METHODS OF PACKING 



1 1 1 



Vegetables — Bunching 



An important aid in the preparation of certain vege- 

 tables, salads, etc., for sale is a careful and tasteful 

 method of bunching. As regards some crops, it is 

 essential as the only recognised means by which they 

 can be placed on the markets to any advantage. The 

 requisite labour therefore, though a considerable item 

 in the expenditure, can only be regarded as an unavoid- 

 able necessity. The better the work is done, the more 

 likely are the returns to be substantial, consequently it 

 is worthy of every reasonable attention. 



Where Radishes are extensively grown for the early 

 markets, the work of bunching provides employment for 

 a large number of women and girls, who become ex- 

 tremely smart at it, combining quickness with neat 

 methods. The Turnip-rooted varieties are usually made 

 up into round bunches, each about as much as a large 

 handful, two to three dozen roots, and secured by thin 

 willow twigs selected and prepared for the work. The 

 large rooted sorts, which are more largely grown in 

 some districts than the other type, particularly for the 

 earliest crops, are made up into flatter bunches with the 

 roots spreading out fan-like. When the variety is of 

 bright colour, and the roots are well washed, such 

 bunches have an ornamental appearance. The work is 

 usually paid for by number — that is the score, the 

 hundred, the gross, or in some districts by the great 

 score, i.e. one hundred and twenty. 



Turnips and Carrots in all the best and earliest 

 qualities are put up in bunches with advantage, the 

 number varying with the size of the roots and the 

 season, from one to two dozen roots each. These are 

 almost always secured with stout flexible willows, and 

 the roots should not only be even in size throughout, 

 but they must be arranged so that the roots are on 



