332 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



out to fill a package with " firsts," and then the remain- 

 der packed as "seconds" and "thirds." The handiest 

 method for the kind and quality of fruit being dealt with 

 soon suggests itself, for there are no hard-and-fast rules. 

 Some people advise turning the fruit out into felt-lined 

 trays or divisions of the bench, grading in these, and then 

 packing ; but this plan seems to necessitate more handling 

 than that described above. 



The Packages. Most of the fruit sent to market is 

 packed in baskets supplied by the salesman, whose com- 

 mission covers the initial cost and the wear and tear. 

 Different salesmen do not send the same kind of basket 

 for the various fruits, as customs are not alike in all 

 markets. If the grower writes to the salesman to tell 

 him what fruit he wishes to send, the proper sort of 

 empties will be forwarded. The commonest baskets are 

 bushels (sieves), half-bushels (half -sieves), pecks (quarter- 

 sieves, or strikes), flats, and small-handled baskets. When 

 dealing with a fresh market it is well to ask what weight 

 is liked in each package, or whether they should be 

 simply filled to the top. 



Although most growers still rely on the salesman to 

 supply empties for the greater part of their fruit, there 

 has lately been a very popular move towards the use of 

 small non-returnable packages for choice fruits, especially 

 such kinds as are soft and perishable. The advantages 

 for such purpose are obvious. The contents reach the 

 consumer in much better condition, since they need not 

 be disturbed or handled from the time they leave the 

 grower. Big baskets of soft fruit are certain to get wet 

 and messy from the very weight of the contents, and this 

 state is made worse when the fruit is turned out in a 

 heap in the shopkeeper's window. The small basket he 

 exposes intact, and often the consumer purchases the 

 whole thing and carries it home just as it left the grower's 

 hands. The most popular kind of non-returnable for soft 

 fruit is the chip-handled basket, which holds 4lb. of straw- 



