Parcels Post Brings Dinner Fresh from Farm 



Farmers living anywhere within fifty miles of a city may 

 send packages of ten pounds to their customers for 32 

 cents. They do not have to haul them to an express 

 office three or four miles away, but the rural route wagons 

 pick them up and they are delivered in town almost as 

 promptly as are letters or other mailable articles. The 

 new law allows the transportation of any kind of produce, 

 provided it is securely wrapped. Eggs, honey, berries, 

 butter and cream are not excluded, but they must be so 

 packed that they can not damage other mail matter. Such 

 products are to be marked "Perishable." 



The system of handling country produce has been both 

 expensive and bad. Fresh eggs, pure cream and dainty 

 things like broilers and sausage have been hard to get at 

 any price. Such articles are only an aggravation when 

 they are stale and handled in promiscuous lots. Under 

 the new plan, a ten-pound Sunday dinner, or such a ship- 

 ment any day or every day, will go straight from the 

 farmer to the city family, at a cost of 32 cents for postage. 

 This 3 cents a pound added to the price of the products is 

 a trifle compared to the transportation and middlemen's 

 charges under the old system. 



The parcels post will prove a boon to city housekeepers 

 in enabling them to deal directly with producers and 

 secure fresh goods for table use. The postoffice depart- 

 ment fixes eleven pounds as the maximum for parcels. 

 This is sufficient to carry the main ingredients of a Sun- 

 day dinner for a city family, and there is nothing to pre- 

 vent the forwarding of more than one package. It is not 



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