330 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



ends and keep them from wabbling. First 

 one side board is nailed to the ends, then 

 the bottom, then the other sides. If the 

 box cleats split in nailing, they can be 

 soaked in water previous to using. A 

 nail stripper is a necessity. It will cost 

 between $4 and $5. One of rather poor 

 make can be seen attached to the box 

 press in Fig. 26. A new self-feeding 

 stripper is on the market at $6, its auto- 

 matic feed resulting from the jar of 

 the bench to which the stripper is at- 

 tached as the nailer pounds. An ex- 

 perienced nailer can make 40 boxes an 

 hour. One cent a box is usually paid 

 for making. 



Barrel Versus Box 



The barrel and the box are the two 

 packages suitable for use in long distance 

 shipments and in storage. The barrel is 

 distinctively an Eastern package, and the 

 box a Western. One reason for this is 

 that hard wood suitable for making the 

 barrel has been cheaper in the East, and 

 soft box wood cheaper in the West. The 

 Western growers have also been forced 

 to put out a package more uniform in 

 quality and size of fruit, in order to com- 

 pete with Eastern growers in Eastern 

 markets, under the disadvantage of higher 

 transportation charges, and this end has 

 been more readily gained by the use of 

 the box. 



For the Barrel 



The barrel, however, has some advan- 

 tages over the box as a package for apples. 

 It can be packed well with less skill, and 

 more rapidly. It can be handled more 

 easily, by rolling, than any other package 

 for equal bulk. Until recently it has been 

 a cheap package; although "it now costs 

 most fruit growers from 30 to 40 cents 

 instead of 15 to 30 as formerly." Also, 

 "many varieties export better in the tight 

 barrel, not permitting entrance of salt air 

 into the package."* 



For the Box 



The advantages of the box are: first, 

 that its small size is more suitable for 

 use as a carrier for some soft varieties 



• E. W. Bailev. TTniversity of Illinois, in Re- 

 port of Illinois State Hoi-tioulture Society. 

 into, o Ibid. 



of apples; because when so many are 

 placed together as in a barrel, they will, 

 when they mellow, bruise from their own 

 weight. Second, "the box holds a more 

 convenient quantity of fruit for the 'ulti- 

 mate consumer,' " being especially adapt- 

 ed to the use of "the average city person 

 who wishes to buy only such a quantity 

 of fruit as will keep at the ordinary tem- 

 perature of the home, while it is being 

 used."" Third, the smallness of its size 

 in itself induces the customer to believe 

 that the quality of the contents is such 

 as to make up in value any lack of 

 quantity. Fourth, it is better adapted 

 for use as a display package. Dress 

 an apple box with a white lining on its 

 inside and lithographs on its ends, tak- 

 ing care that the others of its whitewood 

 surfaces are smooth and spotless; then 

 note the result. A barrel at an apple 

 show — an extreme case, to be sure — looks 

 incongruous. Also, the use of the box 

 practically forces a uniform size and at- 

 tractive arrangement of the apples them- 

 selves, aod renders easy the securing of 

 an intense effect of color by the oppor- 

 tunity afforded for massing the boxes 

 solidly. 



Question of Economy 

 After all, however, the matter of wheth- 

 er it is better to use boxes or barrels, will 

 have to be decided by considering the eco- 

 nomic conditions in the locality of the 

 producer and the standards and possibil- 

 ities of the market to which the apples 

 are sent. "The barrel has been the stand- 

 ard and practically the only package for 

 winter apples for over half a century." 

 The objections to the use of the box in 

 the East, besides that of cost, are: "The 

 average [Eastern] grower cannot grow a 

 crop of fruit of high quality varieties 

 yielding around 90 per cent 'Fancy,' or 

 No. 1. Skillful and experienced packers 

 are not obtained in these sections. Scarce- 

 ly any grower is able to put a large 

 quantity of box fruit on the market 

 year after year, thus establishing a 

 reputation for his brand. The average 

 market does not take kindly to the 

 Eastern packed box. (I think they are 

 becoming educated.)" On the other 

 hand, it can be said that the use of the 



