122 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



have them packed by an expert. Where they do that they have 

 got the apples all uniform. They haven't got to take small 

 apples and big, but take apples one size and fill the box. 



Mr. Craig. I am interested in this discussion of the box and 

 the barrel. I think we are not just in a position here in Elaine 

 to adopt boxes, although I admire the system, and it is what we 

 would call a higher class of horticulture to use boxes. To get 

 down to the bottom of this thing, we have to learn yet, many of 

 us in the apple business, that horticulture is really the highest 

 branch of agriculture, and until we can learn to handle our 

 apples in the orchard in better shape than is being done at the 

 present time, the box is not what we need — simply because the 

 apple, we have not realized yet that that beautiful fruit is simply 

 a ball of cells covered by a thin coating, and when that is 

 ■dropped the length of itself into a basket or a barrel, or shaken 

 off the tree as is done, it is injured and it never can be a fancy 

 article, whether wrapped in tissue paper in a box or not. Now 

 that is one reason why we in Maine can't get fancy prices as 

 they are getting elsewhere. We are running this apple business 

 on the basis of potatoes and turnips — I can't express it in any 

 other way. And until we learn to respect the apple and handle 

 it as we would eggs, — and grade them, put our fancy apples in 

 boxes, put our 2s if we have them in barrels, and grade them 

 and mark them ; then our men from the old country come over 

 here and buy our apples without seeing them, if we establish a 

 grade and a trade such as they have in other places. 



