PACKING AND MARKETING FRUITS 25 



faced layers. After each half bushel of loose fruit 

 has been poured in the barrel should be vigorously 

 haken. This shaking is essential. It settles the 

 fruit together, and prevents the otherwise disastrous 

 oosening when the barrel is shipped. When the 

 barrel is practically full the top layer (which will be 

 the bottom layer after the barrel is packed), is faced 

 stems out in as neat a manner as possible. When 

 the apples are all in and this last layer of facers on, 

 the fruit should stand up two or three inches above 

 the top of the barrel. 



The head Cor what is really the bottom of the 

 barrel) is then put in place. A barrel press is now 

 necessary. There are two types of barrel press in 

 common use the screw and the lever press. The 

 writer prefers the latter. With either one the head- 

 Tig proceeds in the same manner. The upper hoops 

 of the barrel are slightly loosened. The head is 

 pressed down even with the chines, the hoops are 

 driven home, and some sort of cleat is tacked in to 

 lelp hold the head in place. 



The barrel is then marked with the stencil of the 



rower or packer, and with the name of the variety 



rivl grade. Sometimes it is also marked with the 



no me of the dealer to whom it is to be shipped. It 



,3 then ready for delivery, either to the buyer or to 



the storage house. 



In packing apples in boxes the fruit is all put in 

 by hand, especially when it is to be wrapped in 

 paper. Care must be taken to get the boxes full. It 

 3 even harder to make a box of apples full and 

 ight than a barrel. Some shippers cover the packed 

 fruit with paper and make it solid by putting in a 

 luantity of excelsior next to the cover. This is prac- 

 :iced more especially when s-ending boxes across the 

 Dcean, but is not to be generally recommended. 



When apples are nicely packed in boxes they 



