FRUIT PACKAGES 47 
use is permissible in Maine or in New York. In fact, 
it is quite common to see apples shipped in either of 
these states in flour barrels. 
The laws of the state of Maine read: ‘‘The standard 
apple barrel shall contain 7,000 cubic inches, provided, 
however, that the dimensions as given above shall consti- 
tute a legal barrel.’’ It so happens that this legal barrel 
does not usually contain the 7,000 cubic inches any 
nearer than does the common flour barrel, as either one 
will pass readily as a standard apple measure. 
In regard to apple boxes, only two sizes have been 
recognized in the United States. The standard apple 
box which corresponds with the dimensiong required by 
the laws of the States of New York and Maine, and the 
special box ‘which is the one required by the laws of 
Canada. 
‘Western people have been using this Canadian box 
for a number of years and it has become known in that 
country as the ‘‘special apple. box.’’ Hence, the con- 
fusion of terms we sometimes hear: The box that is 
standard in the United States is a special box in Canada 
and our special box is the standard Canadian one. Oc- 
casionally we find half boxes in use, but these are almost 
always marked in terms of a standard box and they are 
well understood by the general trade. 
Package Material—A number of different woods are 
used in making apple barrels. In most cases the staves 
are made of pine or spruce or some of the other soft 
woods. They are cut by machinery and have to be 
shaped afterwards. Some of the material that goes into 
the more fancy barrels is planed, but the more common 
apple barrel is left in the rough as it comes from the 
