EVAPORATION OF APPLES 
in describing that grade in a marked de- 
gree. At least 85 per cent of the slices 
should be “rings.” 
The grade below “prime” is the stock 
that has been so carelessly handled and 
is so unattractive in appearance that it 
cannot maintain the standard of “prime ” 
It is packed for an entirely different and 
much poorer class of trade than any of 
the other grades. 
Kinds of Packages Used 
In packing the fruit, several sizes of 
packages are in common use. While the 
proportionate dimensions of the packages 
may vary with the different dealers and 
packers, their capacity is more or less a 
matter of uniform standards. 
Perhaps the package most used is the 
50-pound wooden box. A common form of 
this box is 10% by 11 by 22 inches, in- 
side measure. Twenty-five pound boxes 
are likewise much used; these are com- 
monly made 9 by 9 by 18 inches, inside 
dimensions A box holding 55 pounds of 
sliced fruit, having inside measurements 
of 11 by 11% by 22% inches, is much used 
for the export trade. These are generally 
marked “25 kilos” when intended for ex- 
port, instead of having the capacity des- 
ignated in pounds. 
Pasteboard cartons, holding one pound, 
or one-half kilo (1.1 pounds) for certain 
export trade, are also more or less used 
for the better grades of sliced fruit. 
These cartons are generally packed in a 
box or case, 48 cartons to the case. The 
cartons are 2 by 5 by 7 inches; the case 
is about 12 by 16 by 21 inches. 
All of these packages are used as de- 
sired for. slices or “rings,” but the quar- 
ters and whole fruit are generally packed 
in the 55-pound boxes, which, however, 
are expected to contain but 50 pounds of 
fruit in these forms. 
Packing 
The side of the box intended for the 
top or “face” is packed first, as in pack- 
ing fresh fruit in boxes or barrels. The 
first step in packing, therefore, is to 
“face” this side The “facers” are slices 
which are perfect rings. These are usu- 
ally selected from a quantity of fruit 
which contains a relatively large propor- 
933 
tion of them; they are then placed on 
thin boards which are slightly smaller 
than the top of the box, inside measure, 
overlapping one another in rows, length- 
wise of the board. The facers are put in 
place by inserting the board on which 
they are arranged into the box, which is 
first lined with paraffin paper, and then 
with a dexterous movement of the hand 
Fig 3. A 50 pound Box of “Fancy” Evapo- 
tated Apples with Cover Removed. 
flipping the layer of rings against the in- 
ner face or the bottom, which is to be- 
come the top of the box. 
A press is generally used in filling the 
boxes. Three men compose a packing 
gang for each press; one to fill the boxes 
and weigh the fruit; one to operate the 
press; a third to nail on the cover, which 
now becomes the bottom of the box. 
In filling the boxes, an extension of the 
box upward is necessary, since 50 pounds 
of evaporated apples have to be com- 
pressed greatly in order to get them into 
a box of the required dimensions. This 
extension may be another box of same 
size with a rim nailed around the edge to 
fit over the box to be filled. The box is 
placed on a pair of scales and filled with 
the desired quantity of fruit, by weight; 
it is then passed to the press. A “fol- 
lower” slightly smaller than the box is 
put in position over the fruit and this is 
pressed down until the fruit reaches 
the desired point. 
Quarters and whole apples are handled 
in essentially the same manner except in 
regard to the facing. In facing whole ap- 
