HORTICULTURE 193 



Careful and systematic sorting is an important matter in 

 handling fruit. No imperfect, unsound, or blemished fruit should 

 be allowed in the first-class No. 1 grade. The grading should be uni- 

 form. Any small specimens, as well as oversized ones, detract from 

 the appearance of the whole lot in the package. The standard size 

 should be an average of the variety when well grown; to be first- 

 class it should be in regular form, free from fungous disease, and 

 of clear color, to become attractive in the market. If the sorting and 

 grading is honestly and faithfully done there will be no difficulty in 

 finding a ready paying market for first-class winter apples. The re- 

 quirements on grading worthy of consideration by the commercial 

 orchardist, are quoted, as follows: 



"The standard size for No. 1 apples should not be less than 2 x /2 

 inches in diameter, and shall include such varieties as Ben Davis, 

 Willow Twig, Baldwin, Rhode Island, and other varieties kindred 

 in size. That the standard for such varieties as Romanite-Russet, 

 Wine-sap, Jonathan, Missouri Pippin, and other varieties kindred 

 in size shall be not less than 2 1 /4 inches. And, further, that No. 1 

 apples shall be at time of packing practically free from the action of 

 worms, defacement of surface, or breaking of skin ; shall be hand 

 picked from the tree, a bright and normal color, and shapely form. 



"No. 2 apples shall be hand picked from the tree; shall not be 

 smaller than 2^ inches in diameter. The skin must not be broken 

 nor the apple bruised. This grade must be faced and packed with as 

 much care as No. 1 fruit." 



Every orchard of considerable size should be provided with some 

 sort of a storage house, either for temporary or permanent storage of 

 apples, for without such place the orchardist is liable to loss and 

 inconvenience. The storage house should have ventilation, and be 

 opened by night and closed by day, so as to control the temperature 

 in a manner to secure the right condition for preserving the fruit. 

 It should also be constructed so as to have conveniences for sorting 

 and packing the fruit as it is brought from the orchard. A fruit 

 house, if properly constructed with air spaces in the walls, will serve 

 to keep out frost, so that the grower may hold his fruit for a con- 

 siderable length of time, thus giving him better opportunity for dis- 

 posing of his crop. 



Packages and packing are among the essential items of a well- 

 managed orchard. The package almost wholly in use in the Eastern, 

 Middle, and Western States is the apple barrel of standard size, 17% 

 inches in diameter of head and 28 1 /2 inches in length of stave, with 

 bulge not less than 64 inches, outside measurement. 



The box package is used entirely on the Pacific coast and in the 

 States of the Northwest, and for several reasons this is preferable to 

 the barrel. It is better suited for the retail trade, as small consumers 

 can better afford to buy fruit in such a package than in a barrel. It 

 is more convenient for handling, and occupies less space in shipping ; 

 it also carries the idea of a finer quality. Another advantage it has 

 over the barrel is that it can be made much more attractive by use 

 of display labels, such as are used for oranges,, lemons, and other 



