112 The Bulletin. 



Packing is equally as important as any of the other operations involved in 

 the preparation of fruits for market. "Every grower's pack should be as 

 good as his bond." Customers want honestly packed goods, and they are 

 usually willing to pay good prices for them. A grower never loses by placing 

 honestly packed fruit on any market, be it at home or abroad. 



Each package should be filled with the same grade throughout. If this is 

 done the top may be "faced." This is an honest and perfectly legitimate prac- 

 tice provided the entire contents are fruits of the same grade as those placed 

 on top. "Seconds" and inferior grades should never be "faced" with "prime" 

 specimens. "There is neither cash nor character in this practice." A few 

 "seconds" or "culls" scattered in with a lot of fancy or prime specimens gives 

 the buyer an opportunity to discriminate against the whole package and ruins 

 the reputation of the grower as an honest packer. 



Packages should be well filled, with the contents placed firmly and snugly. 

 Every day consignments are placed on the market showing evidences of care- 

 less packing. Consider for a moment the average route traveled by a barrel 

 of apples, or, it may be, a crate of i)€aches. The package is taken from the 

 packing shed or orchard and loaded into a wagon. It is then hauled, say, 

 from 1 to G miles over the average country road to the railroad station, where 

 it is transferred to a car. After traveling from 20 to 200 miles, and possibly 

 more, it is again unloaded and placed in a wagon and this time hauled for 

 several squares over the usual city street, until it finally reaches its destina- 

 'tion and is ready to be opened for the inspection of the general public and 

 the criticism of the possible buyer. Unless this package has been well filled 

 and packed before starting, it will reach the market in what is commonly 

 called a "slack" condition. The numerous handlings and jarrings received 

 en route will have caused the contents to settle and shrink and as a result 

 the package will be only partiallj' full. Buyers cannot be expected to pay the 

 price of full packages for those only filled in part. Not only is the sale of 

 fruit affected in this way, but loose packing invariably causes bruises and 

 the general defacement of each specimen. Too tight packing should also be 

 guarded against, as this frequently results in bruising. There is a "happy 

 medium" in packing that can be learned only by experience. 



In some localities gi-owers have found it profitable to wrap certain kinds 

 of their fruit before packing. Suitable paper of a light grade is used for this 

 purpose, and if the stock is "fancy," each wrapper has printed on it an at- 

 tractive label bearing the name of the brand, where and by whom grown. 

 The cost of these wrappers is very slight, and they not only serve as a means of 

 advertising fancy produce, but they improve the appearance of the whole pack- 

 age. Further than this, the use of wrappers has a tendency to prolong the keep- 

 ing qualities of the fruit. One or more peaches or apples in a jiackage may be- 

 gin to rot. This condition causes a liberation of moisture that, unless checked, 

 will spread and cause decay to develop in other specimens. When each fruit 

 is wrapped the paper absorbs a certain amount of this moisture, thus checking 

 for a time the spread of decay. Wrappers are also an aid in ktvping fruit firm 

 and snug in the packages. 



When fruit is packed, ready for shipment, see that each package has the 

 cover securely fastened in place. Complaints are frequently made regarding 

 the condition in which fruit reaches the market, owing to the careless and 

 insecure way in which covers have been fastened. No matter how carefully 

 the packing has been done, fruits will not reach their destination in good con- 

 dition unless properly covered. One often sees fruit of excellent quality reach 

 the market in a badly damaged condition on account of an insufficient num- 

 ber of nails or fasteners used at the time of shipment. 



The fruit package of to-day is an intiuential factor in the produce business. 

 Many growers do not consider the relation the package bears to the selling 

 value of their products. It has been only within recent years that the in- 

 dividual consumer could carry fruits home in the packages in which they 

 originally reached market. The small package is gaining favor every day. 

 Its development liiis been brought about by brisk competition resulting from 

 the ever increasing demands of the public. 



