CHAPTER XII. 
PACKING FIGS. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
The packing of figs as practiced in different countries is extremely 
varied, and in each district figs are packed in many different ways, 
different grades being treated differently. The first grades in Smyrna 
are packed with extreme care, and no superior or equal packing 
exists anywhere. “This skillful packing should be reserved for the 
best grades, and in imitating Smyrna we should first of all endeavor 
to produce quality in the fruit, and later quality in packing. It 
neither pays to pack inferior fruit in the best possible way, nor is it 
to advantage to neglect packing and place good fruit on the market 
in a slovenly way. For medium quality of figs a cheap but attractive 
packing should be adopted, reserving the greatest care and skill for 
the very best article. It is futile to believe that the consumer will 
repeatedly buy a poor article simply because it is packed to imitate 
the best foreign grade. The deception may succeed once or twice, 
but it will not create a lasting trade; on the contrary, it will bring 
the article into disrepute. 
In packing, the grower should be guided by his own judgment and 
by the actual value of the figs. It is proper for him to procure the 
best imported article in the market, as long as the foreign figs are 
better than ours, and compare the homemade with the imported. 
Sweetness is the first important point in figs, and without it color 
and size do not amount to much. Therefore, if the figs are sweet— 
98 to 60 per cent of sugar when dried—consider the advisability 
of packing them extra well. If they are not up to the standard in 
sweetness it is better to adopt a less expensive method without neg- 
lecting taste in arrangement and attractiveness in appearance. A 
good article, even, will not sell if slovenly packed; or, if it sells, it 
commands an inferior price. Extra labor on packing good figs will 
be found very profitable. The Italian and Portuguese figs, though 
they may be really good, bring only inferior prices, and on account 
of general carelessness in packing and handling go mostly to the fer- 
menting tanks and coffee mills. The Portuguese fig trade was not 
long ago superior to that of Smyrna, but neglectful packing ruined 
the business, or at least helped to ruin it. 
There are two distinct modes of packing figs, regardless of the 
boxes or bags, mats, or drums they may be packed in. One way is 
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