658 



HO IV TO GJiOM' STRAWBERRIES PROFITABLY. 



growing ; for the Hoffman can not be sold in competition 

 with berries of quality equal even to Sharpless or Jessie. 

 U ntil such a variety is produced they will doubtless con- 

 tinue to plant their forty and eighty acre fields of the 

 vigorous and handsome, though unsatisfactory Hoffman. 



Kor help in picking season the growers depend very 

 largely on negro labor. Men, women, and children come 

 from the region round about, and from the cities of 

 Petersburg, Richmond and Washington. A few rules 

 concerning the marking of berries, preservation of stem 

 and hull, and payment by a simple ticket system at two 

 cents a quart, is about all the attempt made at systema- 

 tizing the harvest. Hand carriers containing six quarts 

 each, with a cover to shield the fruit from the direct 

 rays of the sun, are commonly used in the field. Ber- 

 ries are not assorted or rehandled in the packing-house. 

 The seven-quart basket is used and the return crate 

 containing 60 quarts, with a slat-strengthened, divi- 

 sion board laid on each of the four tiers of baskets to in- 

 sure ventilation and avoid the crushing of berries in 

 transit. A 32-quart gift crate is coming into use, and 

 will doubtless take the place of the return crate on ac- 

 count of its lightness, cleaner appearance and freedom 

 from the annoyance and uncertainty attendant on the 

 return of " empties " from distant markets. Many grow- 

 ers place their fruit on sloops and deliver at the steamer 

 wharves in Portsmouth or Norfolk, others have railroad 

 freight stations near by with side tracks where the prod- 



uct of the immediate neighborhood can be loaded on 

 the cars, and a few hauled by wagon to the railroad or to 

 the wharves. No attempt is made at artificial cooling 

 in transit, either on the railroad or boat ; for the weather 

 in the north, where the fruit is shipped, is commonly 

 cool enough to insure safe delivery at this time of year. 



The yield per acre varies much, as only a portion of 

 the crop is harvested. Five thousand quarts is consid- 

 ered a large yield, and the average is probably not more 

 than two thousand. 



Prices have declined very materially since the early 

 days of the business. When the Wilson was at its best 

 it often sold at 50 cents per quart and sometimes as high 

 as $1.50, but Norfolk berries were then the first fruit on 

 the market. Now Florida, South and North Carolina 

 precede, and the novelty of early fruit is gone when ber- 

 ries from Norfolk appear. Wholesale prices this season 

 ranged from 6 to 14 cents a quart and netted the grow- 

 ers about two-thirds of the selling price. The crop is 

 handled almost entirely by commission merchants at 7 

 or 8 per cent, on gross sales, and the sales are tele- 

 graphed to the growers at once so that the condition of 

 the market in the different cities is known when the 

 fruit is shipped. 



Though not the main crop with most of the truckers, 

 the strawberry crop under these conditions is usually a 

 profitable one. 



Washinglon, D. C. W. A. Taylor. 



HOW TO GROW STRAWBERRIES PROFITABLY. 



IN SEVERAL years' experience I find the grand 

 point for success is to grow the finest berry, 

 let the variety be what it may be, for home 

 or for market. In growing for distant mar- 

 ket, firmness, however, is not only desirable 

 but an absolute necessity. 



In order to grow the finest berry, the ground should 

 be free from weeds and grass. It should be deeply and 

 well broken. Well-rotted manure should be spread on 

 without stint. If you can not spare forty tons for an 

 acre, put twenty on half an acre. 



Another point is to set good strong-rooted plants. It 

 is cheaper in the long run to buy such, although you 

 have to pay twice as much for them. Throw away the 

 small-rooted ones. If you set them, they occupy the 

 ground, and require cultivation, without ever being likely 

 to give satisfaction. 



Another point is to be first in market. To accomplish 

 this, the earliest varieties are essential, but situation of 

 the bed has as much to do with earliness of the berry as 

 variety. I have found that the same variety of plants 

 taken from the same bed at the same time, planted on a 

 slope, facing the southeast, will produce berries a week 

 earlier than those planted on level ground, and still 

 earlier than those planted on a northern slope. From 

 three beds planted as stated, I realized 25 cents per 



quart from berries on the first bed, 6 cents from berries 

 on the second bed, and 10 cents from the last bed. 



As soon as the newly-set plants commence growing, 

 begin work with hoe and cultivator, and continue as 

 long as necessary to keep the weeds and grass subdued. 

 Do not be afraid to work them all summer for fear you 

 will kill a few runners. The weeds will do that if you 

 give them a chance and diminish the crop on the runners 

 remaining. 



.Another important point — there should be no gaps. 

 This of itself often brings disappointment to the anxious 

 growers. Fill the vacancies with the first strong plants 

 obtainable. 



No less important is handling and marketing the ber- 

 ries. In picking, care should be used not to injure the 

 plants. Rough handling of the plant greatly diminishes 

 the size and quantity of the remaining berries. Put in 

 nice clean baskets, and, as far as practicable, put in one 

 basket all of one size and color. Let this quality be 

 from top to bottom and give good measure. Do not de- 

 pend on shippini^ to large city markets, but try to build 

 up a market at home. 



This is often iip-hill work at first, but with a little ef- 

 fort the grower can generally succeed in making a mar- 

 ket in which good fruits are appreciated, and the grower 

 has neither freights nor commissions to pay. 



Kentucky. Thos. D. Baird. 



