THE STRAWBERRY APRIL 1906 



been grown upon it, unless the old plants 

 were in perfectly healthy condition. 

 Even then see that the bed is burned o\er 

 before being turned under. 



Now don't Don't, but do Do, and 

 everything will come out all right! 



Managing the Berry Pickers 



ON E of our commercial strawberry 

 growers writes to ask for some 

 suggestions relative to the man- 

 agement of the berry pickers. This is 

 one of the very important things in the 

 successful management of the berry farm. 

 Your pickers may "make or break you," 

 and in no other time of your work is a 

 thorough system more essential. 



Women who are careful make the best 

 of pickers. The first thing to do is to 

 have a complete understanding as to 

 what you expect of your pickers and 

 what they rightfidly may expect of you, 

 it must be understood from the first that 

 picking berries is work that requires judg- 

 ment as well as skill, and that strict at- 

 tention to business is to be insisted upon 

 at all times. The name of each picker 

 should be enrolled and each be given a 

 number so that the errors or poor work 

 of an individual may be promptly discov- 

 ered. 



One point of prime importance is the 

 selection of a foreman, and no foreman 

 should be asked to superintend the work 

 of morj than twenty-five pickers, and he 

 should have authority to hire and dis- 

 charge if his position is to command the 

 respect necessary to maintain discipline. 

 Each picker should have a ticket bearing 

 his name, and the foreman should carry a 

 punch and keep accurate tally of the ber- 

 ries picked each day by every picker 

 under him. Before accepting them, the 

 foreman should examine the berries 

 turned over to him by the picker; then, if 

 the)' pass inspection, the ticket should be 

 punched and the box marked with the 

 picker's number and sent to the packing 

 house. In order that the foreman may 

 be free to oversee, one man should be 

 employed to every twenty-five pickers to 

 carry the berries to the packing house. 



This system of careful ins lection in 

 the field saves an incalculable amount of 

 time at the packing house, and it is one 

 of the strong points about a good fore- 

 man that he knows just when berries 

 properly are graded and packed. It also 

 serves to fix the blame for carelessness or 

 slovenliness right at the time, and a cour- 

 teous, gentlemanly foreman will be able 

 to show the careless picker what must be 

 done in order to bring the work up to 

 grade; or, if the picker persist in doing in- 

 different work, he may be made to suffer 

 the consequences. And no man should 

 be employed as foreman who is not at 

 once a gentleman and a rigid dis- 

 ciplinarian. 



Consideration of the rights of the pick- 



ers must be shown at ;ill times; the mat- 

 ter of hours for beginning work and for 

 quitting work must be scrupulously ob- 

 served by both sides, and should be an- 

 nounced in some way — by bell or horn — 

 so that they shall be uniform the field 

 over. No employer ever lost anything 

 by being thoughtful of the welfare of his 

 "hired help." It has been the making 

 of many a man's fortune that he did so, 

 say nothing of the personal satisfaction 

 that kindness and generosity always yields 

 to those who practice them. 



'DEFORE the recent meeting of the 

 ■^ Minnesota State Horticultural Soci- 

 ety Walter Yahnke offered the following 

 advice on the planting and spring care of 

 strawberries: "Great care should be ex- 

 ercised in setting out strawberry beds. If 

 plants are set too deep, crowns will rot or 

 make feeble growth, and if too high the 

 upper roots will be exposed and die. 

 Secure plants from a bed that is in a 



healthy, thrifty condition, and cut off all 

 old runners and unnecessary leaves. 

 The fine roots must not be exposed to 

 the wind — the best protection is to dip 

 the roots in mud. Put the plants in 

 baskets or boxes to take them to the field. 

 A line is best to set plants by, as it leaves 

 them level with the ground; plants set af- 

 ter a corn-marker are likely to be washed 

 under during a heavy rain. Distance 

 apart depends upon the kind and fertility 

 of soil. Pick off all blossoms the first 

 year, that the strength of the plant may 

 go to development. Cultivate as soon as 

 planting is done with fine-tooth cultivator, 

 working twice a week during May and 

 June, which kills the weeds and makes 

 plants grow rapidly; pulverizing the soil 

 helps to retain moisture. Hoeing is nec- 

 essary around the plants to keep down 

 weeds." 



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 adapted to fruit, truck, and (general farnilnf;. Spec- 

 ially yood soil and readv markets for Strawherries. Large 

 or small farms. Address, 1906 COLON Y CO., 



Box .5, Folkstitn, Ga. 



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