74 MARKETING 
consignments, such as potatoes, apples, and any produce 
sold by the carload, would naturally be “ shipped,” as 
the term is, by freight. Small fruits, and all perishable 
fruits, such as strawberries, are mostly shipped by 
express—that is, by the ordinary passenger trains, and, 
of course, at higher rates. 
Packine.—For the first few years the only fruit which 
the rancher will have to send away will be small fruits. 
Consequently some time must elapse before he needs to 
understand the mysteries of packing apples, pears, plums, 
or cherries. There will be ample time for him to learn all 
about these operations during the years his trees are 
growing up. He should by all means attend the nearest 
apple-packing class ; by that means he will learn for a 
cost of (at present) $3 all that he will require to know. 
So far these classes have been held at the end of winter. 
Strawberries, gooseberries, red and black currants, 
blackberries, and raspberries, are all packed in exactly the 
same way. They are gathered into small square chip 
baskets, known as hallets, punnets, cups, and other 
names, and twenty-four of these are packed in a wooden 
crate for shipment by rail. Except in the case of straw- 
berries, the actual packing is all finished when the fruit is 
placed in the punnet, which must be filled quite full in 
order that it may weigh 1 pound. In the case of straw- 
berries it is usual to arrange the top layer in each punnet 
in regular even rows, hiding all the stalks. This is called 
‘facing,’ and is best done under a roof, out of the hot 
sun. In order that room may be left in the punnet for 
this top layer, it is best for the pickers to fill the punnets 
into which they pick the fruit only about three parts full ; 
