21 



Packing should first of all be tight ; and herein much of the work done 



for the two trial shipments was defective. Many of the boxes, upon being; 



lifted to load in the car, rattled, which indicated a looseness of the fruit 



in the package. It is scarcely necessary to remark that such looseness is 



an unfavorable factor in the carrying of the fruit, and that it is useless- 



to secure the package in its place in the car when the fruit within the 



package is capable of being displaced- Further, the looseness of the fruit,, 



when the package is opened for exhibition and sale, impresses the dealer 



unfavorably, and tends to depreciate the price- Tightness of packing is 



just as necessary when the fruit is wrapped, as when it is not; for with 



loose packing and heavy wrappers, such as occurred too frequently in this 



shipment, the purchaser receives much less fruit than, if he judges by the 



size of the package, he expects and is entitled to receive. To illustrate : 



the weight of a box of pears put up by one shipper was 31 pounds ; the 



12 8 



Fig. 10. — (1) The California grape-ciaie, a shallow .square container holding 4 

 square trays. 



(2) A box of pears packed by J. F. Brennan, of Grimsby. The pears are 

 heaped tonard the middle by selecting slightly larger pears for the middle; this 

 heaping gives the effect, when the lid is on, as seen in (3) of this figure. 



(3) Is a box of California pears 9 in. x 12 in. x ISi in. By this style of 

 packing the pears are squeezed when the lid is on, an effect similar lo squeezing 

 apples when heading the barrel. 



weight of a box of same size, containing the same variety and grade of 

 pears, put up by another shipper in the same car, was 23 pounds. The 

 pears in both boxes were wrapped, but in the one the pears were squeezed, 

 and in the other they were slack. 



Some of the apples in our shipment were packed in layers, with a 

 stiff heavy paper, cut the size of the box, between layers. This paper,, 

 while good in itself, was made by some of the packers the occasion for 

 very loose packing. In fact, in some of the boxes there was no attempt 

 at close packing ; the apples being put in loosely on top of the paper, and 

 taced stem upwards so as to present a level surface for the next paper. 

 Such methods result to the packer in a considerable saving of apples, but 

 rob the consumer, besides allowing bruising in transit. 



Fillers. There is a practice in packing that cannot be too strongly 

 condemned, namely, filling in the slack with odd pieces of paper, excel- 

 sior, and small and inferior specimens of fruit. The effect of this upon, 



