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 berries.
This is probably over two-thirds of the entire output for Falmouth.
Each car holds about 170 80-quart crates, and practically half are
shipped in iced cars. The berries leave Falmouth at 9 p.m. and
arrive in Boston at 6 a.m. They are there distributed to various
points, some going, we understand, as far north as Bangor, Maine.

The varieties grown are Echo, Howard 17, Abington and King Edward.
The first named are more common, but indications point to a rapid
change to the Howard 17. The Echo berry has proved a splendid variety