our acres. Cultural methods are practically all hand work. The land
is cleared by hand, plants set and runners placed by hand, fertilizer
applied by hand, hand hoed, hand weeded and naturally hand picked.

The rows are set 4-1/2 to 5 feet apart, plants 14 to 15 inches in the
row. The matted row system is used, but instead of allowing runners
to set at will, each one is placed. The beds are raised six inches,
rows when fully set are from 3-1/2 to 4 feet wide. Pine needles are
used for a mulch mainly because they were handy at first, clean of
weeds and easy to apply, but the pine needle is getting more and
more obsolete, like the tallow candle, and unless the grower changes
his method of mulching or else uses a motor truck and goes a long
distance he is out of luck in the future.

The industry has seen hard times and about six years ago it was
doubtful if it could survive. Growers were working as individuals
and selling their berries and buying their fertilizer, crates and
baskets. It was not uncommon for one grower to ship his season's
crop to as many as seven or eight different commission houses. This
all led to confusion. The commission man could not depend on a
steady and sure supply. By splitting up a crop in this way the
grower actually competed with himself. Finally, by necessity, he was
forced to combine with his neighbor and pool a common interest. The
growers were guided into a co-operative association, to a large
degree, by the assistance of Mr. Wilfrid Wheeler, then Secretary of
the State Board of Agriculture.

Mr. George C. Lillie was employed as manager, and right from the
start the association rallied and has been gaining ground ever since.
At present this association, known as the Cape Cod Strawberry
Growers' Association, numbers ninety-eight men. They are
incorporated, hold shares in the association, and sell their berries
through one commission house instead of seven or eight.

There are two grades of berries sold, only one of which carries the
association stamp. Each member has a number which is placed on his
crate and about 80 per cent of the crop is shipped under the stamp
of the association. The members are paid on Wednesdays and Saturdays
during the shipping season. They also pool their fertilizer order of
over 200 tons, as well as that for crates and baskets. Payment for
these commodities are deducted from returns on the berries. Last
season the association shipped about seventy carloads of ber