1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
387 
HANDLING THE STRAWBERRY CROP. 
Picking and Grading. 
Care must be used in picking, handling and grading 
strawberries if we expect to receive the largest re¬ 
turns. It is useless to spend tirxe in growing fine 
plants, to be careful in setting them out, to expend 
money in buying high-grade fertilizers, to use the best 
methods of cultivation, producing a large crop of fine 
berries, and then neglect the picking and marketing. 
It is profitable to use only the best of pickers, as a 
careless one can ruin not only what berries he picks, 
but injures many of those left on the vines. I would 
much prefer to hire men and pay them by the day to 
nick fancy strawberries if this was possible. As it is 
not, the next best plan is to secure boys and girls in 
the immediate neighborhood. Being unable to secure 
enough pickers in the country many are used from the 
neighboring town. The farm boys and girls, however, 
are always better pickers than their city cousins, and 
are given the preference. Several rules governing the 
pickers are strictly enforced. All pickers are treated 
as ladies and gentlemen, and they are required to con¬ 
duct themselves as such. They are required to pick 
the berries as I v/ant them picked, and not in the way 
they want to. All loud talking or shouting among the 
pickers is prohibited. Any boy using profane language 
is immediately discharged. The small boys are a 
nuisance in the berry field, and are never employed, 
not even when the berries cannot be picked for want 
of help. They are usually noisy, causing trouble 
among the other pickers; being out for a good time 
they destroy more berries than they pick, and even 
what they do pick are only fit to be fed to the chick¬ 
ens. One cent per quart is paid for picking. An extra 
one-fourtJi cent is given at the close to all who help 
through the season. By this method 1 
find there is less difficulty in securing 
pickers when the berries are scarce early 
and late in the season. The pickers who 
do help all the time are also much bet¬ 
ter satisfied. Before time to commence 
picking the rows are numbered by driv¬ 
ing a numbered stake between each row 
at both ends and in the center of the 
field. On the morning that the pickers 
arrive to commence work each one is 
rcrpiired to sign card shown herewith. 
The card is then tied to a picking 
stand, holding four quarts, and given to 
the picker. Each of the old pickers is 
assigned a row and they begin work. 
The new ones are next instructed in the 
proper way of gathering the fruit. Each 
picker is started between two rows and 
required to pick the berries on one-half 
of each row. The berries must be pick¬ 
ed by pinching off the stems while hold¬ 
ing to the stems instead of the berry 
and placing the berry in the box. Some 
pickers persist in pulling the berries and 
filling their hands full before placing 
them in the quart baskets. This is not 
allowed, as many berries will be bruised 
and unfit for market. The small, inferior and over¬ 
ripe fruit are placed in a box by themselves. 
After the four quarts are full they are taken to the 
packing shed, where the inspector receives them and 
gives the picker credit by punching, with a conduc¬ 
tors punch, the number on his card representing the 
number of quarts just brought in. The picker fills up 
his stand with empties and returns to the field. When 
the pickers reach the stakes in the center of the field 
they take the next outside row, thus picking one end 
of the field before commencing on the other. In this 
way the rows are not so long, and the pickers will be 
closer together and more easily looked after. Straw¬ 
berries are never picked when the vines are wet with 
dew or rain. It takes a great amount of determina¬ 
tion sometimes to make ourselves believe it is best 
to keep the pickers out of the field immediately after 
a shower, when the vines are loaded with ripe berries 
that should be picked at once, but in most cases we 
profit by waiting until the vines are dry. No berries 
are picked on Sunday for market under any circum¬ 
stances. The Monday morning market is supplied by 
commencing as early that morning as possible, and 
I usually have the berries in the market by nine 
0 clock unless there should be a heavy dew or rain. 
Seldom has it happened that I was unable to supply 
ffly customers before the noon meal. In Fig. 137 is 
shown a group of pickers. 
The day is past when we can succeed by marketing 
our fruit in any but the best condition. No other 
work in the berry business phys as large a per cent 
on the cost as that of properly grading and making 
each quart look attractive. We must first satisfy the 
eyes of our customers. It is useless to offer them a 
Quart of small, bruised, mashed or unattractive ber¬ 
ries and ask them the same price as the quart that 
has been properly picked and graded. As the berries 
are brought to the picking shed they are sorted into 
four grades. The first or “fancy” grade contains 
nothing but large and perfect berries. The second or 
“choice” grade contains berries not large enough for 
PLEASANT VIEW FRUIT FARM 
Picker’s Card—Not Transferable 
No. Date. 
■1 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
2 
2 
2 
e-l ^ 
0) 
P 
0) 03 
.a 
0 
Ps O 
=5 
V 
a 
s 5 
^ 5 
fp 
to 
P 
S 
03 
O' 
o 
Sh 
03 
c3 P- •- 
3 h H) 
p. K .O 
a 2 
<D 5, 
ELMER G. TUFTS. - AURORA, IND. 
Paid I $ 50 cents. 
Name. No. 
the fancy and too large for the third grade; also the 
large berries that, while not soft, are not firm enough 
for the best grade. The third or “common” grade con¬ 
tains all berries that will not do for the two first, ex¬ 
cept those that are soft, and the culls, which go into 
the fourth grade and are never marketed. Bach quart 
is well rounded up and all the berries on top are turn- 
POSSIBLE PROFITS IN STRAWBERRIES. 
What a New York Grower Says. 
The strawberry bed that has been cared for prop¬ 
erly, costing in the neighborhood of $100 up to the 
first Winter, ought to produce on an average 5,000 
quarts of berries to the acre, and these ought to sell 
at an average price of 10 cents per quart. There are 
people who have claimed to get 20,000 quarts to the 
acre, and I have myself raised at the rate of 16,000 
quarts of Crescents and 13,200 quarts of Parker Earle 
to the acre. I think I could do as well with such 
kinds as Sample, Sunshine, Glen Mary, Ridgeway, 
Clyde, Barton and several others. There are other 
varieties that wili not produce quite as many quarts, 
but being earlier or later, will bring as much money. 
There are always off years, caused by grubs, droughts, 
excessively wet weather, frosts, etc., and 5,000 quarts 
to the acre is a good safe average for the average 
well-tended strawberry bed. The varieties that are 
especially adapted for my section are Ridgway, Rough 
Rider, Sunshine, Glen Mary, Clyde, Johnson’s Early, 
Seaford and Barton. 
The first thing to do with the strawberry bed in the 
Spring, before the fruiting season, is to remove the 
covering. This we do by raking lightly into the paths 
with garden rakes. The straw is then carried off the 
field and placed on the ends of the rows. Then a good 
dressing of commercial fertilizer is scattered by hand 
right on the row of plants, and brushed in by going 
over with broom. We aim to put on 500 pounds to the 
acre of fertilizer that analyzes about 3.30 per cent ni¬ 
trogen, six per cent phosphoric acid (available), 10 
per cent potash. Some of the rows are dug close for 
plants. We do not dig up the entire row, but dig all 
the young plants, leaving the old or parent plant to 
bear fruit. The reason we do not dig 
the old plants up is that no one wants 
them, although we consider them as 
valuable as the young plants. If left to 
fruit, they bear a good crop of the finest 
berries, because not crowded in the row. 
Of course if the rows are dug for plants, 
we do not get the 5,000 quarts to the 
the acre. All perennial weeds, such as 
dock, dandelion and chickweed, are cut 
or pulled out. Chickweed is the hane of 
the strawberry business when once it 
gets in, and it must be fought relent¬ 
lessly. It is impossible to estimate the 
cost of weeding in the Spring because 
of the chickweed. The weeding of the 
strawberry bed can be done safely at 
any time before the fruit is ripe, but 
best results are secured when done as 
early in the Spring as possible. If done 
late in the season and the weather is dry 
the plants will be disturbed and much 
loss of crop will result. 
Just before the fruit begins to color 
we go through and replace the straw, 
putting it on so as to cover all the bare 
space of ground, and work it in under 
the leaves. This helps to keep the 
ground moist and insures the berries keeping clean, 
to say nothing about the comfort to the pickers. We 
find it is better to remove the straw and remulch, 
than to leave the straw on all the time. If the weath¬ 
er is very warm and sunshiny, it is just as well per¬ 
haps to let the straw remain between the rows, but if 
the weather is cold and wet, the mulch is a detriment 
to the growth of the plants. We use four-quart pick¬ 
ing stands and pick direct into the baskets that are 
used to ship in. We have never graded our fruit. We 
prefer to pick early in the day when it is cool. We 
prefer to pick when ihe dew is on or when it is wet, 
after a rain, rather than in the heat of the day. We 
pay two cents straight per quart and do not board 
the pickers or carry them back and forth. We watch 
them constantly, to see that undesirable fruit is not 
put in. Picking berries is a greater strain on a per¬ 
son’s honor than handling bank bills. There are few 
who do not need watching. i,. j. FARjfKK. 
New York. 
A BICYCLE GRINDSTONE. 
I saw the question asked in The R. N.-Y. some time 
ago what had become of the wheels. I have drawn 
an outline. Fig. 138, of which I have done with an old 
one, that had passed its usefulness on the road. I 
therefore made a grindstone frame of it, and it works 
so well that if I could not procure another money 
would not buy it. In construction it is very simple; 
anybody handy with tools can make it. The seat is 
two-inch chestnut plank. You will notice that the 
seat plank has a neck (that is so the legs can use foot 
pedals). Sprocket of back bicycle wheel (c) is on axle 
of grindstone; a is sprocket as it belongs on wheel 
chain to connect griud.stone sprocket; b, frame insert¬ 
ed in seat, one-inch hoie bored in same; d, single leg 
to keep it from being front heavy; e. foot pedal con¬ 
nected with front leg to connection f, to pedal bar, g, 
both made of hard wood one-inch by two-inch. 
Ridgewood, N. J. j. h. n. 
INDIANA STRAWBERRY PICKERS. Fig. 139. 
ed with the stem down. This costs something extra, 
l)ut it adds greatly to the appearance of each quart, 
and also increases the net receipts at the end of the 
season. In each quart of the fancy and choice grades 
is placed a printed card as shown herewith. 
The card is placed with the face next to the inside 
of the quart so that it will not be stained by the ber¬ 
ries. This I have found much better for building up a 
reputation for fancy berries than stenciling the name 
on the outside of the quart boxes. Each quart of any 
grade is honestly packed. The customers will be 
pleased when they buy and again pleased, or better 
THESE BERRIES 
ARE GROWN BY 
A Strawberry Specialist 
You Can Secure a Fresh Suppl.v Every Day 
By Buying Those Grown By 
ELMER G . T U F T S , 
AURORA, - - - - INDIANA. 
satisfied, when the berr'es are taken home and the 
quart emptied, and just as fine, sometimes finer ber¬ 
ries are found in the center and the bottom as those 
on top. The card also falls out, and they at once 
learn whose berries to call for the next time they buy. 
Indiana. ei.mek g. tui'-’is. 
SPRING IN CONNECT'ICU'r.—Monday morning, April 
6. 18 degrees above zero. Thus, following 22 degrees on 
April 5. renders the fruit outlook well-nigh hopeless. 
Peach, plum, apple and pear buds just ready fo open. 
Raspbenios and blackberries in first leaf. Strawberries 
have a wilted look. The season was fully as forward, 
and fields as green as usual on the first of May. The 
amount of damage time alone can tell. h. u. b. 
Jewett City, Conn. 
