The Canadian Horticulturist. 4 x 7 



PARKER EARLE ON THE STRAWBERRY. 



aa/ E grow our berries in matted rows and cultivate them 

 well. We have always had strong, thrifty plants, and get 

 a good yield of berries except when they are destroyed 

 by insects. Our berry farm is in Southern Illinois. We 

 pick our berries every day in the berry season ; there is 

 no other way to do it. You can't pick a strawberry that 

 is two days old and send it to market. It must be 

 ^fVv ^^^/^ picked when it is exactly at the right stage for picking, 

 and if you take care to do that you can ship them 1,000 miles, if you want to. 

 The condition to which I refer is that which the berry has reached when it just 

 begins to color. It is largely a question of variety, as some varieties will continue 

 to change color and ripen after they are picked, while others will not. Of 

 course, the ones for shipping purposes are the ones that will thus continue to 

 change. We ship entirely in quart packages, using the Illinois form, and not 

 the Michigan form of box, and these are packed in 24-quart crates. We ship in 

 refrigerator cars, and try to maintain a temperature of about 50 degrees. We 

 pack the crates very carefully in the car in such a manner that there will be 

 perfect circulation of air. Each crate is by itself and does not touch the next 

 crate beside it. If the berries have been well handled, you can pack them in a 

 car as you want to. I have shipped more Crescents than of all other varieties 

 together, though they are hard berries to ship. I market many of my berries in 

 Detroit. That is 600 miles from the place where they are grown. Some of 

 them are sent beyond that city, and even get as far as Montreal and Cleveland. 

 They arrive in those cities in good condition. They are sent by express for 24 

 hours after leaving the cars at Detroit, and when arriving at their destination 

 they are yet in good condition. Strawberries are something that you can trans 

 port for three or four days if you carry them right. 



Q. — Does it make any difference whether or not the berry is on its stem 

 when it is packed for shipping ? A. — Those that are shipped are always on the 

 stem. A berry that is off its stem is ruined for marketing purposes, and is 

 ready to be eaten. 



Q. — How many crops do you pick from one bed? A. — Usually two. 

 Sometimes we have picked more, but on the whole it does not pay. I have 

 sometimes thought that it did not pay to pick the second crop, but I guess it 

 does. — The Farmer's Review. 



"Tommy, who was Joan of Arc?" asked the teacher. "Noah's wife,' 

 said Tommy, who is great at guessing. — Harper's Bazar. 



Friend : " Well, Tommy, now that you've started to school, what do you 

 like best?" Tommy : " Recess." — Chicago Inter -Ocean. 



