The Canadian Horiicultiiri^ 



Vol. XXXVI 



SEPTEMBER, 1913 



No. 9 



What shaU be Our Standard Apple Box ? 



R. M. 



THE proper size of the apple box is 

 a subject I approach with a good 

 deal of caution, both because I 

 have given the matter considerable 

 thought and because advocates of one 

 size or another have accused me of bias 

 in the opinions I have expressed. It 

 will be my endeavor to present the argu- 

 ment both ways as fairly as I can, leav- 



Winslow, Provincial Horticulturist, Victoria, 



10x11x20 inch box, now used in Canada, 

 are law and custom. The Inspection 

 and Sales Act, Part 9, Section 325, Sub- 

 section 3, requires that: "When apples 

 are packed in Canada for export, for sale 

 by the box, the inside dimensions of the 

 boxes shall not be less than 10 inches in 

 depth, II inches in width, and 20 inches 

 in length, representing as nearly as pos- 



B.C. 



value. This is perfectly true but, unfor- 

 tunately, the result so far has been dis- 

 crimination against our box, and conse- 

 quently our fruit, rather than for it. The 

 short box is well and favorably known, 

 and the Canadian market believes it to 

 hold more fruit than the long box. 



Advocates of the short box have claim- 

 ed as an advnntnre for it that it holds 



ESSEX COUNTY 



^ THE SUNNY SOIfW ^^jl^^^^^^mtgMM 



An Evidence of What Ontario Can Do in the Box Packing of Applet. A PortionSof the Eisex County Exhibit at tie last Ontario 



Horticultural Exhibition. 



ing the readers of The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist to draw their own opinions 

 from the presentation of what I believe 

 are the facts. 



I suppose all will admit that the box 

 package must be suitable to the com- 

 modity, to the market, and to the pack- 

 er, providing that cost and convenience 

 are kept in mind throughout. The ex- 

 perience of the Pacific coast enables us 

 to eliminate all but two widely used sizes 

 — the Californian, which is 20 x 11 x 10 

 inches, inside measurement, and the 

 Northwest Standard, which is 1814^ x 

 iij^xioj^ inches. It is as to the adop- 

 tion of one or other of these, or of both, 

 that the present discussion throughout 

 Canada is about. Fruit growers gener- 

 ally express a wish to discover and adopt 

 the most suitable size now, rather than 

 wait through future years, until the 

 weight of custom makes any change, 

 however desirable, almost impossible. 



Two strong arguments favoring the 



sible 2,200 cubic inches." 



The law does not require any particu- 

 lar size or capacity for sale in Canada, 

 but the ex{X)rt requirements have led to 

 the adoption of this box almost univer- 

 sally for our home markets. 



BOTH STYLES TRIED 



Before the Act was passed, the box 

 now known as the "Northwestern Stan- 

 dard (18'^xii j/^xioj^ inches) was used 

 in British Columbia, but on the passing 

 of the Act, the legal export box was 

 adopted for all purposes, except in the 

 Similkameen Valley. Since that time 

 our packers have all been trained on the 

 long box, the growers are accustomed 

 to it and many of them have developed a 

 sentiment in favor of it. 



It is true that the use of the long box 

 distinguishes it from American fruit on 

 all our competitive markets. The dis- 

 tinctiveness so imparted to our product, 

 as against that of the Northwestern 

 States, has, perhaps, some advertising 



213 



from three to five pounds more fruit, 

 while some advocates of the long box, 

 now used in Canada, have claimed as 

 an advantage for it that it holds three to 

 five pounds less than the other. Neither 

 is correct. Painstaking investigation has 

 proved that the same apples, packed with 

 equal tightness, will go into one or the 

 other box with equal facility. If our 

 American competitors have put more 

 fruit in their box, it has been solely due 

 to tighter packing and a fuller bulge. 

 The boxes are approximately the same 

 in cubic capacity and properly paclted 

 hold the same amount of fruit. 



The apple box is in favor of the West 

 very largely because its neat appearance 

 has an advertising value. Advocates of 

 both styles claim that theirs is the neater 

 and the more attractive. It is the gen- 

 eral concensus of opinion in the grocery 

 stores, however, that the short wide box 

 has a plumper and fuller appearance, 

 which appeals to the customer in a way 



