APPLES 



329 



split too easily: thinner sides endanger 

 the good condition of the fruit; like- 

 wise thicker tops and bottoms, by lack 

 of pliableness for the bulge. It is im- 

 portant that the lumber come up to 

 these specifications. No little complaint 

 came from the trade, both domestic and 

 foreign, during the season of 1911, on ac- 

 count of the flimsiness of much of the 

 material in the boxes sent out from the 

 Northwest. For export, the tops and bot- 

 toms are frequently double, with the 

 swell not greater than the thickness of 

 the box cleats. One-piece sides are used, 

 and two-piece tops and bottoms, all of 

 which are a little narrow, thus furnishing 

 ventilation. A cleat three-eighths of an 

 inch thick and three-quarters of an inch 

 wide is used on either end of the top and 

 bottom, nails being driven only through 

 the cleats. In the East some boxes come 

 with the tops and bottoms already cleat- 

 ed. Six or eight 5d. or 6d. cement 

 coated box nails are used on each side, 

 eight on the bottom, and eight on the top. 

 The larger size of nail is to be recom- 

 mended, also eight to the side. 



A few panel ends are offered both 

 in the Northwest and the East: but they 

 are objectionable, because they prevent 

 handling with the clamp truck and do 

 not make so neat and strong a pack- 

 age. 



Spruce has been the material usually 

 recommended. It imparts no disagreeable 

 flavor to the apples in storage, and is 

 easier to secure clear of knots. It splits 

 more easily than pine, however, in mak- 

 ing up, unless green. The ignorant pur- 

 chaser is also likely to have hemlock 

 sold to him for spruce, which former is 

 cheaper, splits even more easily, and is 

 even rougher, if not surfaced. The Yaki- 

 ma Valley Fruitgrowers' Association pur- 

 chases pine for its members, finding that 

 it makes a better looking box, holds nails 

 more firmly, and does not split. 



Mr. A. V. Stubenrauch, pomologist and 

 horticulturist in the Department of Agri- 

 culture, says: 



"Regarding the absorption of flavors by 

 fruits in cold storage. I would state that 

 so far as our experience has gone, we 

 have not found that apples stored in pine 



boxes absorb the flavor of the wood to 

 any deleterious extent. We have found 

 fruits affected by foreign odors in storage 

 rooms, but these have been largely flavors 

 or odors of highly pungent or strong na- 

 tures. The temperature at which the 

 fruit is held does not seem to affect this 

 property of absorption to any great ex- 

 tent. For example: We have found that 

 apples stored at 32 degrees in a room in 

 which peppers were held absorbed the 

 pepper flavor and odor to a marked de- 

 gree." 



"Fire-killed timber" is "almost odorless 

 and does not impart an unnatural flavor 

 to the fruit." * Some boxes offered in 

 New York state are made of gum. 



Apple boxes cost in the Northwestern 

 states from 9 to 11 cents; in Colorado, 

 from 12 to 13 cents: in New York state, 

 about 12 cents; in the Virginias, from 

 13 to 18 cents. 



Box Making 



"Box shocks" are usually hauled to the 

 packing house and made up on the spot. 

 To perform this operation rapidly [by 

 hand] make a form by nailing two cleats 

 a foot long on the work bench, just the 

 length of a side board apart, and about 

 seven-eighths of an inch inside each of 

 these nail another, thus making two slots 

 to receive the end boards. In the same 

 manner cleat a short board and nail it 

 on edge just back of the cleats on the 

 bench, meeting them at a right angle. 



1. Box Form lor Making Apple and 

 Pear Boxes. 



End boards thrust into these slots are 

 thus held upright while being nailed. 

 Instead of the upright cleats at the back 

 of this form, some prefer to arrange two 

 sets of arms made of short boards a few 

 inches above the bench to engage the box 



• Outlook. Vol. 101, p. 665, 1912. 



