The Canadian Horticulturist. 



289 



GRADING FRUIT. 



HE importance of carefully grading our fruit for market can 

 hardly be over-estimated. One shipper, sending his pears 

 without grading, got low prices, and on inquiring the rea- 

 son, he was told that they were all seconds, and the price 

 returned was good for that class. The fact was, he had 

 sent his firsts and seconds mixed together, in the same 

 package, and the whole lot sold as second class. 



The writer has for years made a practice of carefully grading nearly every 

 kind of fruit. Pears he puts up in three classes ; No. 2 are the best of the blem- 

 ished, and go in barrels ; No. i are all clean, well-formed samples, and go either 

 in kegs or 12-quart baskets; extras are very fine large samples, and these are 

 put up in 6-quart baskets, with pretty fancy cover, cut one-eighth of an inch 

 thick, with a large elliptical opening cut out of the middle, over which cardinal 



leno is stretched, see Fig. 67. This is a 

 handsome package, showing the fruit, and 

 at the same time completely protecting it 

 from injury, when packed basket upon 

 basket in the car. The grade and the 

 sender's name is marked on the handle, 

 while the address is branded upon the 

 cover, or written on a card and placed 

 inside of the cover. 



While it is a great advantage to ship 

 No. I and 2 in separate packages in- 

 stead of being mixed together, yet, if the latter class could be kept entirely out 

 of the market, except as evaporated or dried fruit, it would be a great relief all 

 around. Every one hates to handle second-class fruit ; the grower won't put 

 his name on the packages containing it ; the salesmen hate to offer it for sale, 

 and the buyer grumbles, no matter how cheap he gets it, and so nobody is 

 satisfied. 



In packing apples, equal care in grading is needed, whether for home or 

 for foreign markets. Mr. W. White, of Ottawa, encloses us the following clipping 

 from an English paper, advocating the use of small packages for choice apples : 



" Why don't Canadians take a leaf out of the Australians' book in suppljing British 

 apple-markets ?" said a well-known Canadian man of business the other day. "I know 

 that the Canadian fruit comes in at a diflferent season, and is of not quite the same class, 

 but I believe that were Canadian exporters to send their choice apples here in smaller boxes 

 or barrels, they would do a large trade. You may see the Australian apples at Corent 

 Garden in 40 lb. boxes, and upon each box about 10s. is realized. A barrel of Canadian 

 apples of the weight of 196 lbs. goes for about the same money. A man will often buy a 

 small lot of 40 lbs. for his family use, and I fancy the Canadians would do well to consider 

 the possibilities of meeting the demand for smaller lots which the Australian trade has 

 shown to exist." 



Fig. 67. 

 Carpentei|(s Cover for Frcit Basket. 



