PACKING AND MAHKETS. 91 



little consequence. Special directions will be given for 

 packing each variety of vegetable. No vegetable or 

 fruit of inferior value (I am not alluding to size), with 

 the slightest indication of decay or of over-ripeness, 

 should be put up; for the packer should bear in mind 

 that a speck, now only faintly perceptible to him, will 

 some days later appear as an odious blemish in the eyes 

 of the purchaser. The decay of a single individual may 

 be communicated to and injure the rest. 



If vegetables or fruit of a second quality are worth 

 less at home than if forwarded, let them be put up in 

 separate packages, and not allowed to detract from the 

 quality and market value of the first grade by mixing 

 the two together. If articles of the first quality and the 

 "culls" are shipped in separate packages, they bring 

 better prices than when they are put up together. The 

 decrease in value is out of all proportion to the slight 

 increase in bulk. 



The pernicious habit of packing articles of a better 

 quality at the top of a barrel or other package, and those 

 of an inferior below ("deaconing" or "topping"), is 

 neither more nor less than an attempt at fraud, to be 

 shunned by every honest grower, while it is a reflection 

 on the discernment or acuteness of the buyer. To the 

 gardener who expects to continue shipping vegetables, 

 who hopes for satisfactory returns, and wishes his brand 

 or mark favorably known in the markets to which he 

 sends his crops, I should recommend the other extreme. 



The laths of a crate should not be far enough apart to 

 allow their edges to indent or cut such vegetables as to- 

 matoes, cucumbers, etc., and yet be sufficiently distant 

 to ventilate the package as much as possible. The heads 

 and sides of barrels should be cut to admit air freely. 

 None but good, strong, clean, round-hooped potato or 

 flour barrels should be used for shipping purposes. 



