34 AGRICULTURE OF M.UNE. 



Trials have been made in many cases and the conclusion 

 reached that there is not enough real difference in the financial 

 return to warrant the extra expense of material and packing. 

 This may have been due to various causes : — 



I. The boxed fruit may have been poorly graded, with too 

 many inferior apples, and too many sizes of fruit used. 



II. The apples may not have been wrapped. 



III. The pack may have been such that the fruit did not 

 reach the market in good condition. 



IV. Inferior varieties may have been tried. 



V. Large fruit may have been tried where the difference in 

 price would necessarily be small. 



First, let us take up the diff'erence in cost of packing the 

 box and the barrel. 



Our barrel at the present time costs any where from 30C-45C, 

 at an average cost, say of 35c. It will cost about 7c to pack the 

 fruit and head it, making a cost of 42c per barrel, or 13c per 

 bushel. 



Our box costs from 11C-23C, but should average not over 15c 

 in shooks : it costs ic to make them up, ic for paper and 5c to 

 pack, making a total of 22c per box. or 66c per barrel of fruit. 



Comparing the two, the cost of packing a barrel would be 42c 

 as against 66c for a like amount in boxes, or a difference of 24c 

 per 3 bushels fruit. In order to offset this difference, the box 

 must realize 8c more per bushel. 



Now what advantage has the box to offset this difference : — 



I. The box demands better grading. 



II. There is a demand for the smaller package in fancy 

 grades. 



III. The amount of fruit in the package is exact. 



IV. There is less chance for spread of decay. 



V. It reaches a more fancy market. 



In box packing the grower has to handle each apple separ- 

 ately and even if some inferior fruit gets by in grading, he will 

 be apt to discover it when placing it in the box. The eye will 

 detect the fruit that is too green for uniformity of color and 

 keep it separate for a different pack. 



Different sized fruit is sure to spoil not only the appearance 

 but also the stability of the pack. Green fruit should be 

 placed in packages separate from the blushed, even though the 



