Marketing Berries and Cherries by Parcel Post

1918

U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin Number 688

National Agricultural Library

WHILE BERRIES AND CHERRIES are grown to some extent in all States and are shipped in carload lots from a large number of stations in 30 or more States, both producers and consumers are sometimes dissatisfied with the existing methods of marketing and distributing these fruits. Poor returns are often received for berries of good quality because of a reported glut in the market. Most growers believe that often there is no reason for glutted markets for berries and cherries of good quality and appearance, and thus they become dissatisfied with marketing conditions. Growers who must ship from points where berries are not grown in sufficient quantities to be marketed in carload lots often receive unsatisfactory returns because their fruit must be shipped without refrigeration and is sold in competition with that which is shipped from other points in refrigerator cars. While the larger part of some of the berry crops must be transported in carload lots, the agitation for direct marketing has caused many persons to become interested in the possibilities of marketing berries and cherries by parcel post. The publicity that has been given the farm-to-table campaigns conducted by postmasters in many cities has stimulated this interest.

During the season of 1915 the Bureau of Markets of the United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Post Office Department, began an investigation of shipping berries and cherries by parcel post, and marry experimental shipments of strawberries , blackberries, huckleberries, raspberries, and cherries have been made This work was planned for the purpose of ascertaining whether berries and cherries could be shipped in commercial crates by parcel post, and also to determine the various factors that operate for and against the successful shipping of these fruits through the mail.

Most of the shipments were made to the Bureau of Markets from points within the first and second postal zones, which include the territory within a radius of approximately 150 miles. Few shipments were made from other zones, as most of the farm produce that will be shipped by parcel post from producers direct to consumers will not be sent beyond the second zone. Sending perishable mail matter to points beyond the second zone often is impracticable because of the higher rate of postage and the increased distance.

Inasmuch as strawberries are the most important of the small fruits, the experimental shipments that were made of this fruit were more numerous than those made of any of the other berries or of cherries. While it is realized that the experimental shipments of some of the berries were small in number and that the varying conditions make it difficult to draw definite conclusions, it is believed that sufficient work was done under enough different conditions to warrant the suggestions and conclusions here given.

U.S. Department of Agriculture