length of time after being picked, are very difficult to wipe, as a sweat or oil gathers 

 on the surface of the fruit. 



In wiping an apple it should not be rubbed hard. The object is not to polish 

 the apple, but simply to remove what dust there may be, and more particularly the 

 dabs of spray which a great many people are afraid of on account of their poisonous 

 nature. However, an analysis of the quantity of spray on an apple has shown that 

 it would take the spray from 600 apples to make a minimum dose of poison danger- 

 ous to a human being. 



A pair of cheap cotton gloves is much superior to a rag for wiping, as the 

 operation is not only more quickly performed, but the hands do not become numb 

 from handling the cold fruit. "Wiping and grading may be conveniently done at 

 the same time. 



Stemming. 



To prevent the stem of the apple being bent over by the top and bottom of the 

 box and puncturing the fruit, stemming is practised. to some extent. Part of the 

 stem is simply removed by small pincers especially made for the purpose. It is 

 questionable whether stemming is practical in commercial box-packing. In 

 barrel packing, where only a small percentage of the apples have to be stemmed, 

 namely, the face layer, it is quite possibly an economic operation. With boxes, 

 however, two layers, the top and the bottom, or half the apples in the box, are 

 stemmed. For exhibition fruit this may be permissable, but there seems to be a 

 fairly general impression in Ontario that all box-packed fruit should be stemmed. 

 It would be far more economical to pack those varieties of apples that require 

 stemming calyx-end up or on their side, for stemming must add considerably to 

 the cost of packing. A good packer will pack half a box in the time required to 

 stem the fruit for the top and bottom layers of a box. Thus where he would pack 

 a box and a half when not stemming, he would only pack a box if he were required 

 to stem the fruit. This means an increase of practically one-third in the cost of 

 packing, which is far too big an expense to overlook. Of course if an extra price 

 can be secured for stemmed fruit, well and good, but the way markets are tending 

 now, the cost of production has to be decreased rather than increased in order to 

 meet their demands. 



Wrapped fruit needs no stemming, as the wrappers prevent any 

 puncturing by the stems. The apples give more when the pressure of the lid is 

 brought to bear, tending to obviate any danger. Furthermore, since the fruit is 

 wrapped, it matters very little whether the fruit is packed stem-end up, calyx-end 

 up, or on its side. In varieties of apples, therefore, in which puncturing is to be 

 expected, the top and bottom layers may be packed calyx-end up or on their cheeks. 

 There is no serioits objection to pacHng apples on their sides even when univrapped, 

 and there certainly is no serious objection to packing tvrapped fruit so. It is better 

 however, to pack the apples on their ends whenever possible and use the side pack 

 only when necessary. 



Packing Tables and Benches. 



Packing on benches instead of tables is gaining in favor in some districts of 

 the West. The packer stands in front of a sloping bench on which are placed four 

 or five apple boxes on his left-hand side and an orchard box of ungraded fruit on 

 his right. Taking the apples as they come he packs them into their proper box, 

 making four or five sizes. Over, or undersized fruit is put in boxes placed con veni- 



