August, 191 2 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



183 



Packing Peaches on the Farm of J. 



After the covers are nailed on, always 

 pile the boxes of apples on the sides, and 

 load into wagons on the sides. Do not 

 pile boxes of apples into wagons by stand- 

 ing them on the ends. This doubles the 

 ris5< of bruising when hauling by in- 

 creasing the weight on the apples in the 

 under end, and settles the apples in the 



W. Smith &8Son8, Winona, Ont. CO 



box, making an empty space in the top 

 end, and the pack may be rejected for 

 loose pack. Packers will not be held re- 

 sponsible for loose pack when the apples 

 tome to the warehouse loaded in this 

 way. Always pile boxes of packed apples 

 on the sides and load them into your 

 wagons the same way. 



Picking and Packing Peaches 



A. J. Logsdail, B.S.A., Gritnsby, Ont. 



k 



WITHIN a few weeks fruit growers 

 will be busy with the peach crop. 

 It might be well, therefore, to 

 briefly summarize a few of the factors 

 that go to make success in picking and 

 packing this fruit. 



The longer a peach is allowed to re- 

 main on the tree till fully ripe, the better 

 will it be in quality, but it must be pick- 

 ed sufficiently firm to allow it to carry 

 without injury to such distant markets 

 as eastern Ontario and the middle west- 

 ern provinces. 



In picking peaches it should not be 

 necessary to press the fruit to determine 

 whether it is sufficiently ripe to pick. 

 The appearance of the different varie- 

 eties varies considerably, and only ex- 

 perience can teach one to quickly deter- 

 mine with the eye the fruit that is ready 

 to pick from that which is nearly but not 

 quite fit. A large proportion of the help 

 available in the fruit growing districts 

 is inexperienced and necessarily slow, 

 but it will pay any grower to carefully 

 teach the pickers how to pick, and save 

 himself continual worry throughout the 

 season, by receiving at the packing shed 

 I large percentage of "finger-bruised" 

 and "nail-cut" fruit that would other- 

 wise have been perfect. 



A peach should be picked, not with 

 the points of the fingers and thumb 

 pressed into it, but with the palm of the 

 hand and the full length of the fingers 

 around the fruit, thereby distributing 

 what pressure there may be necessary 

 over the whole peach, without produc- 

 ing finger bruises or nailcuts. 



The eleven quart basket is the most 

 popular size of package, each basket 

 holding about fifteen popunds of fruit. 

 Three layers of fruit in a basket of this 

 size constitute a fair sample of first-class 

 fruit. "Extra fine" and "Fancy" 

 peaches are often packed two layers deep 

 in what are called "Nine Quart" and 

 "Six Quart" baskets, the former hold- 

 ing about twelve pounds of fruit, and the 

 latter about eight. The "Nine Quart" 

 is the same length and breadth as the 

 "eleven," but shallower. 



HOW TO AERANGB 



Fruit should be packed firmly and ar- 

 ranged so that they are slightly (though 

 very slightly) above the level of the 

 basket ; they should be firm, but never 

 squeezed into place. A basket too tight- 

 ly packed is as serious a fault as one too 

 loosely, though the latter is the com- 

 monest fault to be found in the handling 

 of this crop. 



A number of the fruit growers in the 

 vicinity of Niagara ship by boat to Tor- 

 onto, and they have devised what is 

 known as the Leno-basket. The "Elev- 

 en Quart" basket is used for this pur- 

 pose, the fruit being heaped well above 

 the level of the basket, and instead of 

 the usual basket lid, a leno covering is 

 used. This is sewn to the top rim of the 

 basket. The advantages claimed for 

 these packages are: that they ship in 

 better condition because they cannot be 

 piled one above the other, but have to 

 be placed upon shelves ; that they sell 

 more readily, the fruit being more at- 

 tractive when packed in this manner, 

 and that they bring a higher price on 

 the market. The disadvantages are just 

 those factors that are claimed as ad- 

 vantages : they cannot be piled one 

 above the other, therefore they can only 

 be carried where room will permit the 

 use of shelves ; where space is at a prem- 

 ium, as is often the case in fruit and ex- 

 press cars, the leno basket is at a great 

 disadvantage ; the higher price secured 

 is very largely offset by the added 

 amount of freight ; and the leno covering 

 is not as quickly put on as the basket 

 cover. The use of this pack, therefore, 

 is directly controlled by facilities of 

 transportation, and even then can con- 

 veniently be used only on a limited scale. 



A packing shed is a most necessary 

 adjunct to a good orchard, and should 

 be placed as near as possible to it. Four 

 posts and a roof will answer the purpose, 

 which is that of affording shade and cool 

 air to the fVuit as it is brought in from 

 the orchard to be graded and packed. A 

 portable shed, with shutters for win- 

 dows, by which means ample ventilation 

 can be secured, and provided with slop- 

 ing packing benches, is a great asset in 

 handling the fruit quickly and thorough- 

 ly during the rush of peach packing. All 

 baskets full of fruit should be carried 

 to the shed immediately, and there 

 placed in the shade. 



SMALL BASKETS 



Several growers prefer using the small 

 six quart basket for picking the fruit 

 in the orchard, as there is less chance of 

 bruising the fruit ; the small baskets are 

 more convenient when picking, and the 

 fruit is more easily handled when 

 brought to the shed for packing. It is 

 a mistake, and one that is made by many, 

 to think that a basket of {reaches can be 

 picked and packed at the same time. 

 One man in ten might be able to do it, 

 but for the other nine it is most neces- 

 sary to see that the baskets are re- 

 arranged and packed before the covers 

 are fastened on, and the grade of fruit 

 marked on them. 



Never before has the fruit industry 

 of Ontario and the country been in a 

 healthier state than it is to-day. This 

 condition of affairs is due to numerous 

 causes, but one of which I will mention 



