METHODS OF PACKING 103 



fruit. If a seller appears to set no value upon what he 

 is offering, it is not surprising that the buyer, who may 

 be quite ignorant of its real merit, places the same low 

 estimate upon it. 



Shallow boxes are preferable for all choice fruits, and 

 those named are best in single layers, or at most two 

 layers, while ripe Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots 

 should never be in more than one layer, and even then 

 need the utmost care to ensure safety. 



The deeper and larger boxes that are used for culinary 

 Apples or unripe Pears and Plums are dealt with in a 

 similar way as regards the protection supplied at the 

 bottom, top, and sides ; but the last can sometimes be 

 dispensed with if paper is employed, and close packing 

 is adopted. When very fine samples are being packed, 

 it is advisable to separate the layers by sheets of paper 

 and a covering of wood-wool. In these and similar 

 matters the packer must exercise his own judgment and 

 discretion as the cases arise ; the general methods and 

 the principles upon which it is advisable to work are 

 what we wish to indicate. 



Ripe Strawberries can be safely packed in the smallest 

 size railway boxes previously mentioned; but it is 

 useless attempting to send the soft varieties in that way, 

 or any fruits that are over-ripe at the time of gathering. 

 Each box will hold about 3 lb. of selected fruits, and 

 for these we have never used any other packing than 

 strawberry leaves and the best tissue-paper. As regards 

 the leaves, however, they are always specially selected 

 for their softness and deep green colour, in which 

 characters a few varieties excel. These are worth 

 growing for their foliage alone where much Strawberry 

 packing is done in punnets or small boxes. 



Near to a centre where there is a good demand for 

 the best Strawberries early in the season, the most 

 profitable mode of disposal is in punnets, the shallow 



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