1. Each berry must be picked with the thumb and forefinger nails, and not held in the hand, but dropped into the basket at once.
2. No green, decayed, or muddy berries will be received.
3. There must be no getting down upon all fours in the beds, thus crushing both green and ripe fruit.
4. There must be no "topping off" with large berries, but the fruit must be equally good all through the basket.
In the early pickings of Wilsons, when many of the berries are of good size, and of all the large, choice kinds, it is best to make two grades, putting the large and small by themselves, and keeping varieties separate. A small frame, with short legs at the corners, and a handle, is a convenient appliance to hold six or more baskets while picking. Give to each picker two sets of baskets, one for the small and one for the large berries, and pay equally for both, or perhaps a little more for the small ones, so that there may be no motive to thwart your purpose; one and a half to two cents per quart is the usual price. Have two styles of tickets, red and blue, for instance; the red having a higher value and being given to those who bring the berries to the place of packing in good order, according to rule; let the baskets not picked in conformity to the rules be receipted for with the blue tickets. Receiving many of the latter soon becomes a kind of disgrace, and thus you appeal to the principle of self-respect as well as self-interest. Get rid of those who persist in careless picking as soon as possible. Insist that the baskets be full and rounded up, and the fruit equal in quality down to the bottom. As far as possible, let the hulls be down out of sight, and only the fruit showing. If you have berries that are extra fine, it will pay you to pick and pack them yourself, or have some one to do it who can be depended upon. Do not pick the fruit, if you can help it, when it is wet with dew or rain; still, there are times when this must be done to save it. Never let the baskets or crates stand long in the sun and wind, as the berries so treated soon become dull and faded. As soon as a crate is filled, put it under cover in a cool place till shipped to market. As far as possible, insist upon careful, gentle handling.
Raspberries should be treated with even greater care than strawberries, since they are softer and more perishable. They should never be put into anything larger than a pint basket, while thirds of a quart and half-pints are much better. Round half-pints seem to be coming into favor. There is a wide, shallow basket made in Rochester, that some growers think highly of. With most varieties of raspberries, if any considerable number are placed together they soon become a soft, mouldy mass. The ideal raspberry basket, therefore, is small, open, and shallow; and the crates should permit free circulation. Pick the fruit when dry, and as soon as it is ripe, as over-ripe berries decay quickly. Keep varieties by themselves. Mr. Parry says that raspberries will pay at ten cents per quart, but the margin of profit will be small. They usually sell at much higher figures. Black-caps of late years have scarcely brought paying prices in New York market. The following statement shows what a difference variety, and therefore quality, makes in the same market. On the 7th day of July, 1871, raspberries were sold at wholesale, in Philadelphia, as follows, viz.:
Black-cap ………………..5 cents per quart. Philadelphia ……………. 8 " Pearl ………………. 16 " Susqueco, or Brandywine …. 30 " Hornet ………………… 60 "
Blackberries sell well in both quart and pint baskets, but if one is sending a long distance, pints will carry the fruit in better condition. One of the best methods of shipping currants is to have tills, or shallow boxes, two or three in number, fitting in one's berry crates, which can thus be made to serve a double purpose. Mark on these tills the net weight of the fruit. For large, Cherry currants, quart and verbena baskets are often used. Many like a long market basket, holding about twenty-five pounds, while those who raise grapes often make the same shallow boxes answer for both.
Gooseberries are shipped in all kinds of packages, from barrels to quart boxes. I prefer a crate with tills, for both gooseberries and currants. These two fruits, especially the latter, are becoming increasingly profitable every year. In summing up, it may be briefly stated that with all fruits, and in all the large markets, beauty, size, and good keeping qualities are the points which are chiefly considered. Very few know much about the names of varieties, but eagerly purchase that which appears the most attractive. The grower who can make his crates of berries, when opened, look better than others near, will always receive good prices. If he tops off poor fruit with large berries, he will scarcely find a market eventually. If he always fills his baskets well and honestly, and gives good weight, taking pains to make his packages appear attractive, his fruit will soon be in much demand and spoken for in advance.