G2 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



as oranges are graded, they would, without doubt, bring 

 much higher prices than they now do. But this cannot 

 be done cheaply by hand, and no machine has been 

 found satisfactory. 



No. 1 apples should be perfectly smooth, above two 

 and one-half inches in diameter, of good color and free 

 from all blemishes, such as worm holes and other marks 

 that break through the skin. As commonly grown 

 there is but little such fruit to be found, but by spraying 

 and thinning, and more and better fertilization and 

 care, a large per cent of the fruit should be Xo. 1. 

 No amount of skill or care in sorting will make good 

 fruit; the place to begin is at the roots and follow 

 this up to branch, leaf and fruit with the best modern 

 practice. 



PACKAGES AND PACKING 



In most parts of the country the barrel is almost 

 wholly used for storing and shipping apples and it has 

 many valuable features. It is cheap and easily obtained ; 

 it can be handled by rolling more easily than any other 

 package of its size, but it has many disadvantages also. 

 It contains a larger amount of fruit than most families 

 cars to buy at once, and it does not pack to advantage, 

 either in the cellar or in shipping. Many attempts have 

 been made to introduce a more convenient package, but 

 it has not been successful. For local markets, the bushel 

 box is largely in use. It is a cheap package, costing 

 only ten cents or less, and it is the practice in most 

 places to return an empty box when a full one is 

 brought into the market and thus one lot of boxes may 

 be made to last a whole season. The fruit is rather 

 more easily and firmly packed in barrels than in boxes, 

 the round form and bulging sides allowing the fruit 

 to settle together better than when packed in boxes. 

 Only clean barrels of the standard size should be used. 



