SHIPMENT OF EED BASPBEEBIES. 3 



of western Washington. The region is one of abundant rainfall, 

 relatively cool summers, and mild winters, and originally was covered 

 with forests of gigantic evergreens. The rains are most abundant 

 during the winter months but are frequent during June, July, 

 August, and September, and are one of the principal factors -that 

 determine the season's fresh-fruit shipments. If rains are continuous 

 or frequent, with little or no sunshine, the berries do not mature 

 properly, lack firmness, are soft and full of moisture, and conse- 

 quently are poor shipping fruits. During 1911 practically all of the 

 red raspberries produced in the valley could have been shipped fresh, 



Fi'j. 2. — Bed raspberries at Sumner, Wash., planted in rows, showing the separation of 

 new canes from those in hearing, in order to facilitate picking. 



as there were few rains and much dry, sunshiny weather. In 1912 

 approximately only half the crop was shipped fresh, the remainder, 

 being too soft for shipment in a fresh state, being put up in barrels 

 and '-Mil-. 



Dining (lie season of L912 the Puyallup and Sumner Fruit Asso- 

 ciation, handling at that time approximately 95 per cent of the 

 berry crop of (lie ralley, shipped 270 cars of fresh berries of 545 

 crates each. Of these 123 were red raspberries, 72 blackberries, 35 

 wberries, and the remainder currants, loganberries, gooseberries, 

 etc. The cannery receipted for L,251,630 pounds of ved raspberries, 

 3,424,874 pounds of blackberries, and 318,000 pounds of straw- 

 berries. 



