Page 10 



BETTER FRUIT 



December 



The Physical Handling of Fruit — Packing Houses 



By C. I. Lewis, Professor of Horticulture, Corvallis, Oregon 



WE can divide packing liouses into 

 two classes, viz, those privately 

 owned and those of the commu- 

 nity plan. There are a numher of types 

 which one can consider in the class of 

 privately owned houses. The iirst that 

 I wish to call attention to is the tent. 

 The tent is not used with the idea of a 

 permanent house, but is of great value 

 where one has young orchards coming 

 into bearing, or where the financial 

 conditions are such that it is impossible 

 for a few years to build ample storage 

 and packing facilities. For a small 

 amount of money one can accomplish a 

 great deal in a tent. Many growers in 

 the Pacific Northwest for the past two 

 years have used these very satisfac- 

 torily. To use a tent to the best advan- 

 tage one should equip it with a sizing 

 machine, in order that the fruit may be 

 moved more rapidly. Mr. E. II. Shep- 

 ard, a fruit grower of Hood River, gives 

 a report of his experience in handling 

 fruit in a tent. He was able to move 

 nine carloads of fruit in thirty-four 

 days in a tent which measured 30x40 

 feet. The lop of the tent was made of 

 12-ounce duck, and the sides of 8-ounce. 

 The tops and sides were sewed together 

 in one piece, and the ends were made 

 separately of 8-ounce duck. The cost 

 of the tent itself was -¥80, the lumbei- 

 $25, and labor $20, making a total cost 

 of $12.5, which is a small sum of money 

 to invest for the handling of 10,000 

 boxes of fruit. These tents will give 

 service for a number of years, for 

 when the season is over they can be 

 taken down and stored in a dr\ place. 

 Many growers are so situated thai they 

 prefer to build a regular packing house. 

 There are many types of such; they 

 may consist of mere sheds, or, on the 

 other hand, they may contain cool 

 storage, or even cold storage. By cool 

 storage we mean that the fruit is kept 

 cool by the use of cool air and proper 

 ventilation, and by cold storage we 

 mean ice or some form of mechanical 

 refrigeration. A little fuither on I will 



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is made up entirely of Western apples 

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 The most delicate and delicious flavor 



nf all cnndied fruits. 



CHRISTMAS BOXES SENT EAST 



We will send any size box direct from 

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 and enclose Christmas card from you. 

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 and don't forget to order a box for 

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Pounds 80c Half-Pounds 4Sc 



Money Order, Check or Stamps. 



FANCY FRUIT PRODUCTS CO. 



HOOD RIVER, OREGON 



give some suggestions concerning the 

 details of the construction of storage 

 houses. There are some advantages in 

 having a packing house on your own 

 place. It is very convenient to the 

 point where the fruit is grown. It has 

 one serious disadvantage, however, and 

 that is that is it generally too expensive. 

 It takes from .$2,000 to $8,000 to build an 

 average house which will furnish you 

 with storage facilities that are adequate 

 to keep the fruit in good condition. Of 

 course you can build a packing shed for 

 less money, but if you want to have any 

 facilities for keeping fruit without caus- 

 ing it to deteriorate rapidly, it will take 

 considerable money. On the other hand, 

 you can work with your neighbors and 

 build a plant which will be more efli- 

 cient than you can afford to build and 

 not nearly as much money will have 

 been expended for each individual. The 

 money that you have saved could be 

 put into a permanent cold storage plant. 

 In other words, we believe that the 

 direction of packing house facilities in 

 the Northwest will be along the lines of 

 the construction of coniniunity packing 

 sheds, and as soon as the fiuit is han- 

 dled in such sheds it will be transferred 

 rapitUy to a cold storage plant. We be- 

 lieve that by such an organization it 

 will be possible to finance plants which 

 would otherwise be impossible. Of 

 course there are localities where it will 

 be atlvisable to build combination 

 plants, namely, those which are part 

 packing and part storage. The commu- 

 nity house has many advantages: First, 

 it allows economy in the initial outlay 

 and in operation; and second, it allows 

 belter work, since you can keep the 

 help during the entire season, and you 

 can generally give it a little better 

 supervision, and can handle more ton- 

 nage in a short time. There is a chance 

 for a division of labor. The neighbors 

 can get together and one decide to take 

 charge of picking, another charge of 

 packing, another charge of grading, an- 

 other charge of hauling, another charge 

 of certain clerical duties. One can look 

 after the hiring of help, and so on. As 

 a rule much better equipment is found 

 in the eonmninity houses than is found 

 in the average house owned by the in- 

 dividual grower. There are some dis- 

 advantages, such as a longer haul for 

 some people. We have not as yet 

 worked out the best unit of co-opera- 

 tion. We know there are some houses 

 that are accommodating five to a dozen 

 orchardists to very good advantage. On 

 the otiier hand, this year there will be 

 houses in the Northwest which will ac- 

 commodate from fort> to sixty growers, 

 .lust how many growers can be accom- 

 modated in one shed to the best advan- 

 tage is an open question. In other 

 words, which will be the belter policy, 

 to build half a dozen very large com- 

 munity houses or lifteen or lwent\ 

 snuiller community houses? Probably 

 the conditions in the different localities 

 will settle thtit jjoint to ;i large degree. 

 The (|uesli<in of location ol' llic coniniu- 



nity packing house is one which needs 

 serious attention. In strictly orchard 

 districts it is well to locate the house 

 as nearly central as possible to the 

 territory it will serve. In manj other 

 sections, however, it will be much bet- 

 ter to locate the house along the lines 

 of the railroad. Especially is this true 

 if storage is to be added to the packing 

 shed. There are many types of com- 

 munity houses. Some of them are mere 

 packing sheds; others simply converted 

 buildings, such as blacksmith shops, 

 hoi) warehouses, and similar buildings. 

 In some places they are planning to 

 combine tiie warehouse storage for hay 

 and grain with fruit-handling storage. 

 .Some combine packing with cool-air 

 storage, and still others have packing, 

 cool-air storage, and refrigeration. It 

 is possible to start a community house 

 with a very small amount of capital, or 

 it is possible and sometimes advisable 

 to put in considerable money and build 

 a permanent building. I am going to 

 give a few descriptions of the different 

 types of houses, and a few suggestions 

 concerning the adaptability of the same 

 to the various localities of the North- 

 west. 



The first house I want to call your 

 attention to is known as the Pioneer 

 Packing House, in the Oak Grove dis- 

 trict at Hood Hiver. Two years ago five 

 young men of that locality formed a 

 I)artnership. They did not have suiri- 

 cient mone\ to invest in a building, but 

 useil a large blacksmith shop in that 

 locality. The building measured 20x80 

 feet, and was centrally located. Each 

 man was equally interested in the part- 

 nership and had an equal voice in the 

 management. One was selected as the 

 foreman of the packing house, another 

 was foreman of the picking crew, an- 

 other had charge of the teaming be- 

 tween the orchard and the packing 

 house, while another had charge of the 

 accounts and attended to matters which 

 needed attention in town. The apples 

 for the members were handled at cost, 



First National 

 Bank 



HOOD RIVER. OREGON 



A. D. MCE - - 

 E. O. BLANCHAR 



President 

 - Cashier 



Capital and Surplus $125,000 

 Assets Over $500,000 



Member Federal Reserve System 



WHEN WRITING .MlVEkTISERS MENTION BETTER ERUIT 



WIIIN WRIl'M'. ADN KRTI.--1.KS MINiit'N ItlTTER 



