THE STRAWBERRY APRIL 1906 



PACKING STRAWBERRIES READY FOR SHIPMENT 



Note that the team drives into the packing house. The wagon is loaded, only waiting for 

 the last few crates to start with the last load for the day. This is a very econotnical plan 



glossy appearance they always have when 

 the strawberries are picked perfectly dry. 



Another serious objection to picking 

 before the dew is gone is that the pickers 

 get so wet that it often results in illness, 

 or they will get tired and quit, leaving the 

 proprietor with his crop of berries to spoil 

 on the vines. Of course, there are wet 

 seasons when it is absolutely necessary to 

 pick the berries wet. In seasons of this 

 kind it is rather difficult to get big prices, 

 because the fruit must be rushed to the 

 consumer at the earliest possible moment. 



We warn the berry grower to pick no 

 fruit of any kind when it is the leaist bit 

 damp from any cause. But when condi- 

 tions will not permit of doing things the 

 right way, then do the next best thing. 

 Like the father who advised his son to 

 never cheat, but, rather than to be 

 cheated, to cheat a little, we say, never 

 give your customers berries that were 

 picked wet, but rather than let your ber- 

 ries rot, pick them wet. 



T~*HERE is no question but it pays to 

 * pack berries before placing them on 

 the market. If the berries have been 

 graded in the field by the pickers, put- 

 ting the fancy fruit in quart boxes sepa- 

 rate from the second grade, the packing 

 process is an easy job. All that is neces- 

 sary is to place the top layer attractively 

 If the berries are round in form, they 

 should be placed with stem-ends down 

 which will show only the top ends of the 

 fruit, but if the berries are long, like 

 Haverland, Lovett or Parker Earle, they 

 will present a much better appearance 

 laid on their sides, putting the glossiest 



side up. This method not only shows 

 the berry to best advantage, but also 

 enough of the green calyx, which adds 

 to their beauty. 



Small berries look most attractive 

 when top berries are placed in rows with 

 stems down. 



Several spays of lea\'es placed on top 

 of each crate after the quarts have been 

 placed in it gives the packing a finished 

 appearance. 



When packing, do not press the ber- 

 ries. Simply lay them in place, and they 

 should be handled carefully so as not to 

 bruise them. 



IT is an easy thing to get m the wrong 

 way of doing things and there are 

 some don'ts which are well worthy to be 

 considered at this time. Here are ten 

 commandments we all may with profit 

 paste in our hats for occasional reference: 



Don't set out your plants until your 

 soil is made perfectly fine, and if ma- 

 nured see to it that the manure is thor- 

 oughly incorporated with the soil. 



Don't stick the tips of the roots in the 

 ground, leaving the crown and part of the 

 roots exposed. 



Don't set your plants on a ridge; if you 

 do the soil will settle away from the 

 roots. 



Don't set plants in furrows; for then 

 the dirt will wash down and smother the 

 heart leaves. 



Don't stick your plants down between 

 clods or in clumps of manure. 



Don't work a minute in your patch 

 when the ground is wet enough to pack. 



Don't al'ow weeds and grass to take 



Page 76 



the land given over to the strawberry 

 bed. 



Don't let your plants crowd each other. 



Don't throw dirt up against the plants 

 when cultivating. 



Don't cultivate the plants in a half- 

 hearted way. Scientists tell us plants 

 have sense and know when they are well 

 treated. Don't go deep or close enough 

 to the plants to cut the roots. 



^ ^. 



T^HAT the position of The Strawberry 

 ■^ in the matter of advertising only 

 those lines of business that stand for up- 

 lift and benefit, and permitting no man 

 with a scheme to work or an axe to grind 

 not harmonious to the public welfare to 

 invade its advertising columns, is appreci- 

 ated, we have many substantial evidences. 

 We take pleasure in quoting from a let- 

 ter received from A. M. Grecian, of Flat- 

 rocK, Ind., in which he says: "I feel 

 sure that The Strawberry will be a good 

 advertising medium, and I admire the 

 honest, straight-forward course you are 

 pursuing. Too many business concerns 

 are run simply for the 'almighty dollar,' 

 but I am glad it is possible to do an hon- 

 orable and pleasant business at a fair 

 profit and at the same time be a benefit 

 to mankind in general. I especially ad- 

 mire your method of shutting out all un- 



Tufts' Sectional Crate 



Neat in Appearance 



Well Ventilated 



Quarts can be Well Filled, Yet 



No Mashed Fruit 



Displays fruit to best advantage. Especially 



adapted to the local market. Investigate. 



Catalogue Free 



Elmer G. Tufts, Aurora, Indiana 



Fruit Paciiages of all Kinds 



Before ordering your supplies 

 write for our 

 Descriptive Catalogue 

 and Price List. 



BERLIN FRUIT BOX CO., 

 Erie Co. Berlin Heights, Ohio. 



Webster Basket Co., 



Miuiufai'tnivrs of tho 



BEST WIRE-SEWED BERRY 



BASKET ON THE MARKET 



Get our Catalogim and Price 



beforo ordt-rini; dsmvlicre 



WEBSTER BASKET CO., 

 Box 4 0. WE BSTE R, Monroe Co., N. Y. 



Berry- 



Quarts, $3 per 1,000 



IRnQK ffC Hall. M-k's flips, niillo.'k'sBoxes, 

 U a O I\V I O , .|..,,es , Etc . , in stock . 

 Stiiil fin- JAfit. AV. I>. S€»i>er, Jaokson, Midi. 



