The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1912-09-05
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The Bush Fruits
and How Marketed.
X. A. KIRKPATRICK, Mana
ger Minnesota Fruit Associa-
tion, Mimi. Agriculture. Col.
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Now that the raspberry season is
On. as we'll as the season for other
small fruit, the problem of marketing
has arisen to trouble the grower. 4
knowledge CT the principles of mar
keting is as necessary as knowledge
of the principles of growing, and it is
in the way of suggestion that the fol-
lowing is written.
To market raspberries to advan.
tage they should be picked when per.
fectly dry and when they have colored
UP thoroughly. At this stage they will
easily separate from the stem on
which they are growing and it will
take less berries to fill box. Do not
wait until they have become soft, if
they are to be held or shipped. Avoid
dropping any soft berries into the
boxes with the firmer fruit, for the
soft ones are apt to destroy the entire
box through molding or decay.
Raspberries should be picked d.
rectly into the pint boxes in whieh
they are to be sold. This box should
be comparatively broad and shallow.
The dimensions should be about 11iz
x4%X434. The berries will not mash
or settle down in these boxes to any
appreciate extent A deeper and
smaller box is conducive to mushing,
mold and decay.
A deck board crate is almost i'm
perative for the successful marketing
of raspberries, blackberries and other
small fruits This crate is made like
the ordinary twenty-four pint rasp
berry crate, save that the sides and
bottom are slightly heavier. the diSiA-
ing board is absent from the e~S Ser
and the ends are heavier The ends
are made heavier in order that they
may be rabbetted down to the depth
Of the first tier of boxes, and that q
ledge may be left for the ends of the
deck to rest upon. The first tier
Of boxes is placed in the c1wtA4 and
the deck boards, made Of the Sd g
material as the sides, are placed over
them and tackled in place to serve as
a resting place for the upper tier Of
boxes. When the upper tier of boxes
has been placed in the crate the cover
is nailed on and the berries are ready
for shipping. Berries packed in this
way will ship farther, will not mush
so badly and will hold up better than
when packed under any other method.
The extra cost-about 11a cents more
for each crate-is Offset many times
by the higher prices which the method
guarantees.
Blackberries and dew berries should
be picked when they have reached
their full development and have be-
come fully colored. They must be
picked before they begin to soften.
They should be packed just as rasp-
berries are packed.
In preparing currants for market
they should be picked when about
one-half of the berries on the bushes
are colored. If they are picked at
this stage 1t will require about one
third as much sugar to make them in
to jelly as it will if they are picked
when fully ripe. AS most currants
are made into jelly this is an impoy-
tant point to remember Another
commendable point is that currants
picked in this fashion will stand
tonger shipment without going down.
Extreme care should be taken to see
that the punches are picked with none
of the berries shel!ed off, or broken
from the stem. A few shelled berries
in quart box is liable to encourage
molding.
Gooseberries should be picked when
they have reached their full develop
ment, but while they are yet green
and before they have acquired a
tough skin" 1t usually pays to
grade gooseberries, unless they are