Deoember 1913 



THW GARDEN AND FIELD. 



307 



ticc of selling fmit in under-sized lasos, 

 yet it would apiiear that, for many truits 

 to which a nunuTical standard may he 

 applied, the capacity standard does not 

 nearly give so goml a )>«arantee to tlie 

 purchaser as does the numerical stand- 

 ard. This is particularly so when, un- 

 der the numerical system, the pur- 

 chaser becomes thoroughly acciuaiiUed 

 with the meanings of the trade (Ks- 

 criptions which are placed on the out- 

 side of packages. Before proceedin;^ to 

 explain why this is so, it may be well 

 to state that, while the wholesale trade, 

 and particularly the oversea export sec- 

 tion of that trade, is under review, yet 

 the numerical system is also eminently 

 adapted for a local single case retail 

 trade. In the Western States of the 

 North American Continent, two sizes 

 of cases, or boxes, as they are tertned in 

 America, have in the past been generally 

 adopted by the growers for numerical 

 packing. These are respectively called 

 the "standard." or Washington box, and 

 the "special," or Canadian box. The 

 inside measurements of these boxes are 

 as follows — 



"Standard" (Washington), 10^ in. 

 X 11^ in. X 18 in.— 2.173 cubic 

 inches. 



"Special" (Canadian). 10 in. x 11 

 in. X 20 in.— 2.200 cubic inches. They 

 are usually constructed of spruce and 

 pine cut as follows— Ends, % in. ; sides. 



in. (one piece each). Tops and Viot- 

 toms (two pieces each), 3-10 in. to % 

 in., according to the strength of the 

 material used. Growers in the Western 

 States of America in the past used both 

 boxes, because it was considered that 

 both sizes of packages were necessary 

 to provide for the packing of all grades 

 of fruit. This idea is now, however, dis- 

 carded, as it has been found that for all 

 practical purposes the Canadian case is 

 sufficient. For shipping purposes they 

 should go twenty- four boxes to the ton 

 (40 cubic feet measurement). The 

 tops and bottoms are fastened with four 

 cleats, each in., x )4 in. x II in. 



— General description of various kinds 

 of Numerical Packs. — 

 In packing under the nurtierical sys- 

 tem, three kinds of pack are used, viz.. 

 the 2-1 pack, the 2-2pack, and the 3-2 

 pack. The 2-1 pack is so called be- 

 cause the fruits, in counting the rows 

 laterally, are arranged from one end of 

 the box to the other in two long rows, 

 plus one short row, or two short rows, 

 plus one long row, as the case may be. 

 It thus takes three apples to reach dia- 

 gonally across the full width of the box. 



This pack is seldom used in the Canad- 

 ian box, 'as this box is too wide to per- 

 mit any bul tlic largest sized apples to 

 reach right across the case in diagonal 

 rows of three. It ma), however, lie 

 widely used in the .\ustralian so-called 

 "dump" case. In the 2-2 iiack tiie 

 fruits are arranged in rows of two 

 across the l)ox. It tlnis takes four fruits 

 of this pack to reach diagonally from 

 one side of the box to the other. In 

 the 3-2 pack, if the count is commenced 

 at one end of the box and counted hor- 

 izontally to the other end, it will be seen 

 that the apples are arranged horizontally 

 in rows rf 3's and 2"s alternately, and 

 that it lakes five fruits to reach diagon- 

 ally from one side of the box to the 

 other. The fruits in all the above packs 

 should be so arranged that the rows run 

 in direct lines lengthways, and also 

 in straight lines diagOTially. For in- 

 stance, in describing a pack, we might 

 say that it was a 2-2. 4-4 or a 3-2, 

 8-8 pack. This would indicate that in 

 the first instance there would be four 

 rows with four fruits in each row, mak- 

 ing a total of sixteen to a layer. As in 

 the Canadian case, all 2-2 packs are 

 four layers, or tiers, as they are named 

 in America, deep, we would thus, in tlie 

 pack under notice, have 16 x 4, or a 

 total of 64 apples to the case. In the 

 second instance there would be two 

 rows containing eight fruits, and three 

 rows containing eight fruits — 8 plus 

 8plus 8 plus 8plus 8, making a total 

 of 40 fruits to the tier. With five tiers 

 of apples in the case, this would give 

 us 40 multiplied by 5, equal to 200 

 fruits to the case. In the 2-1 and 3-2 

 packs a variation in the number of 

 apples to the tier is often necessary. 

 These will be described more fully later 

 in the explanatory notes on the various 

 schedules. To start the 2-1 pack, the 

 first fruit must be placed in one of the 

 corners at the end of the box nearest 

 the packer. The left-hand corner is the 

 one usually chosen for this and all 

 other packs. The second fruit should 

 be placed in the opposite right-hand 

 corner. The third fruit should be 

 placed between these two fruits, and the 

 fourth fruit should be placed in line 

 with fruit No. 1 (i.e., in the left-hand 

 corner), at the end nearest the packer. 

 To start the 2-2 pack, the first fruit 

 should be placed in the left-hand corner 

 of the end of the case nearest the 

 packer. The second fruit should be 

 placed against the end of the box about 

 midway between the edge of the first 

 fruit and the opposite side. The third 

 and fourth fruits are fitted into the 

 spaces between the first and second 



placed fruits. If these lirst four aitphs 

 are carefully i)acked, the rf)W8 of the 

 tier Idl easily. In the ',i-2 pack, a fruit 

 is placed in each corner, with a third 

 ap]ili ini(lvva>- between. The fourth and 

 fifth fruits are placed in the two 

 spaces between tile first three fruits. In 

 all these packs, when the first tier is 

 completed, it slu)uld be sufficiently tight 

 to permit the box lieing held on end 

 without the fruit falling out. To ob- 

 tain the requisite tightness of the first 

 tier, the apples shouhl be placed in posi- 

 tion rather loosely until the apiiles in 

 the la.st row.s of the tier are to be 

 placed in the case. The portion of the 

 tier already packed sliould then be 

 tightened by the packer inserting his 



CURLEW BRANDY. 



For years ih* Only ilrjiaay used 

 in tb« Adelaide Hoapital. 



Sole Ag<eiite — 



DOWNER A 00. 



Wine and Spirit Merchant! and 

 Aerated Water Manufacturers. 



43 WAYTtfOUTH ST., CITY. 



