BETTER FRUIT 



AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN THE INTEREST OF MODERN, PROGRESSIVE FRUIT GROWING AND MARKETING 



Packing Apple Ammunition 



THE writer desires to present to the 

 apple growers of the United States 

 a preparedness program to be used 

 in the impending war with fruit con- 

 sumers in this and other countries. The 

 great war has proven the importance of 

 plenty of ammunition, rightly prepared. 

 Battles are not decided so much by the 

 number of men engaged as by the pro- 

 jectiles which the attacking army is 

 able to throw into the ranks of the 

 enemy. 



So it will be in the impending fruit 

 fight. The army of growers which is 

 best prepared with projectiles in the 

 shape of Baldwins, Jonathans, Green- 

 ings — and, of course, Spies — will be the 

 first to cause consumers to capitulate 

 and pay a handsome tribute in the coin 

 of the realm. The most effective work 

 is done by the big guns: those which 

 land on the eating public with three 

 and four-tier fruit balls. It is well nigh 

 useless to shoot little five-tier culls and 

 crabs at the consumer. 



It is a debatable question whether 

 these luscious balls should be encased 

 in barrels or boxes. It is an undeniable 

 fact, however, that the apple-growers' 

 army of the Northwest has succeeded 

 in exacting the highest tribute from 

 consumers in previous wars, and with 

 them the bushel-box cartridge is a 

 prime favorite. Other armies have 

 emulated their example in a small way, 

 generally with excellent results. More 

 would prepare the same kind of ammu- 

 nition if they knew how. Skilled pack- 

 ers are hard to get and demand high 

 wages. 



This message from a private in the 

 ranks is addressed to other soldiers of 

 the soil and gives away all the secrets 

 of the apple-box trade. The first thing 

 needful is a factory for filling fruit 

 shells, or boxes, with apple ammuni- 

 tion. A cheap building will suffice, but 

 it should be roomy and well lighted 

 with windows on the south side. It 

 need not be more than eight feet to the 

 eaves, as it is unprofitable to pile boxes 

 more than six high. A long building is 



best, because it affords plenty of room 

 for packers and graders along the south 

 side. Sixteen by forty-eight feet is 

 about right for a thousand-box crop. 

 Large growers have picking and park- 

 ing crews working at the same time, I lie 

 fruit being delivered from the orchard 

 at one side of the building and the 

 packed product taken away to the 

 warehouse from the oilier side. 



It is a common practice to pack from 

 a table consisting of a square frame 

 with burlap or convas stretched across 

 the top, upon which the apples are 

 poured. The apples arc more or less 

 bruised by this method, especially the 



By 0. H. Barnhill, Ashland, Oregon 



odd specimens, which are apt to be 

 picked up and thrown down again a 

 number of times. A better plan is to 

 pack direct from the boxes, using the 

 same table on which the fruit is being 

 graded. This table is made of two 

 twelve-inch boards running along the 

 south wall and supported by cross 

 strips underneath four feet apart, from 

 which legs extend to the floor. To get 

 the right height, set a box crosswise on 

 the table and have a workman of me- 

 dium height stand in front of this box, 

 which should be high enough so the 

 tips of the fingers will touch the bot- 

 tom when the arms are extended. The 

 table should slope upward toward the 

 wall so the end of the box farthest 

 from the packer will be about six 

 inches higher than the near end. A 

 half-inch strip or a row of cleats nailed 

 along the lower side of the table pre- 

 vents the boxes from sliding off. 



Grading machines are a great con- 

 venience, but they are quite costly and 

 only separate the fruit into sizes, leav- 

 ing the quality grading to be done by 

 the packers. The latter are not apt to 



do a good job of grading, since they are 

 paid by the box and haven't time to in- 

 spect each apple. If the apples must 

 be given a separate sorting in order to 

 grade for quality they might as well be 

 divided into sizes at the same time, as 

 this will take little extra work. It isn't 

 necessary to have all the apples in a 

 box of exactly the same size. In fact 

 it is easier to pack from a box in which 

 some of the apples are slightly larger 

 than others, as it is sometimes neces- 

 sary to use a little larger apples in the 

 middle of the box to make the bulge or 

 crown. 



All the four-tier sizes — 96 to 125 — of 

 one grade may be put into one box and 

 the four and one-half-tier sizes — 138 to 

 175 — into another. Those smaller than 

 175 go into one box and those larger 

 than 96 into another, making four boxes 

 into which the apples are separated. 

 The packers subdivide the four-tier 

 fruit into four sizes: 96, 104, 112 and 

 125; the four and one-half tiers into an 

 equal number: 138, 150, 163 and 175. 

 The number of sizes into which the 

 little and big apples are divided de- 



Top View of Three-two Pack. 138, 150, 163 ami 17.". Apples. By O. H. Barnhill, Ashland, Oregon 



Top View of Three-two and Two-two Packs. I-'.'., 112. 96 and 88 Apples. 

 Bj o. 11. Barnhill, Ashland, Oregon 



