state: POMOLOGICAL society. 121 



required a great deal of skill and perhaps they had better not 

 have their ears open for fear I might say some large words when 

 I was levelling up the boxes of apples. Nevertheless I could 

 afford to take considerable pains with them when I could sell 

 Gravensteins for $2.75 a box, which would probably have 

 brought me about $1.50 in the barrel. 



Question. How much more does it cost to pack in a box than 

 in a barrel ? 



ilfr. Pope. I never kept any run of it at all, but I know you 

 put a green hand levelling those boxes up, and well you might 

 want to put cotton in your ears before they got through, but in 

 a short time a person will get expert, and they will set an apple 

 up edgewise if you want to take up a little more room and bring 

 it nearer. You only want a quarter of an inch above the box, 

 give it that slight pressure, because it won't do to press them. 

 Another place you may have to take a large apple out and put in 

 one a little smaller to bring it right. An expert may perhaps 

 do it in five minutes, where it would take a green hand a half 

 an hour trying to level it up. It requires that skill that comes 

 from experience. 



Question. Do you sell to commission merchants? 



Mr. Pope. Yes. 



Question. They have no objection to the box? 



Mr. Pope. When we first began, they made objection, they 

 didn't like to handle them, but lately I notice they say "there is 

 a call for boxed apples this week, good fancy apples, send them 

 along." 



Question. What is the first cost of the box and the barrel, 

 how do they compare? 



Mr. Pope. A trifle more for boxes. You buy your boxes 

 in shooks, do your own nailing, and the shooks will cost a trifle 

 more than the barrels — three boxes equal to a barrel. 



Mr. Cobb. Do you use any better grade of apples in the box 

 than in No. i barrel ? 



Mr. Pope. No, we calculate to make a No. i fancy table 

 apple, suitable for any gentleman to put on the table. We don't 

 propose to put No. 2 apples in as No. i apples, whether it is a 

 barrel or a box. 



Mr. Lincoln. There is where organization comes in. A 

 farmer who had small amounts of apples could haul them in and 



