58 
On account of the long voyage before them the packed date-palm 
crates were wrapped with %-inch galvanized wires, four lengthwise 
and three around the short circumference. The endurance test of 
one shipment of 190 crates was about as follows : 
They were carted from the packing shed to ricks in the storage yard, rolled 
on skids two tiers high on drays, carted 2 miles to the railway platform and 
dumped, none too gently : packed two deep in the small closed railway tracks 
and hauled to Alexandria, where they were discharged at a suburban freight 
station for another cartage, this time 3 miles, to the docks. After a brief but 
trying experience with the cargo derricks they were stored two tiers deep on 
the shelter deck of a staunch United States Shipping Board freighter bound for 
New York and had a peaceful voyage of 20. days before they were dragged out 
and dumped on the Brooklyn docks. 
After a phenomenal transfer by motor trucks halfway across the city they 
had the unheard-of good luck to be placed the same day on a freighter bound 
through the Panama Canal to San Pedro. Calif. After the usual discharging 
t-xperience at the San Pedro docks they were transferred to freight cars for 
Indio. One more contact with a freight platform, a 2-mile truck ride to I he 
United States Experiment Date Carden, and the journey was ended. The 
astonishing thing is that only one or two crates were so broken as to spill any 
of their contents, and that the most of them arrived in really good condition 
after 15 transfers. 
In preparation for crate making, the midribs, stripped of their 
pinnse, are placed in the sun to season a little, but they must not be 
allowed to get at all hard and dry. They are then cut into lengths, 
measured by stock forms according to the type of crate under con- 
struction, the straightest and best portions of the rib being selected 
for the long rails for the top and bottom groups of large crates, the 
heavier butt pieces being split to convenient sizes, and the more 
slender top cuts used for the vertical spindles. The rail pieces are 
then prepared for punching by shaving off the sides to which the 
pinnae were attached until two parallel flat surfaces of the pithy 
interior are exposed. A wk jig " or form already punched is laid on 
the upper face and the points for the holes marked with a blunt 
prickpunch. 
The most interesting operation is to follow, the rapid and almost 
automatic punching of the ^-irich holes with the long, hollow 
punches shown in Figure 6, />, E, F. Seated on the ground, with 
a block of wood in front of him, the workman places one of the 
marked strips across the block and grips it with his toes. With 
his left hand he holds the punch in position, while with the right 
he gives a sharp blow with the billet of wood which serves as a 
mallet. While the punch is firmly embedded in the stick he slacks 
the grip with his toes, moves the stick along one space, grips it 
again, loosens the punch with a quick twist and a tap of his mallet, 
and applies it to the next mark, to repeat the operation. So perfect 
is the coordination between hands and feet and so rapid the blows 
that the stick moves across the block with almost machinelike 
speed. 
In assembling the pieces into the finished crate no small skill is 
required, though this is work usually done by boy apprentices. 
The bottoms are first put together, with the overlapping corners 
pinned together by driving in the vertical corner spindles, then all 
the spindles are driven into place and the side and end rails with 
the holes ready punched are driven on to them, the skill consisting 
in keeping them accurately spaced and grouped. The covers are 
