192 State Horticultural Society. 



ox even a few hours, too long, on the tree may mean the loss of the whole 

 crop by brown rot. Color is the shipper's test with strawberries. Rasp- 

 berries and blackberries may be picked as soon as they will separate 

 from the receptacle. 



CARE MUST BE GIVEN TO PACKING. 



As fruit is sold largely on its appearance, it must be put up to look 

 well; therefore, grading is necessary. A package, where the fruits are 

 all of a size, looks better than one where they are of different sizes and 

 on that account sells better. Fruits may not be of the largest size for 

 the variety, but if they are graded all to one size the whole package usually 

 sells as first-class fruit. It is possible to take two first-class packages 

 and simply, by mixing the contents, reduce them to seconds. The re- 

 verse operation is also true. A properly graded package should con- 

 tain the same size of fruit from the top to the bottom, the face being an 

 index of the whole package. There are many good machine graders 

 that will sort accurately to size and will not bruise the fruit. This greatly 

 reduces the labor and cost of grading. Defective specimens are removed 

 from the graded fruit as it is put into the packages. Many commission 

 men make good profits in resorting and grading the fruit put up by 

 careless packers. This summer I saw a New York commission man 

 getting a fancy grade for one of his special customers out of the second 

 grade pack sent in by a careless farmer. The fancy price very justly went 

 to the commission man. 



Good fruit should never be packed in anything but clean, new 

 attractive packages. A package that has contained fruit, being used 

 a second time, will cause the fruit to rot. The pores of the wood become 

 impregnated with the spores of rot and cause the fruit to decay very 

 rapidly. The package should therefore go with the fruit and be a gift 

 package. It should be light, neat and as inexpensive as possible. The 

 bulk of apples handled in the market still comes in barrels, but the first- 

 class apples that bring the fancy prices are handled in boxes. The 

 ^ trade in fancy apples is increasing annually. The barrel is too rough a 

 package for first-class fruit, and is much too large. Many people, who 

 would not think of purchasing so large a package as a barrel of apples, 

 would gladly buy a box of them. One good box of apples is but the 

 first of a long line that will follow after. There seems to be an increasing 

 tendency in the fruit trade to sell fruit in packages that a man can take 

 home in the hand that is not carrying the dinner pail. This year our 

 apples at the Experiment Station were very conveniently marketed in 

 forty-pound boxes and sold for $1.25 apiece. The specifications for these 



