October, 191 1 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



231 



Educational Work in Fruit Packing 



R. M. Winslow, B. S. A., Provincial Horticulturist, Vancouver, B.C. 



IT is a commonly accepted and true 

 statement that the packing of British 

 Columbia fruit is superior to that of 

 any of the other provinces of Canada. 

 This is due to a number of factors, the 

 first of which is the influence of the high- 

 class packing in Oregon and Washing- 

 ton, while the long distance to market 

 centres, and the absence of the know- 

 ledge of poorer methods of packing, 

 have had a great share in giving British 

 Columbia this pre-eminence. This posi- 

 tion has been attained only by a large 

 amount of hard work on the part of her 

 people, and not less so on the part of 

 the Department of A^griculture. 



The seasons of 1909 and 1910 have 

 witnessed a tremendous advance in 

 methods of packing, and so of grading, 

 even in British Columbia. In that time, 

 the fruit growers of the province have 

 strengthened their packing and market- 

 ing organizations tremendously, and the 

 output of fruit, coincident with this, has 

 increased very largely. This has made 

 possible the importation of the best class 

 of United States packers, and has per- 

 mitted a still higher standard of pack- 

 ing than previously attained. 



The most notable advances since 1908 

 have been along two lines — the discard- 

 ing of the square packs and the adop- 

 tion of the diagonal, and the use of 

 wrapping paper for practically all grades 

 of market apples. The advances which 

 we will next see are the marking of the 



number of apples on the end of thie box 

 and a still higher standard of grading 

 than we have yet had. 



THE MOEAIi STANDARD. 



Perhaps the greatest factor in creat- 

 ing a high moral standard among fruit 

 growers in the matter of fruit packing, 

 has been the influence of the Packing 

 Schools conducted by the Department of 

 Agriculture. This work was inaugurat- 

 ed two years ago in the Okanagan Val- 

 ley, at which time the Department open- 

 ed classes under the instruction of the 

 two most proficient packers, at which a 

 limited number of pupils received twelve 

 practical lessons of three hours each, for 

 a fee of one dollar for the course. These 

 schools immediately met popular favour 

 in that district, and in all, an attendance 

 of one hundred and twenty was en- 

 rolled. 



In the fall of 1910, the exceptionally 

 large apple crop on new orchards 

 doubled the number of men who had 

 fruit to pack, but did not know how to 

 pack it. The applications for packing 

 schools from all districts of the province 

 rolled in to the department, and despite 

 the fact that the fee was raised to three 

 dollars, and that a local corporate body 

 in each district was required to guaran- 

 tee a minimum attendance of twelve, and 

 to provide many of the requirements, the 

 demand did not at all slack off. The 

 department insisted on employing only 

 apple packers of undoubted qualifica- 



tions, and, on this basis, was enabled to 

 discriminate, holding apple packing 

 schools only where they would be most 

 urgently required. In all, thirty pack- 

 ing schools were conducted, at which the 

 total attendance of pupils was three 

 hundred and eighty-four. 



The attendance at each school was 

 limited to fifteen. The fee of three dol- 

 lars prevented the attendance of any bul 

 genuinely interested fruit growers. The 

 rnstrfuctors were of the highest class. 

 The enthusiasm of the people was all 

 that could be desired. Under the cir- 

 cumstances, it is not surprising to learn 

 from the reports of the instructors that 

 at least seventy-five per cent, of thepupils 

 would, in their opinion, make satisfac- 

 tory packers. 



THE STANDARD EEQTJIEED 



Diplomas will be given to the pupils 

 of packing schools who attain to the fol- 

 lowing standard : 



(i) Are given a score of 75 per cent, 

 for efificiency by the packing school in- 

 structor. 



(2) Make a display of five boxes of 

 packed apples at their local fair, to be 

 judged by an assistant horticulturist of 

 the department, gaining a score of 

 seventy-five per cent. 



(3) Pack for one season with a reput- 

 able packing house, which certifies to 

 their speed and efificiency as practical 

 packers. 



Only eight diplomas were given for 

 the season of 1909-10. It is the iuien- 

 tion of the department to make these 

 diplomas valuable certificates of compe- 

 tency, and it is not likely that any 



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■f.-f ■■ - ^^jo^A'- awaajgrimiaMfi rm t TinrmnrB 



■ocfi.'ttfcasa-MMFBSfr ^t*»5->gr -»■•■■ 



The Kclowna DUtrict Exhibit that Won th« First Prize cf $500 at the Canadian National Apple Show, at Vancouver, B.C^ Last November. 



Notice all the different "packs" that are Bhown. 



