28 



put through the separator, and the early shipments are often 

 handled to a considerable extent in this way. Most of the 

 berries, however, have to be screened by hand after they have 

 been run through the separator. Women are employed to do 

 this work, and there is a variety of makes of screens for this 

 purpose. "Screeners" are usually paid 12| cents an hour for 

 their work. 



It is best not to screen or pack fruit on wet days, for the 

 berries are likely to absorb moisture on such days, and if they 

 are packed moist they are far more likely to rot in transporta- 

 tion. Most of the berries are packed in barrels of standard 

 dimensions which are guaranteed by law to contain a certain 

 amount of fruit by weight. These barrels should contain ap- 

 proximately 85 quarts each. Bushel crates are often used 

 satisfactorily in making small shipments. If barrels are used 

 they must be shaken and well pressed down in the process of 

 heading so that they may not be found in the market to be 

 "loose packed." "Loose packed" barrels are shunned by the 

 trade, both because of their lack of a full quantity of fruit and 

 because the thrashing around of the fruit in a loose pack 

 seriously impairs its keeping quality. 



Marketing. 

 According to conditions, the opening price of cranberries in the 

 fall ranges from $4.50 to $5.50 a barrel. About 60 per cent, of 

 the Cape crop is sold through a co-operative selling agency 

 known as the New England Cranberry Sales Company, with its 

 office at Middleboro, jNIassachusetts. Other sales companies in 

 Wisconsin and New Jersey, affiliated with the New England 

 company, handle the greater part of the berries grown in those 

 sections. This selling agency is now well organized and man- 

 aged, and it helps the trade tremendously by keeping track of 

 the cranberry situation and markets in different parts of the 

 United States and Canada and distributing the berries as they 

 are needed, thus preventing gluts in the market as far as 

 possible. It maintains a corps of inspectors, and the berries 

 handled by it are packed uniformly, under different brands, 

 according to their varieties and qualities, a stability in the 

 selling arrangements being thus maintained all the way through. 



