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No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 469 



The capital stock of these associations, outside of piopei'ty held 

 by the stockholders, varies from $1,000 to |15,000, aud is divided 

 np into shares of from $2.00 to $10.00 each. Usually each member 

 is required to hold at least one of these shares, and is prohibited 

 from holding more than a certain number. As a rule, not more 

 than one-half of the capital stock is paid up, the other half being 

 held in reserve. 



The central packing house system seems to have come into very 

 general use among co-o])erative associations themselves, but in some 

 cases, especially at first, the packing house is rented. When owned 

 it is paid for by subscription among the members of stocks, and 

 dividends are drawn upon this stock. Thi« method of packing fruit 

 has been demonstrated to be one of the most practicable and satis- 

 factory- of any yet tried. 



Mr. C. E. Bassett, of Fennville, Mich., is the pioneer of the central 

 packing house system aud he has this to say about it. '*We have 

 live of these packing houses at Fennville, and although the sys- 

 tem is not yet fully perfected, it has already demonstrated its 

 efficiency in handling the products of large orchards. Usually six 

 or eight growers combine and erect a packing house beside the rail- 

 road. Their fruit is brought direct from the orchards to this cen- 

 tral packing house, where it is carefully graded and packed, each 

 grower receiving credit for the number of baskets (peaches) of each 

 grade. The foreman and packers having no interest in the fruit, 

 pack top and bottom alike and every basket can thus be guaranteed. 

 Solid cars of one straight grade can thus be purchased any day 

 during the season, and we find that buyers will pay more for this 

 fruit than where they have to drive around the country and pick 

 up a load of as many grades as there were packers." 



It does not seem practicable to pack deciduous or perishable 

 fruit in a central packing house because of the greater number of 

 packages required for a carload and because the fruit is injured by 

 handling the extra time. Many of«our western associations prefer 

 to pack their fruit in the orchards of the growers, with experienced 

 gangs of their own packers, e. g.. Hood River. This is probably 

 the best method there because of the more favorable climate, and 

 because of the larger orchards and better packing facilities. In 

 Western New York where weather conditions are uncertain during 

 the packing season, and where immense quantities of fruit must be 

 packed in a short time, and by one association, the central packing 

 house would be a great advantag(\ lu Ontario, Canada, where the 

 conditions are most similar to ours the central packing house sys- 

 tem is in almost universal use. 



There are of course very many styles of packages used and 

 their cost is consequently very valuable. Packages must naturally 

 be adapted to the market and trade, and where these demand a fancy 

 pack they should have it as the most profitable package which can 

 be used. Western associations use the box very largely, most of 

 their packed fruit being first class or fancy. There can be little 

 doubt that the box is the package for the better grades of fruit, 

 The barrel is still the most common package used in Canada. 



