444 PACKING, MARKING, SHIPPING, ETC. 



away more pears to foreign markets than any other peo- 

 ple. Some small importations of their winter sorts have 

 actually been made by some of the New York fruit- 

 dealers. They pack them in small boxes, either round 

 or square, such as a man can lift and carry easily in his 

 hands. 



They cover the bottom and sides with very dry moss 

 or soft, dry paper, well calculated to absorb moisture. 

 They then wrap each fruit in the dry, soft paper, and lay 

 them in layers, the largest and least mature in the bottom, 

 and fill all the interstices with dry moss or paper. I have 

 seen these boxes opened in London, in the finest con- 

 dition, after being packed a month. They are so tightly 

 packed that the slightest movement cannot take place 

 among them, and yet no one presses upon another. The 

 dry moss and paper that separate them, absorb any mois- 

 ture ; and if one decays, it does not affect others. 



Some of the Paris confectioners and restaurant-keepers 

 preserve fruits very successfully in barrels, packed in lay- 

 ers, and the interstices filled up with powdered charcoal. 

 The barrels are kept in a dry, cool place, about forty 

 degrees, where they are not subjected to changes of tem- 

 perature. Apples, pears, grapes, almonds, nuts, and pota- 

 toes, are all preserved in this manner. 



"Peaches. Pack in stave baskets holding half of a 

 bushel ; they are firmer than splint baskets, and protect 

 the fruit better. Sort uniform as to size and quality. Fill 

 your baskets rounding full. Tie a cover over the top of 

 the basket, so that the fruit will not be liable to shake. Or 

 they can be packed in slat crates holding a bushel, with a 

 partition across the crate at an equal distance from each end. 



" Quinces. Sort to run uniform, pack in barrel same as 

 apples, except that the blossom end of the fruit should be 

 placed to the end not opened. When the barrel is full, 

 press in head harder than for pears, but not as tight as 

 apples. 



