THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
323 
THE PROPER HANDLING OF BERRY PLANTS 
Paper Read by L. J. Farmer, Pulaski, N. Y., at the Portland Convention 
THE DUTY OF THE NURSERYMAN 
Of the millions upon millions of berry plants bought and 
sold during every season, there is a large proportion spoiled 
by improper handling and care, due largely to ignorance. 
If plants are spoiled by handling, not only is their first cost 
thrown away, but the use'of the land that they are set upon 
and the crop of fruit that is expected from them is a total 
loss, and while this is hard to estimate, it is always many 
times the original cost of the plants. I have been in the 
fruit and plant business for thirty years, and having been 
on both sides of the fence am in a position to look upon this 
proposition rather broadly and I hope 
that some things that I have observed 
may be of benefit to others if I may be 
allowed to tell them before this conven¬ 
tion. 
THE DUTY OF THE NURSERYMAN 
The man who grows, handles, and 
sends out berry plants, must be a specia¬ 
list in that line, in order to produce, 
prepare for shipment and send out the 
best stock. He must make growing and 
shipping plants his main business, not a 
side issue. The ordinary dairy or grain¬ 
growing farmer has no business to go 
into the business of handling berry 
plants. It is too fussy for him. The 
average tree nurserymen whose interests 
primarily are in fruit trees or other trees, 
has no S3mipathy with the small fruit 
plant business and if he has no sympa¬ 
thy, he is not likely to have much inter¬ 
est. Most tree nurserymen refer to this 
L. J. FARMER, 
Pulaski. N. Y. 
In digging strawberry or other berry plants, a large part 
of the'smaller rootlets will be utterly destroyed if they arc 
exposed to freezing or very windy weather, while they lay 
upon the ground, after being thrown out by the fork or 
spading fork. It is best to avoid days of excessive cold and 
driving winds if possible, because, with the best of precau¬ 
tions it is almost impossible to prevent some injury to the 
plants on such days. Dark, dry, discolored roots are the 
results of handling plants on such days. There are several 
ways, that the plant digger can choose to avoid the most 
of this injury, which arc very effective, 
even in the most unfavorable weather. 
If plants are thrown out, counted 
into bunches of 25 plants each, and 
immediately “heeled in” or buried com¬ 
pletely in the soil, the injury by expo¬ 
sure, will be comparatively light. They 
can be gathered up quickly, just before 
quitting time and hustled under cover, 
being protected with blankets meanwhile; 
or, they may be kept covered until next 
day, when the weather conditions for 
handling arc more favorable. In digging 
berry plants, strawberries especially, we 
often use wet sacks for protecting them 
with splendid results. If you use one 
sack, the wind will soon dry it out and 
the plants are easily injrued. When 
the weather is favorable, neither too cold, 
too hot, or too windy, the ideal place to 
look over berry plants is in the open 
field, handling a bunch at a time, and 
when this is stripped and tied up, it 
class of stock as “small stuff” and generally it gets a small sho-uld be immediately biuied in the moist soil, or placed 
share of their attention. Fruit and ornamental trees are 
largely sent out by freight in big boxes and the ordinary 
ntusery packer cannot be taught to pack small fruit plants 
in big boxes, along with trees, to stand distant shipment. 
The only way the tree nurseryman can safely send srnall 
fruit plants is by express or mail, separate from the freight 
shipment, and this annoys him, and most of the tree mu- 
serymen never solicit trade in small fruit plants and if they 
accept orders, it is only for the convenience of their custo¬ 
mers. The principal points to remember in handling and 
shipping berry plants are that they must be out of the 
ground as short a time as possible, and while they are out 
of the ground, they must be carefully kept from drying 
winds, frost, excessive heat and humidity; and from sudden 
violent changes in the temperature. A degree of temperar 
ture that is uniform and as near the freezing point as possi¬ 
ble, is the ideal condition for safely keeping small fruit or 
berry plants. 
in the wet sack. If plants are taken to the shed for sort¬ 
ing, cleaning and tying into bunches, they must be handled 
the same day as dug, because strawberry plants start to 
grow over night, the roots stiffen, and it is twice the work to 
disentangle, sort and arrange them that it is when they 
are fresh dug. For digging strawberry plants, we always 
prefer wide pronged spading forks. They get down below 
the plants better, enabling us to get out all the roots of the 
plants; and they tear fewer roots from the young plants 
in digging than do potato hooks or any other tool that we 
have tried. The same rules apply in digging the other 
small fruits, the roots must be kept from driving winds, 
frosts, and excessive sunshine. 
When plants are taken to the packing shed, the sooner 
they are put up and shipped, the better. When the weather 
is near the freezing point, they will not deteriorate for several 
weeks if carefully protected and kept just moist, not wet. 
If small fruit plants are stored for any length of time, whether 
