STRAWBERRIES ON THE RAIL. 153 



and I acted as agent for the club in making that arrangement, 

 I will say something about it. I have no doubt tliat gentlemen 

 on the lines of all the railroads could make a similar arrange- 

 ment for the transportation of their products to the large 

 cities. 



Concord, by railroad, is twenty miles from Boston, and from 

 sixteen to eighteen miles by the travelled road. The difficulty 

 we found in raising considerable quantities of fruits and vege- 

 tables for Boston market was the expense of getting them there. 

 In the first place, we found it necessary, being that distance 

 from market, to raise some product that was light freight. You 

 will find, therefore, that we raise at Concord, strawberries and 

 other small fruits largely, asparagus more largely than any 

 other town in the State, and other articles of light freight. 

 Until this year, everything of the small fruit kind had to go to 

 market on wagons, and the result was, that it became necessary 

 for us to pick the strawberries and send them to market at night, 

 because the morning market is the large one. I thought we 

 could make some arrangement with the railroad by which we 

 could do better than that. I went to the superintendent and 

 president of the Fitchburg Railroad, and told them that the 

 Farmers' Club desired to effect some arrangement whereby we 

 could get our strawberries, which were put up in crates mostly, 

 holding about a bushel, and our asparagus, which was put up 

 in boxes, perhaps fifty bunches to a box, to market at a reason- 

 able rate. I asked them if they would carry them in the cars, 

 and they said they would. The next thing was the terms. 

 They wanted forty cents a crate for the strawberries and forty 

 cents a box for the asparagus. I told them we could carry 

 them cheaper than that by wagons : that was entirely out of 

 reason. They wanted to know what price would be a fair pric3. 

 I told them about twenty-five cents. They agreed to that, and 

 then I said to them, " I haven't got through with you yet. I 

 want you to carry those strawberries on every passenger tyain 

 during the day." They said they could not do any such thing 

 as that, it would cumber up every passenger train. Then I 

 argued the matter with them in this way : " Two crates of 

 strawberries are fifty cents. That represents a passenger. 

 Those two crates do not take up so much room as a passenger, 

 and you do not give half the accommodation. Now, I want 



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