224 FRUIT-GROWING 



No strawberry picker should ever permit his 

 fingers to come in contact with the fruit with 

 which he is working. He (more often she) 

 should grasp the stem of the berry and snap 

 it off not more than an inch from the fruit. 

 Handled in this way the berries remain un- 

 broken and reach the market in clean fine 

 condition and bring the grower the highest 

 price. Further, an experienced picker will 

 pick just as many by this method as by the old 

 rough-shod method that we see too often prac- 

 tised. 



I hesitate to say anything about strawberry 

 varieties as these pages will be read in many 

 states and what is good in Michigan may be 

 worthless in Maryland. If you will gather a 

 collection of recommended strawberry lists 

 from several experiment stations you will see 

 a wide variation among the names that head the 

 list. There are a few sorts like the Aroma, 

 Dunlap, Pokomoke, Gandy and Haverland that 

 seem to have a wide range of adaptability to 

 both soil and climate. In the South the Klon- 

 dyke is the berry par excellence, while in the 

 North it is not well thought of. In planting any 

 fruit it is wise to learn what your neighbors 

 have used but this is of even greater impor- 

 tance with strawberries. If you are a pioneer 

 in the business you may as well take a chance 

 with one sort as another always remembering 



