PACKING 



305 



The bulge. In packing, it is not difficult to make the ends of the 

 box come out right at the top, but to secure the proper bulge at 

 the center, which should be about 1 \ inches, is not so easy. The 

 packer should begin the bulge with the first or second layer, and 

 may proceed in several ways. A common way is to choose for the 

 center of the box apples which are a little larger or thicker than 

 those at the ends. In the case of flat apples, they may be packed 

 bottom down at the ends of the box and on their side at the center. 

 After a little practice this phase of the packing will cause no trouble. 



138. Apples wrapped in paper and packed in boxes 

 Four methods of packing. (After Cornell University) 



When the top of the box is nailed on, a bulge of i£ inches at 

 the center gives | inch on both top and bottom, which acts as a 

 spring to take up any slack or shrinkage during transportation. 

 When the boxes are piled up they are placed on the side, where 

 there is no bulge, and thus no bruising can result from the weight 

 of one box on another. 



The box press. After the box is packed, it is taken to the press. 

 A box press can be made in various ways, the essential points of 

 construction being ( I ) to rest the clamps on the ends, so that when 

 the top is nailed down the bottom is free to bulge ; (2) to catch and 

 press down the top pieces from the ends so that a minimum amount 

 of bruising: will result. 



