Picking and Packing 165 



wear a badge with his number upon it, and each box in 

 his carrier should be stamped with this number before 

 being taken to the field. This takes little time and makes 

 it possible to trace every box to the picker responsible. 

 When the picker brings his berries to the packing shed at 

 least one box should be examined in his presence. If the 

 work is satisfactory, give him a white ticket; if not, a 

 blue ticket. The names of those who are especially pro- 

 ficient may be displayed on a bulletin board that is hung 

 in the packing shed ; this is an incentive to good work. 

 It takes a few days of patient training to secure satis- 

 factory results from new pickers. 



Handling pickers. 



A wise grower tries to keep his pickers comfortable 

 and contented ; otherwise he may have a strike. Nearly 

 every gang has one or more chronic grumblers; these 

 should be detected and discharged. Pay double wage on 

 circus days, and the forenoon of the Fourth of July. 

 Organize sports during the lunch hour. Provide com- 

 fortable and sanitary quarters at the camp. Motor 

 trucks may be used to bring pickers from distant towns, 

 and return them to their homes at night. At the close 

 of the season give the pickers a picnic dinner at some 

 near-by lake or resort. These attentions promote good 

 feeling between employer and employees and result in 

 more satisfactory service. 



The larger the nxunber of pickers the greater the ne- 

 cessity for system in handling them, so as to make every 

 minute count. If each picker is obliged to wait ten 

 minutes a day for empties, or there is delay in assigning 

 new rows, the aggregate loss of time will be considerable. 

 The pickers should be allowed to vary the monotony of 



