packing is found to be 8^ cents per busliel box. All dropped 

 apples and all other grades are sent in the loose pack, simply 

 being graded. 



The packages used are the Boston bushel box for the whole- 

 sale trade, and a 4-quart basket and the bushel box for the 

 retail trade. The cost of the box is 23 cents delivered in the 

 packing house. To this must be added the cost of four risers 

 and two slats, and the labor of putting them on. This makes 

 the total cost of the box 25 cents. In selling on commission 15 

 cents is returned to the grower for the box, making his net loss 

 on the box 10 cents. The cost of the 4-quart basket is 7 cents 

 at the packing house. 



The varieties sold are Red Astrachan, Gravensteins, Wealthy 

 and Mcintosh. The following are the amounts of each kind 

 sold on commission this year: Red Astrachans, 287 bushels; 

 Gravensteins, 245 bushels; Wealthy, 126 bushels; and Mcintosh, 

 372 bushels, a total of 1,030 bushels sold on commission. The 

 fruit sold on commission in Boston is all hauled from the pack- 

 ing house by automobile truck. By this means the fruit can 

 be shipped in open packages; it arrives on the market in 

 perfect condition, and by leaving here in the evening arrives on 

 time for the opening of the market. The cost of hauling is 

 21 cents per bushel. The fruit is sent to two commission 

 houses, one on each side of the market. By this means there is 

 keen competition between them to get the highest prices. 



Each box is stenciled with the name of the variety, the grade 

 and the commission house. It is also stenciled, "Packed by 

 D. T. Dodd, Hudson, Massachusetts." The fruit being mar- 

 keted in this way for the last four years has now won a very 

 good reputation, so that top prices are obtained on all grades. 

 Purchasers have learned that the fruit is uniform throughout 

 the box, and that they can depend absolutely upon finding the 

 lower layers fully equal to the top layer. Many are content 

 to order, simply by asking for the grade desired, knowing that 

 they can depend absolutely upon the honesty of the packing. 

 I attribute the good prices obtained to my invariable adherence 

 to this practice. 



Best Red Astrachans brought $6.50 and $6 per bushel, and 

 the best grade of the other varieties, $5.50 per bushel. The 



