238 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Bdltl 



I'ifteen and a half boxes of luscious fruit was picked from tWs eighrt -year-old Mcintosh tree 

 Lake, not Kootenay, as was stated in the September issue of The Canadian Horticulturist. 



or any box smaller than the two-fifths 

 quart, must be marked "short." 



The marking of the woixi "short" on 

 the side of the box was intended to eon- 

 v-ey to the poirchaser the information 

 that thait particular box did not con- 

 tadn as much fruit as the four-fifths or 

 two-fifths, but on account of tlie mark- 

 ing being done ou the ^side of the box, 

 very few purchasers even saw it. In- 

 stances are not few where purchasers, 

 on enquiring as to the meaning of the 

 word "short," were told that it was 

 the grower's name. 



When these regulations were framed 

 It was probably expected that there 

 would be practically only two sizes of 

 'berry boxes used, but this unfortunate- 

 ly has not been the ease. It is possible 

 to manufacture, and offer fruit for sale 

 in any size box one may wish, provid- 

 ing the word "short" is marked on the 

 side. 



The lack of standard boxes has 

 caused much dissatisfaction in the 

 trade and among consumers. The 

 strawiberry season usually opens about 

 December 15, with fruit imported from 

 the southern states in imperial quart 

 'boxes, well filled. These are bought bv 

 the retailers at high prices, but, on ac- 

 count of the high price, are seldom of- 

 fered in the original packages. The 

 retailers buy smaller boxes of various 

 sizes, containing two-fifths, one-half 

 and four-fifths quarts, which they fill 

 from the original packages. Jlany of 



Ihese smaller 1>oxes, although varying 

 in .cubic measurements, are made to ap- 

 pear to be the same size on the surface, 

 as, for example, the surface measure- 

 ments of the full quart, the four-fifths 

 quart, and the pint are practically the 

 same. The result is that there is no 

 uniformity in the retail prices, and the 

 consumers are unable to tell whether or 

 not they are getting value for 

 their money. These conditions obtain 

 throughout the season when fruit is im- 

 ported, which is usually from Decem- 

 Ijer until our Canadian fruit is offered 

 in June. 



Another disturbing feature is that 

 there is no legal requirement as to the 

 quantity each berry box must contain. 

 Boxes of strawberries have varied from 

 eight to seventeen ounces. In order to 

 make the best of a had purcliase, the 

 retailer is sometimes temp-ted to im- 

 prove the appearance of the boxes by 

 turning the fruit out and replacing the 

 berries in the hox in the same way that 

 one can pile a cord of wood to make it 

 measure a cord and a quarter. 



During the past three seasons, the 

 staff' of fruit inspectors have been pav- 

 ing special attention to the filling of 

 boxes and baskets, and have obtained 

 excellent results. On account of the 

 thinness of the slats used between the 

 layers in crates which rest almost 

 directly on the top of the boxes, great 

 care must he exercised in having the 

 boxes well filled and levelled off before 



Ix-ijig placed in the crate, in order 

 have a full-appearing box wlien th 

 arrive at their destination, witho 

 bruising the fruit. 



A visit to the Bonsecour Market 

 Montreal will give one a fair idea 

 how the greater percentage of sm; 

 fruit and tomatoes are packed and - 

 Unlike the strawberry growers of ij 

 tario, who ship their fruit in crates co 

 tainmg 24 to 27 four-fifths boxes, t 

 growers in this province use a era 

 containing 54 short boxes— three la 

 of 18 boxes each. The crates arc n. 

 out of one-inch lumber, and are retur 

 able to the grower. 



The strawberry season usually corn 

 at a time when the growers are n 

 overly busy with other crops, and tli€ 

 time is very profitably employed 

 hauling their fruit to market ins'tead 

 drawing to the nearest railway static 

 and shipping by express. Thirty-fi' 

 crates containing about 1,800 boxes a 

 be loaded on an express wagon ar 

 drawn by a team of horses for lor 

 di.stances. This method could pro\ 

 profitable only where the grower hi 

 the time to spare. 



PIuuLs and tomatoes are usuall 

 luai-ketcd in boxes of various sizes, tl 

 old green painted John de Kuyper gi 

 box being nuich in evidence. The lac 

 of uniformity in the size of the contaii 

 ers makes the buying and selling moi 

 or less of a gamble — more, I think, o 

 the part of the purchaser than th 

 grower, because the grower usuall 

 knows the quantity each box contains 



Packages and Packing. 



The packages now used and the pnl 

 sent methods of marketing may brini 

 satisfactory returns to the gi-ower sj 

 long as he continues to sell his fruit ii 

 the local markets, but if the productio 

 of small fruits in Quebec is to increas 

 in proportion to the possibilities of pre 

 duction and marketing, growers muf 

 adopt such packages as will insure saf 

 deliveiy and present a neat appearanc 

 when offered for sale. 



There have been several kinds o 

 containers used in shipping fruit i 

 berry boxes in Eastern Canada, hv 

 most of these have been discarded i 

 favor of the 24-box basket and the 2' 

 box crate. The latter has a decided at 

 vantf\ge over the 24-box basket ; it 

 carrying qualities are better, and th 

 cover may be removed as often a 

 necessary without having to draw nail 

 and injuring the cover thereby. The« 

 fore, I think the time is not far distan 

 when the 27-box crate, or one similar! 

 constructed, -will be used altogether i 

 eastern Canada. The thickness of th 

 slats now used in the crates is not suffi 

 cient to allow the proper filling of th 

 boxes without loss of time. 



Every grower is familiar with the 

 and eleven-quart fruit basket, and 



