2 BULLETIN 477, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the end of the season and is admittedly somewhat incomplete. It 

 includes practically no shipments of less than full carloads and in 

 many cases the exact records of the business of certain stations 

 could not be obtained. Only a few carriers of importance in the 

 interstate shipment of strawberries have failed to make any report 

 of their business. The figures on pages 27 to 32 are therefore fairly 

 comparable with those for 1914, published in Department Bulletin 237. 1 

 An exception should perhaps be made in the cases of California 

 and Washington, for later information leads to the belief that a number 

 of the cars reported shipped from stations in these States in 1914 were 

 probably less than carload shipments. Furthermore, the movement 

 from one important section of California was largely by boat in 1915 

 and no record has been obtained, whereas this area furnished a large 

 part of the movement as reported by the railroads in 1914. The 

 berries handled by electric lines which do not move in standard car- 

 loads also constitute an element of uncertainty. 



METHODS EMPLOYED IN DEALING WITH STRAWBERRY PICKERS. 



As the shipment of strawberries over long distances has developed 

 to the proportions of an important specialized industry, the problems 

 of marketing have grown in number and complexity. Satisfactory 

 quality on arrival in the distant market is impossible without a well- 

 organized picking force of sufficient size to gather daily the berries 

 which are ready for shipment. Irregularity in picking is almost sure 

 to result in the shipment of many overripe berries, which cause serious 

 deterioration before they reach the consumer. 



The demand for pickers is so great in some sections that large 

 numbers of pickers are brought in for the season. A few rainy days 

 after the height of the picking is reached at a specific point may cause 

 a migration of pickers to points farther north, thus curtailing the 

 total output of a large shipping area. Serious losses may be suffered 

 on individual crops even when the general supply of pickers is 

 adequate. 



A study of the whole picking problem is therefore an important 

 part of the analysis of the marketing situation in any section, and 

 any suggestions based upon successful experience in dealing with 

 pickers should be of value. 



The market quality of the berries depends very largely upon the 

 knowledge and integrity of the pickers, who are, in most cases, paid 

 for the quantity of berries which they deliver to the packing shed. 



1 See Sherman, W. A., AValker, H. F., and Schleussner, 0. W. Strawberry Supply and Distribution in 

 1914. U. S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 237. 



