Picking and Packing 



Careful picking can make a vast difference in 

 berries from the same row. It is our observation 

 that growers in this section fall down worse in 

 this respect than in any other. It is important 

 to make the most of your efforts in growing fancy 

 berries to put up a fancy pack. 



Avoid green sides and tips by selecting a 

 variety that ripens evenly and without green tips. 



Have the pickers discard undersized berries 



and those which have soft or rotten spots (espe- 

 cially after a heavy rain). 



Dirty or gritty berries (after rains) can be 

 avoided by using a mulch or by selecting varieties 

 whose foliage best protects the berries from this 

 fault. 



Berries look best in the package when the caps 

 are left on and from one quarter to three quar- 

 . ters of an inch of stem is left. 



Bruising and mashing herries detract from 

 their value and can be avoided by careful picking. 



■Well-filled packages not only make the buyer 

 feel that he is getting his money's worth (even 

 at a higher price) but they actually make the 

 berries show up better. 



After being picked berries should be carried 

 to the packing shed in a relatively short time. 

 One hour's exposure in the hot sunshine will 

 sometimes ruin an otherwise fancy quart of 

 berries. 



In packing, face the berries some if you must 

 but not too much, as a reputation for an honest 

 pack will help you sell on any kind of a market. 



Clean, bright packages will make your fruit 

 more attractive to the buyer than dirty, soiled 

 packages. 



Yields and Profits 



1,000 Plants— S100.00 



Page Co.. Va.. March 23rd, 1933. — A few years ago 

 I ordered 500 l'remier and 500 Chesapeake plants and 

 the second year I sold over a hundred dollars' worth of 

 berries from these plants, and not counting all my 

 family needed and the preacher. — Mr. C. L. Shenk. 



Higher Prices for Fancy Berries 



Maury Co., Tenn., January 7th. 1033. — In April 1931 

 I set out 300 of your Premier plants and 100 Big Joes 

 from which I picked 620 quarts in the 1932 season. 

 All who saw these berries said they were the finest ever 

 grown in this section. Was able to receive from two 

 to five cents more per quart than the prevailing market 

 price. — Mr. C. A. Irwin. 



Two Quarts Per Plant — A Fine Yield 



Fairfield Co.. Ohio, April 27th, 1933. — I received my 

 Dorsett and Fairfax plants. They are the finest plants 

 I ever saw. I have a wonderful patch of Chesapeake 

 set out last spring. I planted them in black sandy 

 loam and they surely did put out runners, making 

 almost as much as Premier. Your plants are all you 

 represent them to be. Last year from a planting of 

 700 I picked 1.400 quarts of good to fancy berries 

 (under irrigation). — Mr. H. E. Benson. 



Big Returns From 400 Premier 



Orange Co.. X. C. Jan. 8th. 1933.— In the spring of 

 1931 I purchased 400 of your Premier strawberry 

 plants. This last spring from them I picked and sold 

 403 quarts of berries besides what we ate at home. 

 They turned me out ?42.85. This past week I cleared 

 ap new ground in which I want to plant 1,000 of your 

 Premier plants. — Mr. Hugh Woods. 



Marketing 



For marketing locally advertise a little either 

 by a small ad in your local paper, or by a display 

 in somebody's shop window. Try to have a 

 fancy, high quality product and when you have, 

 "blow your own horn" whenever and wherever 

 possible. 



Roadside Market. If on or near a well-traveled 

 highway try a roadside market. Many growers 

 are successfully disposing of their crops of 

 strawberries as well as other things by this 

 method. It is surprising how many automobilists 

 like to buy fruits and vegetables right on the 

 farm. On our own roadside market we have 

 many regular customers who drive out from town 

 in the afternoon to buy at the farm. Others 

 traveling through on business or for pleasure 

 notice the market and stop to buy on their return 

 sometimes days later. Attractive products, espe- 

 cially fruits, will be bought by tourists to enjoy 

 as they travel. Unless you have a market already 

 developed look into the possibility of a roadside 

 market. Like many others, we were amazed at 

 the results from our own, even the first year. 

 Perhaps you will be.* 



Hotels and Grocery Stores. It is an old truth 

 that any produce well grown and well packed 

 is half sold. We have many reports from cus- 

 tomers that they dispose of all they can grow 

 to such outlets, much of it being engaged even 

 before it is harvested. 



Wholesale Markets. If you are well situated 

 from a standpoint of land and labor to grow 

 considerable acreages of strawberries, keep in 

 mind that the motor truck or train will quickly 

 put your berries to the large Wholesale Markets. 

 Even in seasons of low prices, the price range 

 is wide enough so that if you can get top quota- 

 tions there is almost always margin enough to 

 allow you a fair profit. 



A Sample Makes a Sale. We are positive that 

 on the roadside market, in a local grocery store, 

 or to the actual consumer, a sample of any prod- 

 uct of superior quality will help sell it. This is 

 true even on the wholesale markets. Read on 

 page 16 about our experience in marketing Dor- 

 sett and Fairfax berries this year. 



Worth Considering 



Little money is needed to start a strawberry 

 garden or a small business. A few simple tools, 

 a small outlay for fertilizer, and the plants, 

 which were never more reasonable in price than 

 now. Also, strawberries yield quicker returns 

 and bring in money earlier in the season than 

 any other fruit crop. 



Part time jobs can be profitably rounded out 

 with strawberries. A small acreage can be made 

 to do so much that a minimum of land is neces- 

 sary. If no land of your own is available, per- 

 haps a neighbor would let you use that vacant 

 lot. Fertile land is best. Rank weed growth 

 indicates good land. 



Careful Picking Pays 



