September, 1921 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 7 



Making Boxed Apples Safe for Delivery 



By Curtis Strong, Manager Box Department West Coast Lumber Co. 



THE importance of better made apple 

 boxes is of particular interest to dealers 

 and shippers of the Pacific Northwest this 

 season. If plans of the Northwest com- 

 mittee on water transportation work out as 

 predicted at this time, a total of $20,000,- 

 000 worth of boxed apples will move from 



the box is increased more than fifty per 

 cent. 



It was further demonstrated at the lab- 

 oratory that six six-penny cement coated 

 nails in each side nailing edge will give de- 

 cidedly better results than the nailing meth- 

 od represented in the guide issued by the 



Proper Nailing of Standard Northwest .\pple Box 



the Pacific Northwest to Eastern and Gulf association, which specifies five six-penny 



markets in the intercoastal steamships 

 equipped with refrigerator space. 



Preliminary but reliable estimates indi- 

 cate that there will be an excess of 30,000 

 carloads of apples produced in the coun- 

 try tributary to Seattle and Portland ports, 

 and if rates tentatively promised by the 

 steamship companies are put into effect 

 together with adequate cooling space, as 

 carriers have promised in return for pledges 

 of 4,000 carloads of fruit to be shipped, it 

 is reasonable to expect that a much larger 

 number of cars will move to these ports 

 for shipment by water. 



In co-operation with growers and dealers 

 the box department of the West Coast 

 Lumbermen? Associiation has prepared a 

 very complete mailing guide covering the 

 fundamentals in preparing shipments for 

 safe delivery. This consists of an eight- 

 page letter enclosure, featuring half-tones 

 of a properly nailed box and also one of a 

 box properly nailed and strapped for ship- 

 ment by water. 



It has been very clearly demonstrated at 

 the laboratory of the United States Forest 

 Service at Madison, Wisconsin, that the 

 average wooden box is made from suffi- 

 ciently heavy lumber, but failure and dam- 

 age losses are largely due to insufficient 

 care in proper preparation of packages. 



The data shown in the mailing guide 

 is based on tests made at the Forestry Pro- 

 ducts Laboratory at Madison. It is very 

 interesting to note that with one extra nail 

 added to each nailing edge the strength of 



nails in each side nailing edge. 



On a recent shipment of 30,000 boxes 

 of apples from the Pacific Northwest 

 through the canal to England, the Amer- 

 ican Agricultural Trade Commission at 

 London reported that there would have 

 been no breakage whatsoever had there 



strapped boxes were received in excellent 

 condition. 



Losses common to transportation of farm 

 products by both water and rail have been 

 increasing each year. Recent investigation 

 of hundreds of damage claims against the 

 railroads convince marketing officials that 

 these losses could be eliminated and the 

 railroads saved continual annoyance and ex- 

 pense in settling claims if more care were 

 used in packing, nailing and strapping. 



Loss and damage claims reported by the 

 Consolidated Freight Classification esti- 

 mated for 1919, due to improper nailing 

 and lack of strapping, was over $100,000,- 

 000. 



It has been demonstrated that the slight 

 expense for two three-eighth-inch flat 

 straps, applied just inside the cleats, drawn 

 tight and sealed is warranted, in view of 

 the increased strength of the box. The ap- 

 plication of straps permit rough handling, 

 prevents pilfering and prevents loss and 

 damage to the contents. 



The Pacific Northwest grower and dealer 

 in apples does not find the objection to 

 the use of the corrugated metal fasteners 

 as has been the case in previous years. Since 

 manufacturers have installed proper ma- 

 chinery for this work, the work is done 

 so much more efficiently than is possible to 

 do it by hand there is no serious objection 

 to the use of metal fasteners. A recent order 

 of 50,000 apple boxes placed in the Pacific 

 Northwest specified that ends could be 75 

 per cent two-piece stock ii properly fas- 

 tened with corrugated metal fasteners. 



Proper .Strapping of Apjtlc I 



been a few more nails used in the nailing of 

 the shooks. 



Last season over 2,000,000 boxes of ap- 

 ples were strapped and shipped from the 

 Pacific Northwest. Reports received from 

 foreign ports showed that all properly 



ox for V\ aterbornc .Siiipincnts 



The president of the Hood River Apple 

 Growers' Association recently reported that 

 it has received 1 5 cents additional per box 

 for apples on the New York auction market, 

 due to the fact that they use nothing but 

 {Continued on page 19) 



