296 Fruit-growing in Arid Regions 



There is evidently a difference of opinion as to the mean- 

 ing of the terms "four-tier," "five-tier," and so on, in dif- 

 ferent fruit-growing sections. As we understand the word 

 "tier" as applied to a pear pack, it means a layer of fruit 

 in the box, and so long as we take Webster's definition, we 

 will probably have to hold to the idea that a four-tier pack 

 of pears is one with four layers of fruit and a five-tier 

 pack one with five layers of fruit. It is unfortunate that 

 growers cannot agree on the use of such simple terms 

 as these. 



Possibly the only way our pear pack could be improved 

 would be to grade the fruit a little more uniformly, that is, 

 avoid mixing 2 \- and 2f-inch pears in a miscellaneous five- 

 tier pack. If pears are properly packed, there is no 

 trouble determining how many pears the box contains, 

 and surely the buyer would appreciate having the exact 

 number stamped on the end of the box. The fruit vender 

 would then know how many pears he is buying, how much 

 he can afford to pay, and how he must sell them to make a 

 profit. Oranges and lemons, and fancy apples from some 

 sections, are now packed in this way, and there is no reason 

 to suppose that it will not pay to pack and mark pears with 

 the same care. 



Pears are wrapped in the common grade of paper used 

 for wrapping fruit, cut in sizes 8x9 and 9X10, the smaller 

 size for the five- and six-tier fruit. Even after one has 

 learned how, it requires practice to become a good pear 

 packer. Different packers wrap in different ways. One 

 of the simplest methods of wrapping, and also one of the 

 neatest, is to hold the paper in the left hand, rough side 

 up, lay the pear on the paper, then fold the lower left-hand 



