2428 



PACKAGES 



PACKAGES 



uniform size, and this is of value to dealers and restau- 

 rant-keepers. 



Boxes cost about one-third as much as barrels, and 

 they hold about one-third as much, but more time is 

 required properly to pack three boxes with apples than 

 to pack one barrel properly. The Government stand- 



2706. Delaware 

 peach basket. 



2704. A lined picking- 

 basket, for apples, pears 

 and other tree-fruits. 



2703 . Another form of sizer. 



ard bushel box for apples is 18 by \1 1 A by 10 ^ inches, 

 inside measurement. There are various styles, those 

 used in the western states being made with solid ends, 

 and two pieces each for the top and bottom, and one 

 piece for the sides. In the East, where the box is used, 

 panel ends instead of solid pieces are used; otherwise 

 the same as the western style. 



Apples are usually packed into barrels in the orchard, 

 but sometimes may be carried to a packing-house or 

 shed. A common way is to 

 empty them from the picking- 

 bag or -basket upon a packing- 

 or sorting-table. From this 

 pile, the "facers" are selected. 

 These are fruits of a uniform 

 size and should be of such a 

 color as will honestly represent 

 the average of the crop. The 

 facers are then laid by hand 

 in the then bottom, but later 

 top, of the barrel. Sometimes 

 two layers are placed in by 

 hand. The barrel is then filled 

 by emptying the apples from a 

 basket that can be lowered into 

 the barrel, or emptied from the apron attached to the 

 lower end of the table. The barrel should be frequently 

 "racked," i. e., given several short, quick, vigorous 

 shakes, to settle the fruit and cause one to roll or slip 

 over the other and thus become firmly lodged. When 

 the barrel is well filled, a layer of apples is placed by 

 hand on top. This operation is known as "tailing," and 

 the cover is pressed into place and held there by driv- 

 ing the hoops down toward the larger part of the barrel, 

 and sometimes by nailing. 



Appliances or machines to size the fruits are used 



when apples are packed 

 in bushel boxes, and 

 with the recent enact- 

 ment of laws in several 

 states requiring that 

 the minimum size of 

 the fruits be marked 

 upon the package this 

 becomes necessary 

 when packed in barrels. 

 This sizing may be 

 done by the eye and 

 hand or with the aid 

 of a sizing-board, but 

 for rapid work a 

 machine is necessary. 

 There are a great many 



2705. Bamboo basket for shipping kinds, and new styles 

 citrous fruits in the Philippines. are manufactured and 



offered for sale every season. (Figs. 2700-2703.) These 

 machines are shown not necessarily for recommenda- 

 tion but to illustrate some of the types. 



Grading is the operation of selecting the fruits that 

 are similar in appearance and value. No machine can 

 do this; it must be done by hand. 

 Grades are variable, depending 

 upon the general crop of the season, 

 the ideals of the packer, and the 

 governmental requirements. Usu- 

 ally there is a "Fancy," "Grade A," 

 and "Grade B;" or, it is frequently 

 designated as "Fancy," "Standard," 

 and "Choice." 



The art of properly packing the 

 graded and sized apples in the 

 bushel box requires skill and prac- 

 tice. There are well-known stan- 

 dardized ways of doing this work. Details of this opera- 

 tion may be found in Cornell Bulletin Xo. 298. 



Apples are also packed in one-bushel hampers, a 

 commonly used package for summer varieties in the 

 Atlantic Coast states, and also in peck and one-half- 

 bushel market baskets (Fig. 2699), and peck crates. 



It is always necessary to exercise the greatest care 

 in the picking of the fruit and in handling it from the 



tree. A good lined 

 picking - basket, with 

 swing handle, is shown 

 in Fig. 2704. 



Citrous fruits. 



Citrous fruits are 

 cut from the trees with 

 shears. Care always 

 should be taken to 

 make a smooth close 

 cut, as any injury to 

 the skin or a long stem 

 that may puncture a 

 fruit that it comes in 

 contact with may lead 

 to serious decay. The 

 picked fruit is placed 

 in a bag, or sack, or bas- 

 ket, and, when filled, 

 this is emptied into a 

 "picking-," "field-," or 

 "lug-" box. It is then hauled to the packing-house, 

 where it is graded by skilled workmen and then care- 

 fully sized. The different sizes are packed into stan- 

 dard-size boxes. The orange box, which is made of 

 wood and is 12 by 12 by 26 inches outside measurement, 

 with a partition in the center, may hold from 40 to 400 

 fruits, but the common sizes are 96, 112, 120, 150, 176, 

 and 200. 



Lemons are very carefully graded and sized by hand. 

 A lemon box has outside measurements of 11 by 14^ 

 by 27 inches and holds from 180 to 540 fruits, but the 

 most common and valuable sizes are 300 and 360 fruits. 

 Pomelos, commonly called grapefruit, are handled in 

 a similar way and packed in the same kind of package 

 as is used for oranges. 



In a few cases, half- 

 boxes of all these fruits are 

 packed. All citrous fruits 

 are wrapped in tissue 

 paper. 



In Fig. 2705 is shown 

 an interesting native bas- 

 ket or hamper in the 

 Philippines. (Wester.) 



Cherries. 



Cherries are hand- 2708. Berry crate holding 

 picked from the tree with thirty-two boxes. 



2707. Six-basket crate. Used for 

 tomatoes and peaches in Georgia 

 and Florida. 



