206 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



iicptember, 1912 



standardize two' sizes of barrels m> 

 nearly aiilce, would l)e a great mistake. 

 No doubt there will be further considera- 

 tion of this subject which will enable the 

 fruit growers to arrive at some standard 

 for one size alone. .'Kt present there 

 seems no better compromise than to de- 

 fine a minimum size only, though tlic 

 dimensions used do not quite harmonize. 



The ten by eleven by twenty inch box 

 is giving excellent satisfaction. British 

 Columbia fruit growers who use the box 

 exclusively, find no difficulty in packing 

 any size of apple. Beginners, perhaps, 

 would find two or three sizes convenient, 

 but the objections to having several sizes 

 in a packinghouse are too strong to be 

 easily overcome. 



The berry box in two sizes — a four- 

 fifth quart and a two-fifth quart — have 

 proved satisfactory. The four-fifth size 

 is large enough for the best results with 

 strawberries, and the two-fifth box is 

 extremely convenient for the softer rasp- 

 berries . 



In baskets, the four sizes prescribed 

 by the Inspection and Sale Act, fill the 

 bill i>erhaps as well as any size that 

 could be prescribed. Suggestions have 

 been made that a round bushel basket 

 should be prescribed, inasmuch as a 

 bushel basket is an extremely convenient 

 package for local markets and even for 

 markets more or less distant. But the 

 want of uniformity in the capacity of the 

 reputed bushel basket makes it difficult 

 I0 quote prices. 



It may be fairly said, therefore, that 

 Canada has, up to date, done well to 

 standardize packages, and we are saved 

 from the chaos that prevails in the Eng- 

 lish local markets and the markets of the 

 United States. The want of uniformity 

 in packages used by English fruit grow- 

 ers has done, perhaps, as much as any- 

 thing to curtail and limit the extension 

 of the local fruit industry, especialh 



with reference to the use of fresh fruit. 

 It can lie said, too, that very great diffi- 

 culties are experienced in the large mar- 

 kets of the United .States owing to the 

 want of uniformity in fruit packages 

 from different parts of the Union. 



IMPORTANT NKED.S 



There are, however, certain needs de- 

 veloped by a long distance market that 

 require consideration. For instance, a 

 standard pear box is very much needed ; 

 the apple box is somewhat too large, and 

 the half size might with advantage be 

 prescritjed. The half box, again, is con- 

 sidered by some uimccessarily small, and 

 it has been suggested that the ordinary 

 apple box be used with the depth cut 

 down to eight inches, and it is a ques- 

 tion whether the five by eleven by twenty 

 inches, the eight by eleven by twenty 

 inches or some other size should be the 

 standard for pears. One thing is cer- 

 tain, the size of the apple and the pear 

 box must agree in two dimensions at 

 least so as to facilitate packing both 

 apples and pears in cars. 



Another objection to the five by eleven 

 by twenty inch box is that the length is 

 too great for the depth for good looks or 

 for strength. Some weight, of course, 

 must be attached to this objection, but 

 it would take experience to prove that 

 the objection is serious. 



PEACH PACKAGES 



Up to date the basket has been the 

 ftivorite package for peaches and serves 

 the purpose fairly well, so long as we 

 confine it to local markets. But there 

 are grave objections to the basket when 

 we come to ship to long distance mar- 

 kets. So long as the basket is handled 

 quickly and without piling in large lots, 

 ;he fruit is well protected ; but it will not 

 Ijear shipping in full carload lots to ad- 

 vantage. The sides are weak and are 

 not braced to resist a side strain, and 

 the motion ot the cars as well as the 



pressure of the upp»er! layers of the fruit, 

 damage the fruit lx;low. For these rea- 

 sons the stiff package, corresponding to 

 a shallow box with of without a middle 

 division, appears to; meet the needs. 

 Here again it would be convenient if it 

 were possible to get this box to conform 

 in two dimensions at least to the apple 

 and pear box to facilitate loading mixed 

 cars. 



Cherries in Ontario .so far have been 

 marketed, for the most part, in six and 

 eleven quart baskets, but these pack- 

 ages are quite unsuitable for the long- 

 distance market, and there seems to 

 be no reason why a four-basket crate, 

 such as is used in British Columbia, 

 should not Ix; used for cherries and plums 

 to take the place of the six and eleven 

 quart basket. Be it said here that there 

 is no thought whatever that such a crate 

 as this would entirely supplant the bas- 

 ket. The basket is the cheapest and 

 most convenient package, and for the 

 nearby market serves every purpose, and 

 there appears to lie no disposition to dis- 

 pense with it. The same package, or 

 something very similar, might also be 

 used for tomatoes, especially the early. 



The whole question would be the mat- 

 ter of the size of the baskets and whe- 

 ther they could be conveniently put into 

 a crate that would ship with ether pack- 

 ages. It is extremely desirable that this 

 should be done, if possible, and the pro- 

 blem before the Canadian fruit growers 

 — and one that cannot be solved offhand 

 — is to harmonize the outside measure- 

 ments of the packages so as to make 

 the loading, storing, and packing as 

 simple a matter as possible. 



If a standard outside size could be 

 set for all these packages, it would make 

 it particularly convenient for the manu- 

 facturer who wants as few sizes as pos- 

 sible in his raw material. 



(Concluded an page 219) 



IXHIBITED BY THE DE AHTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



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An Evidence of what New Brunswick Can Do in the Production and Packing of High Grade Apples. Notice the Different Packs Used 



