336 
Fig. 8 If the press has to be carried 
about the orchard frequently, it may be 
made much lighter by turning up the bot- 
toms of the iron uprights in the form of 
a hook to clamp under the edge of the 
barrel and discarding the heavy base.” ° 
BOX PACKING 
Packing House 
Necessity 
With the barrel as the package, it does 
not so much matter where the packing is 
to be done, whether in the orchard or in a 
packing house, because of the rapidity 
with which the crop is thus cared for; 
but in the case of box packing, the ques- 
tion is one of importance. In barrel pack- 
ing, the important point as to this phase 
of the question, is to keep the apples 
cool from the time they are picked to the 
time the packed barrels are placed in 
storage, and if this can be accomplished 
under the protection of an old shed, a 
canvas awning, or of the trees themselves, 
nothing more is necessary. In the sec- 
tions where boxes are used, and especially 
where wrapping is practiced, the grower 
will, however, soon find a packing house 
a necessity. The caprices of the autumn 
weather will have anything but a desired 
effect upon the condition of the apples and 
the temper of the packers, and will often 
retard the work. A truth not sufficiently 
recognized is that the comfort of the 
graders and packers has in most cases a 
direct bearing upon the quality of their 
work. 
Location 
Some growers prefer to build the pack- 
ing house near the center of the orchard, 
while others locate it near the exit from 
the ranch; in either case it is usually in 
a group with the other farm buildings. 
A few are fortunate enough to be able to 
build it against a car siding. This point 
Will have to be determined by each grower 
for himself, economy of labor and time 
being the chief points to consider. 
Construction 
No packing house is complete without 
two compartments, one for at least tem- 
° W. H_ Alderman, West Virginia BE . 
Station Bulletin 139, 1912." ia Experiment 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
porary storage, and the other tor a grag. 
ing and packing room. Although the ma. 
jority of the packing houses in the North. 
west probably possess but one; due to a 
great extent to the fact that the necessity 
of keeping fruit cool and at an even tem. 
perature from the time of picking, has 
not been appreciated. A few persons who 
have built their storage 10oms capable of 
withstanding ‘winter temperatuies and 
have sold their apples in early Spring, 
have paid for the house in one season by 
the increased returns from _ the crop 
Where a hillside is available, some such 
houses are built with a basement of con- 
crete or masonry, the packing compart- 
ment being on the upper floor Where all 
the second story is not needed for a sorting 
and packing room, the remainder is used 
for the storage of box material, for various 
farm purposes, or is fitted up for addi- 
tional winter storage. Not every farm 
possesses a hillside, however, and a large 
number of the most successful combined 
packing and storage houses are built on 
level ground. In the latter case the en- 
tire building is usually of wood; and that 
part intended for winter storage is con- 
structed with insulated walls. Neither 
the working nor the storage compartment 
should be so large as to necessitate a 
waste of steps in handling the fruit, yet 
they should be planned with reference to 
future needs. For the sake of conve- 
nience the doors between the two com- 
partments should be on the side of the 
rooms rather than on the end. Every pack- 
ing house should contain room for the 
storage of box material, where it can be 
kept away from the sun, dust and rain 
In very dry climates it is well, also, to 
provide a room for the storage of wrap- 
ping paper, where the humidity can be 
regulated. Dry, brittle paper tears in 
wrapping and does not handle so easily 
and rapidly as when soft. A porous brick 
floor that can be wet will serve for the lat- 
ter purpose, the paper to be piled on a 
platform of slats a few inches above the 
floor. The cost of the packing house will 
of course depend upon many factors. 
Some of the newer houses erected in the 
Northwest represent an outlay of from 
two to seven thousand dollars 
