PRODUCTION. . 41 



tivating $15 to $25 per acre, with an additional expense 

 of one cent per basket, or $1 50 per bushel for picking. 

 It will thus be seen that in order to supply New 

 York and vicinity with strawberries, about 1,500 acres 

 of the choicest land in the vicinity is at present re- 

 quired, and the other cities named about 500 acres 

 each in proportion; which is at least four times as 

 much land as is either appropriate or necessary for the 

 object, if the nature and cultivation of the strawberry 

 was only as well understood as the raising of corn. 

 A crop of 30 bushels of strawberries to the acre, is 

 only about equal in proportion to a corn crop of 10 

 bushels on the same ground. We seldom see a large 

 strawberry plantation which after the first year has not 

 many more plants on the ground than can get light and 

 air sufficient to fruit well. The consequence is, that 

 our city markets are mainly supplied with inferior fruit, 

 simply because some of the commonest kinds will pro- 

 duce a little, dwarfed, sour fruit, even under the worst 

 treatment. Superior well-grown fruit will easily pro- 

 duce twice and four times as much to the acre, and 

 command from twice to four times larger prices in 

 our city markets. Making the avails and the dif- 

 ference from the same land, to be 25 bushels at 12 

 cents per quart, or at least 125 bushels at 25 cents per 

 quart, or $1,000 or $100 per acre. In one instance the 

 net profits exceed $800, and in the others very little, if 



