108 Truck Geowing in the South. 



Picking and Packing. 



The berries are picked and packed in quart baskets and 

 shipped in pony refrigerators', holding eighty quarts each. 

 It is necessary for one to provide himself with refrigera- 

 tors sufficient to handle this crop before shipping. 



Peotection. 



It is the universal practice for growers who move their 

 crops early to provide pinestraw before frost sets in. This 

 is placed between the rows of plants and when cold weather 

 is approaching the straw is drawn over the plants and 

 raked off, as soon as the weather justifies. 



^Vhile this .is the universal method of protection, I 

 would recommend for trial two six-inch boards, cypress 

 preferred, say eighten or twenty feet long. Brace these 

 together so as to have them twelve inches apart and take a 

 medium grade of domestic, soak it in linseed oil, wring it 

 out well, and tack this cloth over the boards. Place this 

 cover over the row of plants, allowing it to remain night 

 and day except when working or picking. While the ex- 

 pense is somewhat more than straw, I believe the addi- 

 tional advantages will justify the increase in cost. 



Geowing Plants. 

 It has been found that home-grown plants are far su- 

 perior to plants grown elsewhere, and the usual custom is 

 to get plants from points north of Georgia and set them 

 here in Florida in March. They should he set- about two 

 by four feet on new hammock land if possible, on which 

 no crop of weeds or grass has matured. These must be 

 kept cultivated, and by October the ground will be covered 

 with vigorous plants, which are then ready for setting. 



