FRUIT PACKAGES 47 



use is permissible in Maine or in New York. In fact, 

 it is quite common to see apples shipped in either of 

 these states in flour barrels. 



The laws of the state of Maine read : ' * The standard 

 apple barrel shall contain 7,000 cubic inches, provided, 

 however, that the dimensions as given above shall consti- 

 tute a legal barrel. ' ' It so happens that this legal barrel 

 does not usually contain the 7,000 cubic inches any 

 nearer than does the common flour barrel, as either one 

 will pass readily as a standard apple measure. 



In regard to apple boxes, only two sizes have been 

 recognized in the United States. The standard apple 

 box which corresponds with the dimensions required by 

 the laws of the States of New York and Maine, and the 

 special box which is the one required by the laws of 

 Canada. 



Western people have been using this Canadian box 

 for a number of years and it has become known in that 

 country as the "special apple box." Hence, the con- 

 fusion of terms we sometimes hear: The box that is 

 standard in the United States is a special box in Canada 

 and our special box is the standard Canadian one. Oc- 

 casionally we find half boxes in use, but these are almost 

 always marked in terms of a standard box and they are 

 well understood by the general trade. 



Package Material. A number of different woods are 

 used in making apple barrels. In most cases the staves 

 are made of pine or spruce or some of the other soft 

 woods. They are cut by machinery and have to be 

 shaped afterwards. Some of the material that goes into 

 the more fancy barrels is planed, but the more common 

 apple barrel is left in the rough as it comes from the 



