OOTORER, 1908.] 



347 



Edible Products, 



either solid or paneled and & of an inch 

 or 11 inch thick. The top, bottom fand 

 sides are made of two slates each 5-ltiths 

 inch thick and 4i inches wide. 



Materials required for Spanish Pine- 

 apple Crate :— 



2 heads 12 by 10^ iuch by l£ inch. 



1 partition 12 by 10fe inch by If or 

 | inch. 



8 slates ih by 5-16ths inch by 3(5 inches. 



These materials are shipped from the 

 factories or dealers, ''knocked down" 

 in bundles and cost about 11*50 per 

 hundred in carload lots of 1,700. 



Fancy Pineapple Crate. — The crate 

 used in shipping the large varieties of 

 pineapples, such as Cayenne and Porto 

 Rico, is different in size and shape 

 from that commonly used for the 

 Spanish variety. It measures outside 

 12| inches wide, 201 iuches deep and 

 24" inches long. The inside measure- 

 ments are 12 inches wide, 20 inches 

 deep, 22 inches long. The sides, top and 

 bottom are each T s 5 inch thick, the 

 ends are paneled 1 inch thick and no 

 partition is used. 



Materials required for Fancy Crate : 



2 heads 12 by 20 inch by 1 inch. 



4 slats (sides) 8i by 5-lGths inches by 

 24 inches. 



4 slats (top and bottom) 4| by 5-10ths 

 inch by 24 inches. 



These materials cost, knocked down, 

 about 20"00 per hundred crates. 



Paper. — Each individual pineapple 

 should be wrapped before placing in 

 the crate. The paper used for this 

 should be heavy and glazed. If not 

 glazed it absorbs moisture and tears 

 too readily. The size commonly used 

 in wrapping the Spanish pineapple is 

 15 by "Z0 inch, and such paper will cost 

 from $1-00 to per 1,000, depending 



upon the quality. For wrapping fancy 

 pineapples a sheet about 15 by 18 inches 

 is in common use. 



In the use of paper there is consider- 

 able room for the ingenuity and in- 

 dividuality of the grower. Various 

 fancy brands may be used to advantage. 

 One of the most decided early improve- 

 ments in the Avay of paper was a 

 coloured paper, which for a number of 

 years was used by a grower of the 

 East Coast. This paper was of a 

 peculiar and particular colour, and no 

 doubt had considerably to do with the 

 prices secured by him in advance of 

 those received by his neighbours. It 

 pays to give attention to these small 

 details, and anything which will add 



2 or 3 cents to the value of a package 

 in the market over what it costs to 

 put it up should, of course, be under- 

 taken. By no means should a soft, 

 unglazed paper be used, as it absorbs 

 moisture readily and tears easily in 

 consequenee. If coloured paper is used 

 it should only be of the very best 

 quality, because if of poor quality and 

 it becomes moist or wet it may stain 

 or discolour the fruit. 



Grading. 



The grading of pineapples at the 

 time of packing is not a difficult 

 matter. Specimens injured by rats, 

 rnisshappen specimens and crownless 

 fruits should not be packed unless they 

 cannot be sold in the local market. Rat- 

 injured fruit should usually be con- 

 signed to the cull heap, as an opening 

 made in the fruit will cause it to decay 

 and rot prematurely. The abnormally 

 small specimens should not be shipped, 

 and it is sometimes questionable as to 

 whether the 48 size pack should be 

 used, although they take in the markets. 

 There is no question, however, that 

 the small-sized fruit will count against 

 the marketing of fair and large-sized 

 specimens. 



The fruit in packing should be care- 

 fully gi-aded as to size. For this purpose 

 no machinery can be used, the eye 

 of the packer must be the sole and 

 only guide. The size for the different 

 packs of Spanish pineapples are about 

 as follows : — 



18 to the crate, 5g- by 6g inches. 

 24 to the crate, 4§ by 4 15/16 inch by 

 5f inch. 



30 to the crate, 4* by 5| inch or 4| 

 by 5 T 7 t; inch. 



36 to the ceate, 4J by 4| inches or 

 3 \l by 4| iuches. 



42 to the crate, 3| by 4 T ? 6 inches or 

 3§ by 4| inches. 



48 to the crate, S-h by 3| inches or 

 3 -1*6 by 4 inches. 



These dimensions cannot, of course, be 

 regarded as absolute, but give a fair 

 indication as to the size of the fruit 

 for the several packs. The crown of 

 the fruit is, of course, not included in 

 the above measurements. 



The fruit put into each package 

 should approach as nearly as possible 

 a uniform size. It is not a good policy 

 to put very large and small fruit into 

 the same package. Occasionally a pack- 

 age may be packed, however, with two 

 different sizes in the different apart- 

 ments, but if this be done the fact should 

 be indicated on the end of the crate. 



