PACKING AND MARKETING FRUITS 19 



The Apple "Barrel 



Before going on to see how apples are packed, it 

 will be best to stop a moment to consider the stand- 

 ard apple packages. Of these the barrel stands first. 



The standard American apple barrel has *.he fol- 

 lowing dimensions: diameter at top, 17*4 inches; 

 circumference at middle, 64 inches; length of staves, 

 28% inches. This is known everywhere as the stand- 

 ard apple barrel, or the one hundred quart barrel. 



In Nova Scotia, and occasionally in Ontario, an- 

 other barrel is used considerably different from the 

 one just described. It is just a trifle longer, but the 

 most distinctive difference lies in the fact that the 

 staves are straighter. The barrel is made nearly 

 cylindrical. The dimensions of the Nova Scotia bar- 

 rel are: diameter of top, 17*/ inches; diameter at 

 middle, 19 inches; length of staves, 29 inches. The 

 two barrels may be more readily compared in the 

 following table: 



COMPARISON OF NOVA SCOTIA AND AMERI- 

 CAN APPLE BARRELS 



Diameter Diameter at Length of 



at Top Middle Staves Capacity 



American 17^ 20% 28H 100 Quarts 



Nova Scotia 17V 2 19 29 96 Quarts 



The American apple barrel is a stronger package 

 than the Nova Scotia barrel and will stand rough 

 handling, such as loading on and off cars and trucks, 

 better than the straight stave barrel. When it 

 comes to shipping by boat across the Atlantic, how- 

 ever, the Nova Scotia barrel has the call. This is 

 because the longer straighter barrel, when stowed 

 on its ide on shipboard, does not rock so much as 

 the barrel with bended staves. It therefore keeps 

 the fruit in better condition in going across. 



