J. W. JONES & SON, FRANKLIN, VIRGINIA 7 
Why Strawberries Sell 
There is really a good deal of pleasure in growing beautiful strawberries. 
Still the man who really grows any quantity is interested in the possible profit. 


It is our very honest belief that strawberries will return a good profit 
for a long period of time. Not every year, for of course there are bound to 
be “off years.” Some years it will rain so little that quality and quantity are 
so low as to leave no margin of profit return. Other years will be so con- 
tinuously rainy during the picking season that they cannot be gotten to mar- 
ket in such shape as will command a profitable price. Other years there will 
be an overproduction, even when weather factors are favorable. BUT ON 
THE WHOLE WE BELIEVE THAT STRAWBERRIES ARE THE SAFEST 
OF ALL FARM. CROPS SO FAR AS PROFIT IS CONCERNED, FOR 
WHEN THE FAVORABLE FACTORS COMBINE YOUR PROFIT WILL 
BE GREAT ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR ALL THE BAD YEARS. Too, 
it is true that the following factors are persistently operating in favor of 
the commercial grower. 
1. They are the first fruit available 
in the Spring, and people are eager 
for something fresh. Everywhere 
people are waiting for berry season. 
2. Improved methods of distribu- 
tion, and they are constantly being 
further improved, are giving berries 
an ever widening market. The quan- 
tity consumed will continue to in- 
crease. 
One of the modern factors that has 
so prominently entered into the dis- 
tribution of fruit is the truck. They 
carry all classes of it faster and far- 
ther than it has ever been moved 
before. Trucks have helped the sale 
of strawberries enormously and they 
will even more in the future. 
Many growers try to guess the markets. 
3. The poor fruit is being more and 
more taken by the canners and 
“juice” factories. This relieves mar- 
ket congestion and helps the sale of 
better fruit. 
4. The Pure Food Law which pre- 
scribes only pure fruit juices in all 
soft drinks has made and will main- 
tain a large outlet for berries. We 
believe that if you will plant a mod- 
erate acreage, and do not plant more 
than you can care for, that you will 
be assured a fair return for your in- 
vestment and labor. 
For one thing labor has recently 
become more plentiful and depend- 
able than for many years past. You 
can plant with the assurance of get- 
ting them properly worked and pick- 
ed. 
That is: they plant when the 
market outiook appears favorable and refrain from planting when in their 
judgment the outlook for profit seems poor. We cannot feel that this will 
ever prove wise. Our advice is to decide how many you wish to grow and 
then stick to it consistently. A wise old man we used to know had a saying 
that is quite full of truth. Said he: “If I do not grow a crop when it is cheap 
I never have it when it is high.” Again we reiterate the advice given above: 
don’t plant more than you can care for properly, but, we would add be a con- 
sistent planter if you are going to grow berries at all. It is, in our opinion 
the only road to profit. Strawberries must ever remain a highly specialized 
crop. Not ail soils are favorable to high production. Not all growers will 
provide the necessarv care for good results. Not all localities are favored 
with sufficient labor to make growing them possible, but where all favorable 
factors combine there is always an opportunity for profit in growing them. 

Under date of April 12th, 1940, we had the following from a warm 
friend in Ohio. “All the plants that both my son and myself received from 
you this Spring were fine. We never lost a plant.” CC. C. Snowden 
