Smyrna times., 1871-07-12
The Strawberry Trade in New York.


Among the many fruits that grace the
American tables, there are three that may be
regarded as purely national These are the
strawberry, the peach, and the apple The
strawberry season covers Onetourth ofthe year.
On the l0th Of April, SD package, OF berries
were received by the Charleston steamer. Last
year the shipment from Rochester and Wayne,
St Lawrence and Niagara Counties in New
York, lasted till the 10Th Of July. Beginning
at the southern margin Of the United States,
and closing with the growth of Upper Canada.
The extremes of the season take in a hundred
Gays. In a commercial sense the business com
mences in the middle of April continues to in
crease till the 10th or 18th Of May, when,
having reached its maximum, it remains at
that point till the 20 18th of June. 1t then
decreases quite rapidly till the middle Of July,
when the strawberry time is virtually over.
Charleston has begun the work Of making
April full strawberry month. by another
year the receipts from that coast will number
thousands of crates.
Among the largest planters of the strawber-
~ are NirginianS. In 1866 Norfolk shipped
here weekly about 100 crates for three weeks
Now Norfolk sends 10000 crates week by
water and 5000 week by rail. The Norfolk
berry is mostly Wilson, of medium size, and in
gross sales at New York commands % cents
This means from Is cents to II cents to the
grower, aud from 23 cents to 80 cents from the
consumer.
A planter account, as shown by his mer-
chant, runs thus on one shipment: The gross
sales were S3.447; on another, the next week,
$4,O7S; next, Sj,6OS; then $l,lOl total,
$l4234; in all as gross sales in New York,
besides as much more sold in Boston, Bal
timore and Philadelphia He has 35 acres
in Strawberries. There are four or five grow
erS near Norfolk that produce the same as the
grower referred 10, and 20 that have from 10
to IA acres Of fruit, and score or more who
have from one to three acres.
The amount of berries annually shipped
from Norfolk Va, to New York is l,jOOO00
quarts sirOm Delaware Peninsula, 1000 600
quarts. The strawberry trade from New Jer
sey, including those sent to Phlladel phia and
New York markets, reaches nearly 2OOO. 600
quarts and the strawberries raised on the lIud-
, son River and sent to this city and Boston
amount to ,00O,0O0 or 1000 600 quarts more.
so that there Is an aggregate Of berries raised
within. reach Of 500 miles of ,OOO, 900 to TO-
900, 600 OfquartS yearly. 1t costs about $500
to every acre to lay out "A strawberry bed, and
it takes a capital Of $50 to every acre for
crates and baskets alone One hundred dol
lars to an acre is regarded as a satisfactory re-
turn on the capital invested.
Growers often loose their Strawberries from
! the arrival of trains too late One day this
season the shipments to New York reached
25G,OO0 quarts, but the train arrived too late,
and the decline in price created loss to the
growers Of nearly $1,000. The commission
merchants say they don't care it they receive
3OO.OOO quarts in the morning, provided they
get them before 4 0 clock, as they can always
sell them, but later IN the morning buyers be
come impatient of the delay of the train and
take but one crate, when they would take two
or three If they had sufficient time to select
them. Occasionally glut arises in the mar
/ ket, the real cause of which Is not over prOduC-
! ton, but the large arrivals of fruit unfit for
shipment to Northern towns. Two days of
moist hot weather will throw 10000 crates of
! Delaware and .Jcrs'y berries ON this market,
course of trade The other 5000 should be
shipped up the Hudson, on the fall River line,
up Erie and toward Hartford. Springfield,
Worcester, Portland and Montreal But the
moist, hot weather Sours the berries shippers
are afraid of them, and leave them in first
hands. Hence the glut.
Last year there was a glut of Norfolk bcr-
ries, which are only fit for shipment when cool
and if it is a warm day when they arrive here
they soon wilt. The largest portions that ar
rive in New York to 90 out OF the city and arc
shipped to different pOints--Boston, Hartford
} Newhaven. etc There is one dealer who
makes a trade of buying for shipment to retail
dealers in tho different Eastern cities, taking
100 TO- (Svles day. When Delaware ber.
one ~;vINfok fruit declines in price, but
=. ihs yeaf it mas not sold below 20 cents; the
average Delaware sells at 80 cents.
victim OF unrequited affection concludes