Harvesting 73 



When a plantation is to be discontinued, it is sometimes 

 advisable to go through and pull out all young shoots the 

 last summer so that the energy of the plant may be di- 

 rected to fruit-bearing. This is said to hasten ripening 

 slightly and carry the fruit through in somewhat better 

 condition, especially in dry seasons. 



HARVESTING 



Gathering the fruit is the most troublesome part of 

 berry-growing. The availability of pickers is the first 

 point to be considered in starting the business. Details 

 as to methods of picking need not be repeated here as the 

 same methods apply as with red raspberries and other 

 small fruits. 



When grown for evaporating purposes it can be done 

 by "batting" the fruit into a berry harvester. This 

 method makes it possible for any farmer to take up this 

 industry, no matter how remote he may be from towns 

 or railways. In fact it makes the growing of raspberries 

 for evaporating one of the best lines of fruit-growing for 

 such locations, since it is a line in which the cost of delivery 

 is almost entirely eliminated. The man with a ton of 

 dried raspberries to market can afford to take them ten 

 or fifteen miles to ship if need be. He will still have a 

 very small percentage charge against the value of the prod- 

 uce. With a ton of potatoes or hay the percentage is 

 far different. It is in locations where pickers cannot be 

 readily obtained that the chief value of this method of 

 harvesting lies. The final cost of preparing the fruit for 

 market is not materially different whether picked by hand 



