The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-02-11
CLUBS Fur
BOYS AND GIRLS
XII.-CAREFUL HANDLING OF
RASPBERRIES PAYS.

IPrepsred by United States department OF
agricultural
T-IE difference between carefully
handled raspberries and the
commercially handled lots of
berries for long distance ship
ment consists chiefly in extra care In
packing and in the scrupulous exclu-
sion Of any soft. overripe berries
Raspberries which are carefully han
died may be shipped much farther than
the distance which is now regarded as
the limit for successful marketing, ac-
cording to recent investigations made
by the United States department Of
agriculture in the Puyallup valley in
Washington.
As was previously demonstrated by
experiments In Florida with orange
shipments, carefully harvested crops Of
raspberries may be marketed with al
most no appreciate loss. They are a
profitable medium for the attention Of
boys and girls farming clubs.
The two most common causes Of de-
cay in berries while In transit or after
arrival on the market are mold fungi,
usually gray mold or blue mold. Mel
ther Of these fungi Is likely to injure
the firm, sound berries, but spreads
quickly where the fruit has been in
jured In handling or is overripe and
soft.
In experiments in the actual ship
ping Of raspberries in refrigerator cars
1t was found by the departments ex-
perts that there was less decay III
carefully handled berries at the end OF
eight days than In the commercially
handled berries at the end of four
days. Carefully handled fruit that was
four days in transit and that had been
held one day after withdrawal from
the refrigerator car showed less than
/ per cent of decay, whereas CONNER
cially handled berries subjected to the
same test showed nearly 10 per cent
Children as Pickers.
Ordinarily the picking of raspberries
is done by unskilled labor, children be-
ing frequently employed in this way.
1t is, Of course, extremely difficult to
make them realize the necessity fol
care, but the comparative success OF
certain growers in keeping down their
losses shows that much improvement
in this respect is possible.
The most common injuries to the
berries are due to their being broken
and bruised while being removed from
the bushes or being mashed in the
hand while picking.
If the berries are pulled with three
fingers, instead of two and pulled of
straight instead of sideWise, much loss
can be avoided.
Another cause for decay is the in
clusion in shipments Of Overripe Der
ries. Because of the danger or injury
in sorting it is not possible to grade
the berries after they have once beer
picked and placed in the cups or pick
ing pockets. The pickers, therefore
must be instructed to pick only sound
berries.
If the patches are picked over once
day it is much easier to enforce this
rule. If they are left unpicked two Of
three days there will be such large
proportion Of overripe berries that some
of them will inevitably find their way
into the boxes intended for long dis
lance shipments A soft berry will
not only soon break down and decay
itself, but by offering an opportunity
for mold to develop will contribute tt
the decay of the entire box. This
point, the government investigators
say, cannot be too strongly empha
sized.
With the best of care, however, tht
weather must remain very important
factor in determining the success Of
shipments. During rainy periods the
berries become soft, very tender and
full of moisture.