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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



them in the boxes. The folding of these and all tender fruit is 

 best performed on a sheet of wadding spread upon the table, and 

 they should be packed with the points upwards. Nectarines 

 can be packed in shallower boxes ; in other respects they should 

 be the same size, as a number of boxes can then be corded 

 together. 



Packing Figs. 



The packing of ripe Figs for transit to a distance requires 

 great care, particularly when they are quite ripe. For market 

 purposes they should be gathered as soon as they are well 

 coloured and show a tendency to open at the apex, when they 

 can be packed without injury, and will keep for a few days after 

 they are received. If the house is kept thoroughly dry and well 

 ventilated, the fruit can be gathered in much better condition 

 than when it is charged with moisture. 



For private purposes they should be gathered and despatched 

 on the day they are required for use, care being taken that each 

 fruit is wrapped in or two soft, dry vine-leaves, to prevent the 

 adhesion of the tissue-paper. With this additional precaution, 

 they are packed in precisely the same way as Peaches, but the 

 boxes for Figs need not be quite so deep, neither should they be 

 so large, at least without having divisions placed across them. A 

 box 4 inches deep, 24 inches long, and divided into three com- 

 partments by two transverse divisions, is a good size where large 

 quantities are grown. When large extra-ripe Figs are packed 

 for immediate use, some growers use boxes divided into squares 

 just large enough for a single fruit. In every other respect the 

 modus operandi is precisely the same as that already described. 

 The secret of success in packing all kinds of tender fruit consists 

 in keeping it free from bruise or taint, and in using non-odorous 

 elastic materials that will prevent the slightest movement in 

 transit. 



Wood-wool, recently introduced, is a good substitute for moss; 

 but, non-odorous materials being absolutely necessary to the 

 preservation of delicate flavour, its manufacture from resinous 

 timber should at once be discontinued. If the introducer could 

 see his way to the conversion of lime-tree, willow, or poplar into 

 wood-wool, it might be used by all who cannot obtain good moss 

 for packing purposes. 



