PACKING OP VEGETABLES FOR SHIPPING. 83 



of more than forty eight hours in the transit, for most ar- 

 ticles, barrels are too large ; boxes or baskets, one-fourth 

 the capacity of a flour barrel, being safer. The articles 

 shipped in this manner from southern ports to northern 

 markets, are: Asparagus, Beans, Cucumbers, Lettuce, 

 Melons, Peas, Radishes, Tomatoes, and other summer 

 crops. Bulky articles, such as Cabbages, Beets, Sweet 

 Corn, Water Melons, Turnips, are often shipped loose on the 

 decks of steamers, sloops, etc. ; but even then, care must 

 be taken that the heaps are not too large, else they may 

 be injured by heating. The judgment of the shipper must 

 be exercised in respect to the article to be shipped. Articles 

 that lay close, will require \o be shipped in smaller pack- 

 ages than those that lie so loosely that the air can pass 

 among them ; for example, Melons may be safely packed 

 in a barrel, while, if Tomatoes were so packed, they would 

 be utterly destroyed. 



The winter or fall shipping of vegetables is the reverse 

 of the summer, for then we send from the North to the 

 South, our colder and damper atmosphere being more 

 congenial to the growth of late crops. Close packages 

 are now used, but still not too large ; barrels being best 

 suited to such articles as Beets, Carrots, Celery, Onions, 

 Parsnips, Potatoes, or Turnips, while Cabbages and Cauli- 

 flowers may be shipped in crates or in bulks. 



