UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 688 



Contribution from the Bureau of Markets 

 CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief 



^"^"^J-U 



Washington, D. C. 



V 



May 18, 1918 



MARKETING BERRIES AND CHERRIES BY 

 PARCEL POST. 



By C. C. Hawbaker, Assistant in Marketing by Parcel Post, 

 and Charles A. Burmeister, Scientific Assistant. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Strawberries 2 



Blackberries 10 



Blueberries or huckleberries 11 



Raspberries 1.3 , 



Cherries 15 



Obtaining and retaining customers 17 



WHILE BERRIES AND CHERRIES are grown to some extent 

 in all States and are shipped in carload lots from a large num- 

 ber of stations in 30 or more States, both producers and consumers 

 are sometimes dissatisfied with the existing methods of marketing 

 and distributing tiji^se fruits. Poor returns are often received for 

 berries of good qifality because of a reported glut in the market. 

 Most growers believe that often there is no reason for glutted markets 

 for berries and cherries of good quality and appearance, and thus 

 they become dissatisfied with marketing conditions. Growers who 

 must ship from points where berries are not grown in sufficient quan- 

 tities to be marketed in carload lots often receive unsatisfactory 

 returns because their fruit must be shipped without refrigeration 

 and is sold in competition with that which is shipped from other 

 points in refrigerator cars. While the larger part of some of the berry 

 crops must be transported in carload lots, the agitation for direct 

 marketing has caused many persons to become interested in the 

 possibilities of marketing berries and cherries by parcel post. The 

 publicity that has been given the farm-to-table campaigns conducted 

 by postmasters in many cities has -stimulated this interest. 



During the season of 1915 the Bureau of Markets of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Post 

 Office Department, began an investigation of shipping berries and 



53286°— 18— Bull 688 1 



