2l6 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



.StipUinlxT, 11(1.1. 



pint for raspljerries. It will be used ex- 

 perimentally next year by the Depart- 

 ment of .Aiiiiruitiirc in cooperative ex- 

 periments. 



All apples from the north-western 

 slates are marketed in a box ioj4 by 

 1 1 ;4 by 1 8 inches, that has practically 

 Ihf same cubic capacity as our own, 

 which is 20 by 11 by 10, but it has the 

 favor of the trade and the consuming 

 public to such a degree as to warrant 

 our adopting it for our Canadian busi- 

 ness. Over one-half of the British Co- 

 lumbia apples this year have been mar- 

 keted in the so called American box to 



meet ihe demand, and it is found to be 

 facilitating sales considerably. 



I am of the opinion that, generally 

 speaking, where the trade favors Ameri- 

 can practice, as to packages, grades, 

 packing, and so forth the most effective 

 way of meeting competition is to adopt 

 the American standards. Because of the 

 fact of our Federal law governing many 

 such matters and of the natural conser- 

 vatism of British Columbia fruit grow- 

 ers, we do not as quickly arrive at con- 

 clusions with respect to trade practices 

 as do our north-western competitors. 

 (To he continued.) 



Packing Fruit for Exhibition and Market 



E. F. Palmer, Assistant Provincial Horticulturist, Toronto,; Ont. 



THE box package has been rapidly 

 gaining in favor throughout On- 

 tario during the past few years 

 because of its superiority as an apple 

 package only. It is reasonable to expect 

 too, that it will continue to gain in favor 

 until a large percentage of Ontario's No. 1 

 apples, at least, are marketed in this 

 way. And, in the face of competition 

 with western box packed fruit together 

 with the fact that the markets for our 

 best fruit are gradually coming to prefer 

 the box package it is certainly no mis- 

 take to begin to use, or continue using, 

 the box. 



It would seem also that if the present 

 European War is long continued, only 

 the best fruit, the most attractive, will 

 find a ready sale for this season at least. 

 Prices on necessities are already going 

 up rapidly at the time of writing (13th 

 August), and this will mean that many 

 people who. under normal conditions buy 

 considerable fruit, will be unable to 

 afford any. Fruit must be regarded as 

 a luxury, not a necessity, and while the 

 price of one goes up the other must go 

 down in proportion. It must also be 

 borne in mind that Europe and particu- 

 larly Germany, is a large consumer of 

 American apples. If this market is cut 

 off this year, as seems likely, there will 

 be much more fruit to be disposed of 

 on the home markets. In the face of 

 these last conditions, it is evident that 

 fruit growers should make every effort 

 this year to put out only a clean, honest, 

 attractive pack, whether in boxes or 

 barrels . 



STYLES Off PACKS. 



Of the three common styles of packs, 

 the straight, the diagonal, and the offset, 

 the diagonal has much the most to re- 

 commend it, and is used far more than 

 either of the others. With the straight 

 pack each apple rests directly on the 

 one below it and there is, therefore, 

 great danger of bruising. With the dia- 

 gonal pack, no one apple rests directly 

 on another, but cushions in between the 

 apple below, thus greatly reducing any 



chance of bruising. The diagonal pack 

 lends itself to a much greater variety of 

 sizes and shapes of apples. It is far 

 easier to make a good commercial pack 

 with it and more weight is secured to 

 the box as the apples fit more into the 

 crevices, making less waste space. 



The third system of packing — the off- 

 set — is generally considered inferior to 







3-2 Diagonal; 5 Layers— 100 Apples 



the diagonal. However, it is sometimes 

 desirable to use it with inexperienced 

 and unscrupulous packers, as any defect 

 in the pack is easily detected. With the 

 diagonal system it is much easier to vary 

 the size of the fruit in the bottom and 

 centre layers without materially spoiling 

 the appearance on top. Again, in the 

 off-set pack the spaces show at the sides, 

 giving the box an unfilled appearance, 

 whereas, in the diagonal, only small 

 spaces occur, and these at the ends of the 

 box. Another point against the off-set 

 is that it contains from four to twelve 

 apples less than the diagonal, making 

 the box light in weight. 



The term diagonal comes from the 

 fact that the rows do not run straight 

 across the box, but go at an angle. It 

 includes the commonly called 2-1, 2-2, 



and 3-2 packs. In beginning the 2-2 

 pack, an apple is placed in the left-hand 

 lower corner of the box and another mid- 

 way between the cheek of the first apple 

 and the right hand side of the box. Two 

 spaces of equal size will then be left. 

 Into these spaces two apples are placed, 

 it being understood that the apples an 

 too large to fit across the box. Tin; 

 spaces left by the last two apples plac<(l 

 are then filled, and so on, until the layer 

 is completed. The second layer is pack- 

 ed in the same manner, except that it 

 is started in the lower right hand corner 

 for the half-tier packs. This throws the 

 apples of the second layer into the poc- 

 kets formed by the first layer. When 

 completed the third layer will be directly 

 over the first layer and the fourth over 

 the second. 



In the straight packs the rows run 

 straight across the box and parallel to 

 the sides. It is very neat in appear- 

 ance, but as stated above, it is rather 

 severe on the fruit, as each apple presses 

 directly against surrounding apples ra- 

 ther than into the crevices. As the 

 straight pack should be discouraged on 

 account of its several faults, no descrip- 

 tion of how to pack will be given here. 

 It is necessary to remember only one 

 thing ; the apples must fit snugly across 

 the box lengthwise and in height. It is 

 quite apparent then that a comjiaratively 

 small per cent, of an orchard run of 

 apples will be of right size to pack pro- 

 perly in the straight pack. If the ac- 

 companying illustrations are studied, the 

 idea of the different packs can be seen 

 and understood far better than from any 

 descriptions that can be given of them. 



The off-set pack, with ordinary sized 

 apples, is started by placing three apples 

 firmly together cheek to cheek in the 

 lower end of the box with the first of 

 the three in this row against the left hand 

 side. The space then left is all on one 

 side of the box. In this space the first 

 apple of the three constituting the second 

 row is placed. W'hen the remaining two 

 are in, the space will be on the left hand 

 side. The layer is thus completed, the 

 space alternating from side to side of 

 the box. The second layer is started in 

 the right hand low-er corner by placing 

 the apples into the crevices formed by 

 the apples of the first layer. In the com- 

 pleted box the alternate layers will then 

 be directly over one another. For this 

 pack, as in the diagonal 2-2, it is neces- 

 sary to have apples too large to fit four 

 across the box. Similarly the 3-2 dia- 

 gonal requires apples too large to go five 

 across. 



In the straight pack, before the lid is 

 nailed on, the apples at either end of the 

 box should come up a little better than 

 flush with the top. With the diagonal 

 the ends should be a little higher — about 



