i83 



apples severely bruised. There is nothing to be gained by- 

 facing the apples at the bottom. A thin excelsior pad 

 should be used. 



There should be just enough pressure to hold the fruit 

 until it is taken from the barrel. The BaldAvin and Russet 

 will stand the most pressure. The Eusset especially has 

 much shrinkage, more than most other apples. 



Each barrel should be marked with the name of the 

 variety, the grade, the name and address of the owner. 

 If he is ashamed to put that on, he should put up better 

 fruit. 



PACKING IN BOXES 



The idea is njot new. It has been carried on here in 

 the east for twelve or fifteen years, but it has never been 

 a success. Box packing has been done successfully by the 

 packers of the Pacific coast. The box has certain advantages 

 over the barrel. It furnishes uniformity. The great thing 

 in packing fruit is to have it uniform, just as good in the 

 middle as it is in the end ; but it means more than that. It 

 means that every apple must be like its neighbor, so that 

 the buyer may know that every year he will get the same 

 thing. This is important in barrel packing, but not abso- 

 kitely necessary, but in box packing it is a necessity. 



The second great advantage is that there is less in- 

 jury to the apples. However carefully the barrel is packed 

 some apples will be harmed, but there is much less chance 

 for injury to the fruit, when packed in a box. A third 

 advantage is that the box is a factor for educating the 

 fruit grower ; there is no trouble l)ut that he will grow 

 a good box of -apples ; the two things go together. 



The box is easier to handle, easier to pick up. It is a 

 better means of handling fruit and that is what the market 

 demands. The box is a little more costly than the barrel. 

 Barrels now cost 35 cts. each. Boxes are ten and fifteen 

 cents apiece. It is more work to pack boxed apples. Since 

 it is a new thing on the market, people are a little afraid 

 of it, but the box is coming in east of the Rocky moun- 

 tains, although there have been many failures in box 

 packing. The reasons for failures are several. In the 

 first place the market in the east does not demand a box. 

 The principal reason has been the poor work on the part 

 of the packer glnd lack of uniformity. The apples must 



