Page 6 



creasing the sale value of the package, 

 which emphasizes the fact that all baskets 

 should be ring faced. In order to receive 

 top prices baskets should present a very at- 



Fig. 2. Packed basket, showing wire side hooks 

 and 19-inch pad 



tractive appearance. This can only be ac- 

 complished by facing. 



The styles of facing most commonly used 

 are: 



1. Stems up, fruit in concentric circles. 



2. Cheek up, stems out to edge of basket, 

 fruit in concentric circles. 



3. Cheek up, stems to calyx, fruit in 

 concentric circles. 



TN the jumble pack the apples, after hav- 

 -*- ing been graded and sized, are run into 

 baskets without bruising. Care should be 

 used in this operation, for apples falling 

 but a few inches will bruise and while the 

 bruise may not be apparent, in a few days it 

 can be noticed and at a later date offer 

 chance for deterioration. It is preferable 

 to pack graded and sized apples rather than 

 orchard run. Only sized apples and one 

 size at that should go into the basket. It is 

 bad, and in some cases an unlawful practice 

 to mix sizes. As the basket fills with apples 

 it should be smoothed around so as to fill up 

 all depressions and secure a tight pack. 

 When the basket is half full a "follower"' 

 or "racker'' should be used. This covers the 

 fruit and in racking it prevents the apples 

 from bouncing around and being bruised. 

 When the basket is filled to within two or 

 three inches of the top the "follower" 

 should be again used and the basket well 

 racked. This prepares a good foundation 

 for the face if one is to be put on. 



It is very important that a bushel of 

 jumble packed apples be well racked. Rack- 

 ing consists of a sharp shake from side to 

 side with the object of settling the apples 

 in place. It should be done on a solid foun- 

 dation, such as a plank or the floor of the 

 packing house, as it can never be done suc- 

 cessfully on the ground. Racking should 

 be done with a slight, sharp jar, rather than 

 a swinging, throwing motion. Unless the 

 baskets are racked properly the fruit will 

 not be settled and the baskets will have the 

 look of a slack pack when the basket ar- 

 rives on the market. It is absolutely neces- 

 sary in good, jumble packing that the bas- 

 kets be well racked. 



BETTER FRUIT 



"D ING packing a basket is considered by 

 *-^ some growers to be the best method. 

 Undoubtedly for extra fancy fruit and for 

 the larger sizes as well as for apples that 

 will be put into cold storage ring packing is 

 to be preferred. Do not confuse ring pack- 

 ing with ring facing, as a jumble pack and 

 the ring pack are both faced. Ring packing 

 is the placing of the fruit in the basket in 

 concentric circles. Start at the bottom and 

 .against the sides and pack the fruit in rings. 

 It is preferable to pack the fruit stem to 

 calyx in making the rings and after the 

 first ring has been completed put in the 

 second ring and continue until the entire 

 layer h.is been finished. The second layer 

 is put directly on top of the first layer and 

 so on until the basket has been packed and 

 is ready for the facing on top. 



In both the jumble and the ring pack the 

 fruit in the center of the basket will be 

 higher than the fruit around the side of 

 the basket. This is caused by the center of 

 the bottom being raised. This raised center 

 causes an incre.ised height of bulge in the 

 center of the face and is one of the very 

 strong points about the packing of apples 

 in bushel baskets. It gives a bulge without 

 using a larger sized apple for the center. 



The ring packed basket holds very tight 

 in transit, and it is not necessary to rack it 

 unless fruit of uneven size has been used 

 in making the layers. It should not be 

 packed so high that there will be too great a 

 bulge above the edge of the outside hoop 

 when the facing is put on. 



'T'HE fruit selected for the facing of the 

 *- baskets should be such as to fairly rep- 

 resent the quality of the contents. If the 

 apples are not graded to size it will be un- 

 fair and unlawful to have the larger size 

 in the face. It will also be unfair to have 

 apples of better color on the face than those 

 in the rest of the basket. In short the face 

 must represent a fair and uniform sample 

 of the fruit in the baskets. The fruit in the 

 face should be placed to the best advantage. 

 To obtain a good looking face the fruit 

 must be uniform in size. 



The Styles of Facing 



1. Stems Up, Fruit in Concentric Cir- 

 cles. This face is very popular and is no 

 doubt used as it is similar to the facing of a 

 barrel pack. This style does not permit the 

 tightest face or provide the greatest possi- 

 bility of showing the maximum color of 

 the apples. This style of face is not so pop- 

 ular with the growers as that of cheeks up. 

 Where the basket has been ring packed 

 from the bottom up this face is easy to 

 put on. 



2. Cheeks Up, Stems Out to Edge of 

 Basket, Fruit in Concentric Circles. This 

 f.-ice is the least popular of the three meth- 

 ods of facing does not permit as tight a pack 

 and besides it requires more time in prepa- 

 ration than the other styles. 



3. Cheeks Up, Stem to Calyx, Fruit in 

 Concentric Circles. This face (Figure 1) 

 is no doubt preferred to all other styles. It 



October, 1921 



allows the greatest possible display of the 

 well colored checks, it makes an even, 

 smooth, tight pack and prevents slipping or 

 displacement of the rings. This style of 

 face can be put on in much less time than 

 other styles. 



TN SIZING fruit for bushel baskets the 

 -'- size is the transverse diameter rather than 

 the longitudinal diameter. This is measured 

 by a line through the thickest part of the 

 apple, which is at right angles to a line 

 drawn from stem to calyx. The average 

 transverse size of the apple is considered in 

 this work and not the longitudinal diameter. 



Five sizes of apples are listed below and 

 for the convenience in this bulletin the dif- 

 ferent sizes have been numbered. Thev 

 are: 



I 2 in. to 2J4 in. 



II- -- 2J4 in. to 2^ in. 



Ill --- lYz in. to 3 in. 



IV.- _....3 in. to 4 in. 



V. 4 in and above 



Due to the variation in the size of the 

 different classes mentioned the number of 

 apples in the different rings of the face will 

 vary slightly. It would be ideal to ring face 

 with apples that were half way between the 

 minimum and maximum of each size. This, 

 however, is not possible unless a hand sizing 

 board is used or the grader is so equipped 

 that it sizes accurately to the transverse di- 

 ameter of the size being packed. 



In the experimental work on which this 

 data is based the variety used was Ben 

 Davis. The general shape and conformation 

 of this variety is similar to most varieties 

 except those shaped like a Delicious, the 

 York and other off-shapen varieties. The 

 figures obtained are for sizes of apples 

 which were run through the Starcher grader, 

 frequently called the Virginia Fruit Sizer. 



'■|"'HESE figures are only approximate for 

 -*- the different sizes, and no figures can 

 be e.xact because of the vaiiation in the 



W % brRnd^;: ill 



y 



Fig. 3. Showing wrapping of fruit except center 



rows to show prospective purchaser quaUty 



of fruit. Also label on top of basket 



commercial sizes being packed. The varia- 

 tion in some sizes will be from a quarter 

 ( Continued on fage 15) 



