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Maeket Packages. 



As previously suggested, eastern Massachusetts apples are 

 almost entirely marketed in the produce box. The bushel 

 produce box now being adopted as a standard package is 17| 

 by 17f by 1 \-§ inches inside dimensions. The ends are made 

 of not less than five-eighths inch and the sides and bottom of 

 three-eighths inch material. Risers are also being standardized 

 and are not higher than five-eighths inch and are generally 

 five-eighths by five-eighths inch. The wording upon at least 

 one side of the package, in bold Gothic tjpe of at least 1 inch 

 in height, is as follows: "Standard Box For Farm Produce 

 U. S. Standard Bushel." This produce box is by legislative 

 action a standard produce box in Rhode Island. It is used 

 for ^^egetables and fruits and can be used over and over again. 

 It is hoped that the other New England States will adopt the 

 same size bushel produce box so that the different States will 

 have an interchangeable package. 



This box has many advantages for use in near-by markets, 

 and a large percentage of Massachusetts apples are at present 

 sold within the State borders. The box is easily and quickly 

 packed, and is at present a credit package, which means that 

 the grower obtains a portion of his original package investment 

 back from the man who purchases his apples. These boxes 

 cost from 20 to 32 cents apiece, and the credit or exchange 

 value is 15 cents, so that considering the credit value growers 

 are able to market their fruits in these packages at a much 

 less package cost than when using barrels, apple boxes, stave 

 baskets, or 14-quart peach baskets. 



Some Massachusetts growers have tried out the standard 

 apple box. This is at present used by northwestern apple 

 growers for all the apples which they ship. The dimensions of 

 the standard box are 10^ by 1\\ by 18 inches inside measure- 

 ment. The box contains a trifie less than a standard bushel, 

 but when it has the necessary bulge it accommodates more 

 than a bushel. Apples are generally sold by the number in 

 the box and not by weight or measure. 



The ends of the box should be of one piece, three-fourths of 

 an inch thick, with the grain running crosswise; the sides 



