14 BULLETIN 1415, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Sizing machines are in very general use in most boxed-apple sec- 
tions. Their chief advantage lies in the fact that the fruit is sized 
for the packer and the human element does not enter into the opera- 
tion. Most machines size the apple on the basis of weight rather 
than measurement. The smaller machines, which are used by the 
small growers, handle one or two sizes; the larger ones, handling 
three sizes, are used by large growers and community packing houses. 
Hach packer has a packing stand or bench holding from one to six 
boxes and uses a tray to hold the apple wraps. Most packing houses 
handling any large quantity of apples are eel with gravity 
conveyors to take the fruit from the packers to the lidding press. 
Conveyors are also used to carry boxes of fruit from the Tae 
trucks to the packing-room floor or loose-fruit storage, as well as to 
deliver packed boxes from the lidding press to the storage room or 
car. Similar equipment is used to deliver fruit from the packing 
room to lower floors for shipment or storage. Lidding presses are 
used to draw the covers of the boxes into place and hold them while 
the lidder is doing the nailing. The variety, grade, grower’s name, 
and the count are stamped on each box. 
BOXING 
The standard apple box is 18 inches long, 111 inches wide, 10144 
inches deep (inside measurements), and holds slightly more than a 
struck bushel. It is assumed for statistical purposes in this bulletin 
that three boxes are equivalent to one barrel of apples, but in fact 
three boxes contain fwere than a barrel by 535.5 cubic inches, or 
about 8 quarts. Box shook, including sides, ends, bottoms, top, and 
cleats, is shipped in separate bundles from the mill and made up by 
the grower. 
Lining paper for the boxes is used with the better grades of apples. 
Two sheets, 17144 by 26 inches in size, are used in each box and over- 
lap in the bottom and over the top of the apples. The wraps most 
commonly used are 9 by 9 inches, 10 by 10 inches, and 11 by 11 
inches. | 
OILED-PAPER WRAPS 
The use of oiled-paper wraps has increased rapidly in the North- 
west in the past two seasons. At least one-third of the commercial 
boxed-apple crop—1i2,000,000 to 15,000,000 boxes—in the various 
northwestern shipping sections was wrapped in oiled paper during 
the season 1923-24, compared with 600,000 boxes the previous ship- 
ping season. By far the most important consideration leading to its 
increased use is that oiled paper is believed to have reduced and, in 
most cases, entirely prevented the damage by scald in common or 
cold storage and in transit. The oiled wrapper also seems to have a 
retarding effect on the life activities of the skin of the apple, sightly 
delaying the development of yellow in the ground color. The addi- 
tional cost over ordinary wrappers is only about 2 cents a box. 
INSPECTION 
Thorough inspection has served to eliminate deception and dis- 
honest packing, to encourage the production of high quality fruit, to 
reduce waste by preventing the shipment of inferior fruit, and has 
done a great deal towards stabilizing the industry. 
