141 POPULAR FKUIT GROWING. 



•what inferior in qualitj\ or when low in price. It is probably 

 best to always market the extra choice apples in boxes. 



Formerly there was a great difference in the size of barrels 

 used for packing apples and this fruit came to market in barrels 

 holding scarcely two and a half bushels, while sugar barrels, 

 which hold nearly four bushels, were occasionally used. This 

 worked in various ways to make the marketing of apples a very 

 loose matter. To help overcome this difficulty, the National Ap- 

 ple Shippers' association adopted a standard size for apple bar- 

 rels. According to these requirements a standard barrel must 

 have a head 17i^ inches in diameter; a stave 281/^ inches in 

 length and a bulge of not less than 64 inches outside measure- 

 ment. This size of barrel is by law the standard barrel in New 

 York state for the marketing of apples, pears, quince and pota- 

 toes. The standard Missouri barrel is nearly identical. 



How to pack a barrel of apples. — Select a clean barrel. If 

 second hand barrels are to be used, such as flour barrels, they 

 should be thoroughly cleaned by washing and rubbing. If this 

 is not done, the fruit is apt to look dusty when opened which 

 will detract from its sale. Under such conditions some packenj 

 follow the plan of lining the barrels with newspapers or other 

 cheap paper which is an excellent plan. Ordinarily, new barrels 

 are used. Sometimes a circular piece of paper is put on each 

 end. The barrel being placed before the packer with the bottom 

 out and the head down, the packer puts about a half bushel of 

 apples in the bottom and proceeds to turn them so th'at the 

 stem end faces the head, i. e. downwards. Two layers are gen- 

 erally faced in the case of fruit of first quality but for ordinary 

 fruit, one layer of facing fruit is enough. When these are in, the 

 barrel is filled by pouring in the sorted fruit from a basket that 

 is put down in the barrel before it is emptied so as to avoid the 

 least chance of bruising the fruit. For this purpose a half-bushel 

 basket with a swinging bale is best. As each basketful is put 

 in, the barrel is gently shaken so as to settle the fruit but not 

 enough to bruise it. When the barrel is nearly full, a layer of 

 apples is put on with the stem end up. This layer should stand 

 up out of the barrel two inches or more. The chime hoops *are 

 then loosened a little and the outside one taken off, but not ;'<9 



