26 
GREAT CROPS OF STRAWBERRIES AND HOW TO GROW THEM 
R. M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Mich. 
A SAMPLE BOX OF BUBACHS 
'po the grrower of strawberries who has ever tested the fruiting powers of Bubach, it is something akin to the painting of tho 
iiiy to speak m praise of the merits of this great variety. The above illustration is suggestive of the great size of the berry 
but nothing short of the berry itself suggests its unusual beauty, and only experience will prove its extraordinary productiveneE= 
plant growth and an increase of berries will 
be found in the application of about fifty 
pounds of nitrate of soda per acre along the 
rows just as growth starts in the spring; re- 
peat it before buds open. Apply the nitrates 
when the plants are dry and just before a rain. 
Picking and Marketing Berries 
JUST when to pick the berries will depend 
largely upon where they are to be mar- 
keted; that is, the degree of ripeness of 
the berries. If the fruit is to be shipped a 
long distance, the berries should be picked 
before they are fully ripened so that they will 
reach market in good condition, but for near- 
by markets wait until they are fully ripe. 
But no matter whether berries are to be 
shipped or sold at home, always leave a short 
piece of the stem on each berry. Berries al- 
ways present a better appearance when this 
is done and the caylx remains undisturbed. 
Never pick berries when the vines are wet 
from dew or rain unless it is absolutely nec- 
essary. During a wet season you could not 
afford to defer the picking until the vines 
were dry. We find that berries will hold up 
better and will carry a longer distance if 
picked when perfectly dry than they will if 
picked the least bit damp. We also have found 
that berries picked in the afternoon and 
shipped in the evening will carry over night 
in much better condition than those picked 
in the morning. 
VITHEN berries are sorted in the field by 
* " the pickers (and this ought to be the rule) 
it is a very easy job to pack the fruit so that 
„ , . it will present an attractive appear- 
Packmg X i 1 . .,, 
the Fruit ance. One or two good packers will 
take care of all the berries picked 
by forty or fifty pickers. It is only necessary 
to rearrange the top layer of each box, plac- 
ing the stem ends down and showing the most 
attractive side of the berries. Before the box 
is faced in this manner the packer should 
place one hand lightly over the berries and 
tip the box enough so that he can look down 
into the bottom to be sure that the berries 
are just as good at the bottom as they are on 
top. Should they prove to be improperly 
sorted the number of the picker who gathered 
the berries will be marked upon the boxes. 
This makes it very easy to trace any poor 
picking to the one who did the work. 
/^NE very satisfactory way to market the 
^ berries is to arrange through the leading 
grocer in each town to handle them for you. 
Have it understood that you are to furnish 
