24 



cents a barrel. With very heavy crops, berries have occasion- 

 ally been scooped for as little as 9 cents a barrel. They can 

 hardly, however, be gathered at so little expense, even under 

 the most favorable conditions, without great waste, too large 

 a percentage of the fruit being left on the bog under the vines 

 when the scoopers are rushed, especially w^hen the crop is 

 heavy. There is a general tendency among the growers to 

 hasten their pickers, with the idea of harvesting at as small an 

 expense as possible. This tendency, however, is to be deplored, 

 for the old saying that "haste makes waste" has no more 

 appropriate application than in this matter of picking cran- 

 berries with scoops. The scoopers should be made to work 

 rather slowly, especially if the crop is heav3^ To have the men 

 work steadily, without haste, and scoop with as little waste as 

 possible, without picking up by hand any of the berries that 

 fall to the ground, is probably a good rule to follow. On large 

 bogs, if help is scarce, it is, however, probably best to harvest 

 the crop as rapidly as possible so as to save it from frost 

 damage, even though the waste is great. Prevailing prices 

 also have a bearing on the comparative wisdom of slow and 

 rapid scooping; $3.50 a barrel net would justify rapid scooping 

 in any case, but $4 or more net makes slow, careful work desir- 

 able. The berries that fall to the bottom and are left on the 

 bog should not be gathered by hand, for they will not sell for 

 enough to pay the expense of handling. They are always in 

 poor condition, having been tramped over more or less, and 

 are certain to decay badly if gathered. Such berries are some- 

 times gathered from the water when they float up on the after- 

 picking reflow. Only a small portion of what is left on the bog 

 will, however, float up in this way, and if they are gathered, 

 it is almost an endless job to get them dry and keep them so. 

 In general, therefore, it is probably best not to bother with 

 such berries at all. 



Women and children help freely in hand picking, but only 

 men should be engaged for the heav}^ work of scooping. It is 

 probably best to pay the scoopers by the hour, without at- 

 tempting to hasten their work by means of bonuses for extra 

 quantities picked. The usual wage for scoopers is 35 cents an 



