17 



PICKING AND PACKING. 



There could be volumes written on this one question of picking, but I 

 will touch it lightly. Have everything ready before time to commence 

 picking. Don't think of hauling your berries in a waggon without springs. 

 Use no dirty packages to ship in. Have your crates and trays, or carriers, 

 ready. Make those during the winter while you are resting. Don't allow 

 more than four boxes to be taken out in a tray, as it keeps berries exposed 

 too long to the hot sun. Try to grade berries in the field, if they need 

 grading. Every time you touch a berry you damage it. Fill boxes well 

 when packing in crates. Pick every day that is fit after the season is fairly 

 started; if you wait one day and it rains the next, you may not get your 

 field cleaned up well again during the season, and will always have more or 

 less soft berries. 



Finally, in reference to strawberry-growing, as there is considerable 

 labour and expense attached to the work, it should be the aim of the grower 

 to produce heavy crops from a limited area. If more attention at the first 

 were given to properly preparing the land before planting, more care bestowed 

 in the cultivation of healthy, virorous plants, free from disease, and a liberal 

 supply of fertilisers afterwards used, more varieties and better strawberries 

 could be grown, much heavier crops produced, the season prolonged, and the 

 demand increased. 



Like most other fruit, the varieties that' have been sent out from time 

 to time are legion; still, those suited for profiable culture are limited in 

 number. 



The following information is- supplied by Mr. A. E. Gale and Mr. Thos. 

 A. Brydon, growers in Victoria District : 



" The first thing one requires to get fixed in his mind is that the less 

 the berries are handled the better for them; they should be nipped (not 

 pulled) with the thumb or finger nail, leaving about half an inch of the stem 

 on the berry. Do not hold the berries in the hand until it is full, but put 

 each berry in the box as soon as it is picked, for the heat of the hand quickly 

 spoils its freshness and makes the berries soft. In order that the fruit may 

 reach the market in the best condition, it should be taken in out of the hot 

 sun as soon as possible and placed in a cellar or other cool place for a few 

 hours before being shipped. Fruit that is thoroughly cooled will hold up 

 at least two days longer. Never pick whilst the berries are wet with dew or 

 rain. 



" The great demand that has sprung up during the last few years for 

 shipping berries, and the increased acreage that has been planted, renders it 

 imperative that every grower should pick as much as possible for shipping; 

 it is absolutely necessary to do so to avoid a glut on the local market. For 

 shiping to the North-West the berries must be picked as soon as they show 

 light red on one side; if they show colour all over they are too ripe for 

 shipping, and must be sold on the local market, regardless of price. 



" The boxes are regulated by a Dominion Government law in two sizes, 

 viz., 4-5ths of quart and 2-5ths of quart, the former being 2 inches deep and 

 r>i/4 inches square, and holds about 1 It). 2 oz., the fruit being sold by measure, 

 not by weight. The crate holds 24 boxes of the larger size, and can be pur- 



