18 HARVESTING, STORING, AND MARKETING 



finish of the crop may raise it not only to a higher grade but 

 perhaps to a package representing higher standards. The 

 grower should not be misled, however, by the presence of a 

 minor quantity of highly colored and attractive specimens in 

 the crop. To pack these into the higher grades may so reduce 

 the appearance of the remainder of the crop as to make the 

 project uneconomical. The attempt to pack the whole crop 

 in a higher grade than the bulk of the crop justifies may have 

 the same result. 



(3) Market Preferences and Tendencies, The grower is 

 concerned not merely with the disposition of his crop for a 

 single year. The general trend of the market in its preferences 

 is of great importance to him. 



Market standards and requirements are gradually on the 

 upgrade. Products, packages, and methods of packing accept- 

 able to one generation may not satisfy generations that follow. 



A few years ago the barrel was a very common package 

 for domestic use. Now it is limited almost entirely to export 

 trade. The barrel is a larger package than the fruit trade 

 or the ultimate consumer of the present generation desires. 

 It is not a good display package. Careless methods of pack- 

 ing and its use for mediocre fruit, much of which should not 

 have been put in closed packages, have destroyed confidence 

 in it. 



Boxes of one style or another and holding approximately 

 one bushel are the favored commercial packages of the day. 

 They vary as to design and type and method of packing ac- 

 cording to section and use as indicated under (7) Specifications 

 of Packages, 



Bushel baskets are still used but are losing favor. They 

 are difficult to stack and store and are not rigid enough to 

 give the fruit as much protection as is desirable. 



Many small containers of family size for roadside stands 

 and direct to the consumer trade have been developed. 



The important thing is to determine which package the 

 particular trade to be served desires. 



