GATHERING THE FRUIT 119 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING 



Despite the thorny character of the bushes, black- 

 berries are among the easiest gathered of any of the 

 small -fruits. The fruit when well grown is large, 

 easily picked, fills up fast, and hence is pleasing to the 

 pickers. A word of caution in regard to two things 

 may be needed. The first is never to leave the fruit in 

 the sun after being picked, as a few minutes' exposure 

 to hot sunshine will turn it red and render it more or 

 less bitter and unpalatable. The next point is not to 

 pick it until ripe. The cultivated blackberry has been 

 called upon to bear much undeserved slander and dis- 

 repute, simply because it has a habit of turning black 

 before it is ripe. The result is, that oftener than other- 

 wise the berries are picked green, and consumers, sup- 

 posing them to be ripe because they are black, growl 

 because they are sour or sometimes bitter. For distant 

 markets this cannot be wholly avoided, as the fruit 

 must be picked while still firm, even at the expense of 

 quality. For home use, however, if left till the bees 

 begin to eat them, there will be no cause for complaint 

 at the quality of the cultivated blackberry. 



The fruit is marketed either in pint or in quart 

 baskets, as best suits the fancy of the selected market. 

 The blackberry is a fruit which usually meets with a 

 ready sale at good prices, and one which handles well. 

 Many small inland towns and villages consume very 

 considerable quantities of this fruit at prices which 

 are eminently satisfactory to the grower. 



