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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



loose, rather than at the market packed. 

 A certain number of men who will thus 

 be employed during the fall and winter 

 can be used in the orchards in early 

 spring for pruning and during the re- 

 mainder of the year for spraying, irrigat- 

 ing, and the other orchard labors. 



Problems of Expense 



As to the point of expense, many deny 

 that an increased production necessarily 

 means an overproduction and resultant 

 decrease in price. Others believe that 

 even if the price of apples is to be lower, 

 it would not be a menace to the industry, 

 but rather a benefit by increasing demand, 

 provided that means of reducing propor- 

 tionately the cost of growing and mar- 

 keting are employed. They further be- 

 lieve that the reduction in the cost of 

 marketing is not to come through the 

 replacing of perfect, though comparatively 

 costly methods of packing by imperfect, 

 though cheap methods, but rather through 

 the employment of co-operative packing 

 and co-operative and direct buying and 

 selling; and that the reduction in the 

 cost of production is to come through the 

 dissemination of knowledge and the em- 

 ployment of more efflcient methods in or- 

 chard management. As to the disposal 

 of the low grade of apples, if it is not 

 profitable or for other reasons is not ad- 

 visable under the present methods em- 

 ployed, it does not necessarily follow that 

 the barrel is to be used. The expense of 

 putting out a box with a jumble pack 

 would be not far from the expense of 

 putting out a like amount in the barrel, 

 and by many the box for this purpose 

 would be preferred. Many would dispose 

 of any apples that are not profitable when 

 packed according to the Northwest meth- 

 od, by turning them into by-products 

 before placing them before the public, 

 thus avoiding any lowering of the stand- 

 ard by which the Northwest apple has 

 become known. Others would find a lim- 

 ited market for such grade in certain 

 sections of the West, where the apples 

 could be sent in bulk loose in the car. 

 This practice would save at least $90 on 

 the expense of each car put out. 



In some instances Western box apples 

 that have not met a ready sale in the 



East, have been transferred into barrels 

 and disposed of at a profit. This is not 

 an argument in favor of the barrel, how- 

 ever, as in such cases, if the grade and 

 pack have been up to standard, it will 

 usually be found that the consumer has 

 not been accustomed to the box; fre- 

 quently because he has looked upon it as 

 an article beyond the reach of his purse. 

 The remedy for this is a campaign of edu- 

 cation of the retailer and consumer, and 

 a reduction of the cost to him through 

 the use of the means indicated above. 

 One fact is certain: wherever Western box 

 apples have been introduced, the result, 

 so long as the standard of grade and pack 

 have been maintained, has been an in- 

 creasing demand. 



I5ARREL PACKING 

 Grades 



The United States standard grades for 

 barrel apples as established by the en- 

 actment of the "Sulzer" bill in 1912, gov- 

 erning the shipment of apples in inter- 

 state commerce and the sale of apples in 

 the District of Columbia or the territories, 

 is as follows: "Apples of one variety, 

 which are well grown specimens, hand 

 picked, of good color for the variety, 

 normal shape, practically free from insect 

 and fungus injury, bruises, and other de- 

 fects, except such as are necessarily 

 caused in the operation of packing, or 

 apples of one variety which are not more 

 than ten per centum below the foregoing 

 specifications shall be 'Standard grade 

 minimum size two and one-half inches,' if 

 the minimum size of the apples is two 

 and one-half inches in transverse diam- 

 eter; 'Standard grade minimum size two 

 and one-fourth inches.' if the minimum 

 size of the apples is two and one-fourth 

 inches in transverse diameter; or 'Stand- 

 ard grade minimum size two inches,' if 

 the minimum size of the apples is two 

 inches in transverse diameter." Provi- 

 sion is also made that if "the barrel bears 

 any statement, design, or device indicat- 

 ing that the apples contained therein are 

 'Standard' grade and the barrel fails to 

 bear also a statement of the name of the 

 variety, the name of the locality where 

 grown, and the name of the packer or 



