THE BERRY-HARVESTER 75 



or lifted up if too low down and in the way. In the 

 other hand is a bat, resembling a lawn -tennis racket, 

 with which he knocks off the ripe berries. This bat 

 is merely a canvas -covered loop of heavy wire fastened 

 in a convenient handle. In place of this, some use 

 a wooden paddle, at the risk of bruising the fruit 

 unnecessarily. In gathering by this method, the ber- 

 ries are allowed to become very ripe, and the plan- 

 tation is gone over but two or three times in a season. 

 Many dry leaves, some stems and a few green berries 

 are knocked off with the fruit, but the leaves are no 

 disadvantage, for they help to absorb moisture before 

 and after drying, and may aid in preventing mold if 

 the fruit has to stand for some time before going to 

 the evaporator. The leaves are quickly taken out by 

 running the fruit through a fanning mill after it is 

 dried. Some growers fan them out before drying, but 

 this has the disadvantage of bruising and crushing 

 more berries. The berries are usually allowed to stand 

 in the field in boxes for a time after gathering, and 

 any insects which may have fallen in are likely to 

 crawl out and disappear. 



Growers who have had much experience say that a 

 man will average eight to ten bushels a day with the 

 harvester, although much more can be gathered in the 

 best picking. On one farm visited, two men and two 

 girls had gathered thirty -one bushels the day previous 

 in ordinary picking, and one of the men had been in 

 the field but part of the time. This shows the first 

 cost of gathering to be less than half a cent per quart. 

 Running them through the fanning mill costs but a 



