STRAWBERRIES 43 
berries. Dessert fruit, picked and placed in punnets, 
naturally costs more, owing to the extra time and care 
needed. 
Crops vary between one ton and five tons per acre, the 
latter being an exceptional yield. Mr Lewis R. Castle, 
in his Prize Essay read before the Royal Horticultural 
Society, states, ‘‘ Strawberries planted two feet apart 
will take nearly 11,000 to the acre, and at an average of 
half a pound per plant for four years, the total annual 
return will be two and a quarter tons. About IO per 
cent., or say, a quarter ton, of early selected fruits may 
realise 4d. a |b., or at. the rate of £36 the ton; the 
remaining two tons being sold at 2d., or £18 the ton, 
brings the total up to £45. If the general crop is early 
and the fruit fine much higher prices can be ensured, 
and established thriving plants will yield one pound to 
two pounds of fruit each.” 
Another authority gives the average return as two 
tons per acre, and the average price as {20 per ton, 
but also confesses that these are low estimates, and I 
am inclined to fully agree with him. The prices for jam 
fruit are naturally much lower, ranging from £15 to £18 
per ton, and for this purpose the fruits must be“ strigged,” 
i.e. the ‘sample must contain no stalks or calyces. 
Varieties of strawberries most suitable for market 
culture are :—Royal Sovereign, Viscomtess Hericart de 
Thury, Sir Joseph Paxton, President, Stirling Castle, 
gud Eatest of ,All’ For jam making, such sorts as 
Stirling Castle and Scarlet Queen are in demand, as 
they are of fine colour, and the fruits do not pulp 
during the process as do those of some sorts. 
PACKING THE FRUIT 
There are many methods of packing strawberries, and 
where the finest fruits have to be sent long distances a 
