BERRIES AND CHERRIES BY PARCEL POST. 9 



ment, absolutely no ventilation is allowed to the berries. Berries 

 shipped in parcels weighing over 20 pounds are transported outside 

 of mail bags, and this permits the use of a crate which allows ventila- 

 tion. Parcels which weigh over 50 pounds can not be sent by parcel 

 post to points outside of the third postal zone, but within the first, 

 second, and third zones parcels weighing 70 pounds will be accepted 

 for mailing. A 32-quart crate filled with strawberries weighs over 

 50 pounds if the baskets are filled. 



Further information about postal regulations may be secured from, 

 any postmaster. 



Persons who wish to ship strawberries by parcel post should obtain 

 information relative to mail schedules in order to avoid taking them 

 to the post office too long a time before mail is dispatched. Where 

 it is practicable, berries should be mailed so that they wiU be trans- 

 ported at night and will arrive in the city in time to be delivered on 

 the first delivery the following morning. 



In hauling the berries to the post office a vehicle with good springs 

 should be used so that the berries will not be crushed by jolting. A 

 cover or shelter of some kind should be provided to protect the berries 

 from the sun and dust. 



At many post offices and stations, crates of berries receive poor 

 treatment after they are presented for mailing. Facilities for handling 

 large parcels at many post offices and for hauling them to and from 

 trains often are very poor. Mail usually is taken to the depot about 

 one-half hour before the mail train is due and during the berry ship- 

 ping season trains are often late. While the experimental shipments 

 of strawberries were being made, berries frequently were left in the 

 sun at the depot for nearly an hour. 



Whether berries shipped by parcel post will arrive in good condition 

 or not depends also on the manner in which they are handled in the 

 mail cars, at transfer points, and at the post offices to which they are 

 sent. Persons who have been unable to ship strawberries satisfac- 

 torily by parcel post should endeavor to ascertain whether the diffi- 

 culty lies in the picking and packing of the fruit or in the treatment 

 given parcels while in transit. 



ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS. 



In many places crates holding less than 32 quarts can not be ob- 

 tained, while few persons in cities wish to buy 32 quarts of berries at a 

 time. Some firms which manufacture berry containers carry in stock 

 crates having a capacity of less than 32 quarts and often they will 

 make almost any size crate desired on special order. 



A 16-quart ventilated crate, complete with baskets, usually costs 

 from 19 to 25 cents, depending on the location of the grower and the 

 quantity of crates which he buys at one time. The shipping weight 

 53286°— 18— Bull. 688 2 



