22 FRUIT-GROWER, ST. JOSEPH, MO. 



relating here an item of personal experience. Two 

 years ago we had some Gravenstein, Mclntosh and 

 Fameuse apples ready for market in October. We 

 wrote to the commission men with whom we were 

 doing business at that time a thoroughly reliable 

 firm, by the way asking them if they would advise 

 us shipping in boxes. Their reply was about as fol- 

 lows: "The fruit is yours. You can do as you please 

 with it. Our advice would be, however, not to use 

 any boxes." Inasmuch as we were anxious to learn 

 how the fruit would handle, and as we had the boxes 

 on hand, we divided the shipment, sending one-half 

 in barrels and one-half in boxes. The fruit was all 

 of the same grade, but that in boxes was wrapp-ed in 

 paper. The whole lot was sent to the commission 

 man whose advice has just been quoted. When the 

 returns came back we found that the barrels had 

 sold for $2 each, which was the top quotation at the 

 time; but the boxes had also sold for $2 each. In 

 other words, one bushel of apples nicely wrapped' 

 and packed in boxes brought just as much as three 

 bushels of the same fruit in a barrel. 



The three boxes cost 45 cents. A barrel at that 

 time was worth 35 to 40 cents. A little more time 

 was consumed in packing the three boxes than in 

 packing one barrel. The cost of the paper wrapping 

 may be fairly disregarded. 



The great advantage of the box lies not so much 

 in the fact that it displays the fruit to better advant- 

 age, for it does not always do so, but in the fact that 

 it presents a quantity of fruit which many consum- 

 ers prefer to purchase. There are very few city 

 families who find it convenient or economical to buy 

 a barrel at one time. The quantity is more than the 

 family will consume without waste, and there is no 

 place in the house where there is room for the barrel 

 to stand. A bushel of apples, however, is not too 



