30 Bush-Fruits 



by each picker are essential, with a business of any consid- 

 erable extent. Several methods are in use. Perhaps the 

 simplest is the use of printed tickets bearing numbers. 

 These are given to the picker as the berries are brought in. 

 These can be surrendered when the day's picking is over 

 and the total number credited to the picker's account. 

 These are more convenient for the grower than for the 

 pickers, since many of them will have no convenient place 

 to carry the tickets while at work, and some will be lost. 

 This loss falls on the picker, since the grower can only 

 redeem the tickets which are returned. 



A method which avoids this difficulty is to use tags on 

 which are printed numbers of various denominations. 

 The picker's name is written on one of these cards, which 

 is fastened to the clothing at some convenient place. 

 When fruit is brought in the card is punched to indicate 

 the number of quarts, the total number being credited at 

 the end of the day, as- before. The cards may be kept by 

 the pickers as vouchers of their own, if they wish to do so. 



Clean picking is an essential part of the work, but dif- 

 ficult to secure. There must be a careful assignment to 

 rows and the pickers must be held rigidly to the rows given 

 them. Even then the temptation to take the finest and 

 most easily picked fruit from the adjoining row, when 

 opportunity offers, may cause trouble. With a number of 

 pickers at work, a careful foreman must be almost con- 

 stantly in the field, to go over the work frequently and 

 see that it is well done. 



A simple method of holding the baskets to permit the 

 use of both hands in picking is in common use in the berry- 

 fields of New York state. A string or small rope, or better 



