l82 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Drew has, through the widely advertised sections of the West, 

 and I will say this, there are just as great opportunities for 

 fruit growing right here in the East as there are in any of 

 those western sections ; with the same kind of intelligence and 

 labor, the economic returns would be the same. 



As I said, I am glad to see the growers of Connecticut 

 starting to put up their fruit in boxes. I believe the question 

 of packing of apples is one of the greatest questions, the 

 greatest problems, which the fruit grower of the East has 

 before him at the present time. I believe that the time has 

 come when we must improve or totally reconstruct our methods 

 of packing. Now you are all familiar with the success of the 

 western grower with box packing. Many of you here this af- 

 ternoon probably, many 5f you growers, possibly feel that the 

 barrel which we are now using is not the package for some 

 particular varieties. Don't misunderstand me now. I will 

 explain myself. Some of you, as shown by the exhibit down- 

 stairs, have already used the box package ; probably more of 

 you would have used the box package this fall if you knew 

 where to get the boxes and about packing, etc., that is, you 

 didn't exactly know what to do or how to do it, and it is the 

 purpose of my little talk this afternoon to put before you such 

 information regarding the box and the methods of packing as 

 will enable you to put up a first class box package, and I want 

 to speak incidentally of better packing for barrels, which I 

 think is also an important question. 



Now the first question that comes to us when we approach 

 this box packing problem, is what varieties shall we in the 

 East put up in a box, that is, when we are starting out. I will 

 frankly confess that it is a mighty hard question to answer. 

 After thinking it all over, I have come to this conclusion, that 

 when we start out, let us start out for tlie box package with our 

 fancy varieties and see how they work out. We may find that 

 the box is adapted to all varieties, and we may find that the 

 box is not the package for us here in the East, but I think we 

 will find it is best for our fancv varieties. 



