield is another pistillate 

 that is a good general purpose berry. The Charles Downing 

 and Winner's Prolific are both excellent berries. Sharpless suc- 

 ceeds well, but is not very profital)le. 



It is impossible to predict the success of a berry in any local- 

 ity. You must try the varieties for yourself. 



F. J. Kinney, A. J. Marble, and Henry Reed, of Brook- 

 field, asked the speaker questions on the variety and culture of 

 strawberries. 



R. A. Abbott said that he had had trouble with the Haviland. 



James Draper asked if the speaker did not think that pistillate 

 varieties were affected by the kind of berry from which the 

 fertilizing pollen comes. 



Mr. Hale did think so. 



Herbert Cook, of Shrewsbury, who was called upon, thought 

 occasionally over-production l)y reducing the price and temjxting 

 non-consumers to become consumers increased the demand for 

 fruit ultimately. He favored sulphate of potash instead of the 

 muriate. He did not believe that the second year of cultivating 

 strawberries would pay. 



Mr. Kinney said he managed to get a good crop of grass 

 besides the crop of strawberries during the second year. 



