CHAPTER XVIII 



HARVESTING, MARKETING, AND STORING 

 VEGETABLES 



Harvesting. As market gardeners usually market 

 several kinds of produce at the same time, the harvesting 

 and packing of these crops is a complex proposition. The 

 vegetables are usually harvested in the field, placed in 

 special picking baskets or crates, and afterwards hauled to 

 the packing house, where they are carefully sorted, graded, 

 and packed for the market. Women are frequently em- 

 ployed for this work and are generally neater and more 

 expert than men. 



Packages. It is often said that the package sells the 

 product. A neat, attractive package should always be 

 selected. It should be of such size as to be most con- 

 venient to handle and pack on wagon or car. It should be 

 of such a character as to prevent bruising, heating, or other 

 injury to the contents. Few containers are returned to 

 the growers and it is necessary that they be inexpensive. 

 The style of the container varies with market demands, 

 and the container used for a crop in one section is often very 

 different from that used in marketing the same crop in 

 other sections. As a rule, in shipping first-class products, 

 the smaller packages are desirable. The tendency in 

 marketing to-day is to ship in such a package that the 

 produce may be sold direct to the consumer without re- 

 handling or repacking. 



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