240 



THK CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 1914 



Loading Nova Scotia Apple* at Ht.lifax for Export 



A flimpso of Mr. G. H. Vroom, the Dominion Fruit Inspector, may be obtained on the ex- 

 treme rig-ht. 



'Five thousand to six thousand 



'How big a plant do you re- 



A.— ' 

 barrels . 



Q— 



quire?" 



A. — "The one here is not nearly large 

 enough. I heard one grower say that 

 it should be four times as large to meet 

 the requirements of this district." 



Q. — "What is the best insulating ma- 

 terial?" 



A. — "I do not know of anything bet- 

 ter than shavings. They are drier and 

 better than sawdust, which is apt to en- 

 courage mould. We have about one foot 

 of shavings in our outside wall." 



Q. — "Do mice ever get in the shav- 

 mgs?" 



A. — "Never when the boards are pro- 

 perly put om If there are knot holes or 

 cracks where mice can get a start, they 

 may make trouble, but not otherwise." 



Q. — "Which is better for covering ice 

 — sawdust or shavings?" 



A. — "I would prefer sawdust." 



Mr. M. Snetsinger, Thornbury, Ont. : 

 "One of the best features of a pre-cool- 

 ing plant is that when fruit is put in it, 

 it not only stops decay but the fruit holds 

 up better after it is put in the car. 

 (Continued on pa(ie 252) 



The Barrel Packing of Apples' 



ALTHOUGH the boxpackage for ap- 

 ples is becoming more popular 

 every year, the greater propor- 

 tion of our apples are still packed in 

 barrels. Packing in barrels is a much 

 simpler operation than packing in boxes, 

 but judging from some of the fruit that 

 we see on the market the packing meth- 

 ods of many growers who adopt barrel 

 packing are in need of improvement. 



Clean barrels are a prime requisite. 

 Dirty or second-hand barrels should not 

 be used, especially for export fruit. A 

 necessary convenience is a proper pack- 

 ing table. The most convenient pack- 

 ing bench for orchard use is made on 

 the same principle as the ordinary 

 stretched couch or an enlarged saw horse 



'Oondenaed from bulletin on Apple Pocking, 

 iasued by tb» Dominion Fruit Division. 



with a bolt where the supports cross 

 each other. The upper points of these 

 supports are joined with a two by two 

 strip as long as the required length of 

 the table, and on these pieces a sheet of 

 stout burlap or canvas is securely fas- 

 tened. For indoor work a more durable 

 table can be built of lumber. It should 

 be lined with burlap having straw or sim- 

 ilar material placed between burlap and 

 the wood. 



When everything is in readiness the 

 first operation is the preparation of bar- 

 rels. The quarter hoop should be forced 

 down firmly and three nails driven in in 

 a slanting direction, and clinched upon 

 the inside. The face end of the barrel 

 should be nailed and the headlines placed 

 in it. The fruit for the face should then 

 be placed neatly in the barrel. For this 



purix)se if is well to support the barrel a 

 few inches from the ground while per- 

 forming the operation. The grade of 

 the apples should be precisely the same 

 in the face as in the rest of the barrel 

 and there should not be the slightest at- 

 tempt to get high-<olored or specially 

 perfect fruit for the face. Each apple is 

 laid with the stem end down, the stem 

 having been previously cut off with a stem- 

 mer. Upon no consideration should a 

 very large or very small apple be used 

 to finish up in the centre of the face. If 

 the apples are colored, the second layer 

 should be placed so that the color of the 

 apples will show through between the 

 apples for the first layer. After this sec- 

 ond layer is laid the apples may be turn- 

 ed in from the round bottom baskets in 

 which the graded apples have been placed. 

 Never use any device that will require 

 the apples to fall any distance into their 

 place on grading table or in the barrel. 



The presumption is that the grading 

 has been done off the grading table, and 

 that fruit of a perfectly uniform grade 

 is put in each barrel. As each basketful 

 is placed in the barrel, the barrel should 

 be shaken (racked) slightly, not so as to 

 throw the apples against each other or 

 against the side of the barrel violently, 

 but just sufficiently to settle them into 

 place. It must not be supposed that this 

 racking can be done successfully, if it 

 is delayed until the barrel is nearly full. 



When the barrel is full to within two 

 or three layers of the top, a "follower," 

 a round piece of plank slightly smaller 

 than the head of a barrel, is placed on the 

 apples and the packer holds this firmly in 

 place while he continues to rack or shake 

 the barrel. The effect of this is to make 

 a comparatively level surface upon which 

 the last process or "tailing up" can be 

 done. It is well to note here that the 

 "follower" should be covered with heavy 

 felt, such as is used by harness makers 

 for pads. 



A. TEST OP THE PACKER. 



The process of "tailing" a barrel of 

 apples is the severest test of a good pack- 

 er. It consists in arranging the last two 

 or more rows of apples so that they will 

 project slightly above the barrel. The 

 characteristic of good tailing is to have 

 the apples of the last two rows placed 

 .solidly and evenly so that when finished 

 the head will touch with the same pres- 

 sure each apple exposed. This is a very 

 difficult thing to accomplish even where 

 considerable time is taken in the opera- 

 tion, and it is only a skilful packer who 

 can perform this operation quickly and 

 well. It is a common fault with unskilled 

 packers to allow one or more apples to 

 project above the general surface. When 

 pressure is put upon the barrel, these 

 apples take the whole pressure at first, 

 and are frequently crushed before the 

 bead is in place. 



