IN CHERRY AND BERRY TIME. 97 



but no lid. Underneath, two flaps are folded 

 together and held fast by a tongue in the one 

 inserted through a slit in the other. To pack the 

 carton, it is held face downwards on a small flat slab 

 of wood, and the cherries are placed in one by one, 

 care being taken that no stalks show below the 

 cherries. The fruits are arranged in perfectly regular 

 rows both ways across the carton, until the bottom 

 (eventually to be the top) layer is completed. The 

 first row finished, many packers drop the cherries in 

 by little handfuls until the carton is full. It is better to 

 pack each layer to the top in the same way as the first. 

 This ensures a level face and fills the carton even in 

 the corners, which otherwise are apt to show hollow 

 spaces. When the carton is full, the flaps are folded 

 over, and the tongue is inserted into the slit. The 

 carton is then carefully turned over, the flat slab of 

 board being preserved in close contact with the face 

 of the carton — otherwise the cherries will fall out. 



It is very important, not merely as a question of 

 commercial honesty, but to prevent the fruit from 

 shaking about and becoming bruised in transit, that 

 the cartons should be quite full, so as to have no room 

 to shake. 



Eight of these cartons fit exactly into a small, 

 shallow wooden box, and after facing them with clean, 

 white paper, the lid is put on and nailed down, the 

 box properly labelled, and it is then ready for market. 

 Some packers nail the lid on the box first, place the 

 cartons in it, fill them, fasten them up, and then nail 

 on the bottom of the box. It is a quicker method, but 

 allows no opportunity to examine the faces of the car- 

 tons after they are packed. 



