86 THE STRAWBERRY IN NORTH AMERICA 



crates were returned, they were filled with baskets, 

 promiscuously, from this pile ; the grower who shipped in 

 new boxes was likely to have old, stained boxes returned. 

 There was a growing sentiment in the trade and among 

 consumers for fresh, clean boxes. Another disadvantage, 

 which the grower sometimes overlooked, was that the 

 expense of returning the package was paid by him. In 

 early years, the transportation companies returned 

 empties free ; later they charged for this service and be- 

 came increasingly indifferent about returning them 

 promptly. Commission men did not like to return pack- 

 ages ; sometimes it took more labor to collect the empties 

 than to sell the fruit. Thousands were not returned at 

 all. Eventually the volume of business became so great 

 that the return of empties was a physical impossibility. 

 Then growers, profiting by the experience of the orange 

 growers of Florida and California, were forced to adopt 

 the gift package. At first, some used return crates and 

 gift boxes, but this only half solved the problem. Now, 

 gift packages are used almost exclusively for shipping to 

 the general market, except for the pony refrigerators of 

 Florida, and the chest of drawers used in California for 

 near markets. Stout return crates, with gift boxes, 

 still are used somewhat for near markets; also return 

 trays. The return package was fairly satisfactory in the 

 days when all commercial strawberry fields were only a 

 few miles from market and the quantity of fruit shipped 

 was small. It was made obsolete by the extension of 

 transportation facilities and the enormous increase in the 

 volume of business. 



It is probable that within twenty-five years the 

 wooden box will have been largely displaced by the 

 paper box, as a matter of economy. 



