PACKING 



293 



and less subject to injury and for which a package of con- 

 siderable depth is used, it may suffice if only the specimens 

 forming the surface layer of the package are placed by hand. 

 This is true of string beans and okra packed in climax baskets 

 or bushel boxes. 



Firmness is not the only essential in good packing. The 

 arrangement of the specimens in the package must be such that 

 the package and its contents will present an attractive appearance 

 when displayed on the market. This means that the specimens 

 must be arranged in a systematic and orderly manner, with the 

 same part of each specimen in the same relative position in refer- 

 ence to the side or top of the package; and the custom of the 

 market usually dictates what particular part of the vegetable 



Fig. 177. — Crates of melons, with the specimens properlj- arranged for their respective sizes. 



shall appear uppermost. For example. No. 1 or fancy tomatoes 

 packed in the standard four-basket flat are invariably placed 

 with the blossom end uppermost (Fig. 176), and muskmelons 

 packed in crates or baskets are so placed that the ribs of the melon 

 extend lengthwise of the package (Fig. 177). String beans in 

 climax baskets have the top layer of pods laid straight across the 

 package, so that they appear in regular order as seen through the 

 crack between the slats of the cover. There is a definite, recog- 

 nized standard way of packing nearly every kind of vegetable 

 that is shipped to market, and failure to conform to this method 

 of packing usually results in unfavorable discrimination on the 

 market. However, the methods of packing are different for 

 different markets, so that the custom of the given market that is 



