Ho-w to PacK Apples in Barrels^ 



IT is probable that a large part of 

 the apple crop of Canada will be 

 packed for market in the orchard, 

 and excellent work can be done there, if 

 proper provision is made for both picking 

 and packing. The most convenient 

 packing bench for orchard use is made 

 on the same principle as the ordinary 

 stretcher couch, or like an enlarged saw- 



h 



Lubsk Queen 



A Russian variety of apple, promising on account of its 

 beauty and hardiness. 



horse, with a bolt where the supports 

 cross each other. The upper points of 

 these supports are joined with a two 

 by two strip, as long as it is required to 

 make the table, and on these pieces of 

 timber a sheet of stout burlap is fastened 

 securely. When this is opened and 

 braced with light pieces below, it makes 

 a very convenient packing bench, which 

 can be carried about from point to point 

 by a single workman, and which will not 

 bruise the fruit in any way. A heavy 

 plank should be provided for the barrels 

 to stand on and upon which the racking 

 can be done during the process of pack- 

 ing. Good work cannot be done if the 

 racking is attempted directly on the 

 ground, and even if it were possible, it 

 would be likely to render the barrel 

 unsightly with soil. 



The barrel should be prepared for 

 packing as follows: The quarter hoops 

 should be forced down firmly, and three 

 nails driven in in a slanting direction 

 and clinched upon the inside. The face 

 end of the barrel should be nailed and 

 the headlines placed in it. The fruit for 

 the face should then be placed neatl}' 

 in the barrel. For this purpose it is 

 well to support the barrel a few inches 

 from the ground while performing the 

 operation. The grade of the apples 

 should be precisely the same in the face 

 as in the rest of the barrel, and there 

 should not be the slightest attempt to 



_ • Kxtracts from Mr. McNeill's recent bulletin on pack- 

 ing apples in barrels and bdxes. 



get high-colored or specially perfect fruit 

 for the face. Each apple is laid with 

 the stem end down, the stem having 

 been previously cut off with a stemmer. 

 Upon no consideration should a very 

 large or very small apple be used to finish 

 up in the centre of the face. If the 

 apples are colored, the second layer 

 should be placed so that the color of 

 the apples will show through between 

 the apples for the first layer. After this 

 second layer is laid the apples may be 

 turned in from the round-bottom 

 baskets in which the graded apples have 

 been placed. Never use any device 

 that will require the apples to fall any 

 distance into their place on the grading 

 table or in the barrel. The presump- 

 tion is that the grading has been done 

 off the grading table, and that fruit of a 

 perfectly uniform grade is put in each 

 barrel. As each basketful is placed 

 in the barrel, the barrel should be shaken 

 (racked) slightly, not so as to throw the 

 apples against each other or against the 

 side of the barrel violently, but just 

 sufficiently to settle them into place. It 

 must not be supposed that this racking 

 /an be done successfully if it is delayed 

 until the barrel is nearly full. When the 

 barrel is full to within two or three 

 layers of the top, a "follower," a round 

 piece of plank sHghtly smaller than the 

 head of a barrel, is placed on the apples, 

 and the packer holds this firmly in place 

 while he continues to rack or shake the 

 barrel. The effect of this is to make a 

 comparatively level surface upon which 

 the last process or "tailing up" can be 

 done. It is well to note here that the 

 "follower" should be covered with 

 heavy felt, such as is used by harness 

 makers for pads. 



TAILING 



The process of "tailing" a barrel of 

 apples is the severest test of a good 

 packer. It consists in arranging the 

 last two or more rows of apples so that 

 they will project slightly above the 

 barrel. 



The characteristics of good tailing is to 

 have the apples of the last two rows 

 placed solidly and evenly, so that when 

 finished the head will touch with the 

 same pressure each apple exposed. 

 This is a very difficult thing to accom- 

 plish, even where considerable time is 

 taken in the operation, and it is only a 

 skilful packer who can perform this 

 operation quickly and well. It is a 

 common fault with unskilled packers to 

 allow one or more apples to project 

 above the general surface. When pres- 

 sure is put upon the barrel, these apples 

 take the whole pressure at first, and are 

 frequently crushed before the head is 

 in place. It is advisable for young 

 packers to take off the head of a barrel 



of their tailing occasionally and note the 

 number of apples which have been 

 touched by the head at the pressed end. 

 If it should appear that a number of 

 apples have not been touched by the 

 head, and others are severely pressed, 

 then they may rest assured that they 

 have made a poor job of the tail. The 

 aim should be to have equal pressure 

 upon every apple in the .last row. 



It is not of material consequence 

 whether the stem end or the blow end 

 is placed up. It injures the apple some- 

 what less to have the blow end up, but the 

 apples can be placed in a better position 

 by having the stem end up. All stems 

 showing either on the head or the tail 

 should be removed with a stemmer. 

 Do not attempt this work with a knife. 

 This operation is frequently neglected, 

 and long stems are pressed into the flesh 

 of the apple, giving entrance to disease 

 germs. Heads cut from heavy paper 

 or from light pulp board are very desir- 

 able on both ends of the barrel. 



pressure; 

 The exact pressure which must be 

 given will depend somewhat upon the 

 variety of the apple. If they are packed 

 for storage, or for a short trip, then the 

 pressure need not be so heavy. If they 

 are packed for export, it will be better 

 to press them heavily, but not so as to 

 break the skin of any particular speci- 

 men. It has been the experience of the 

 fruit inspectors, who open a great many 

 barrels during the season, that slackness 



Well-Packed Plums 



in barrels is as often caused by over- 

 pressing as by under-pressing. Over- 

 pressing will break the skin of the apple, 

 or bruise it severely, inducing decay in 

 one or more specimens, which very 

 quickly causes slackness. Certain vari- 

 eties, too, will require and stand more 

 pressure than others. The Spy has to 

 be pressed very moderately, as the 



