4 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE SUPPLEMENT 
September, 1916 
tion, unhampered, to the work of 
grading and packing. 
The experienced packer grades 
by sight, occasionally applying 
the caliper or rings to test his 
grades. For the novice, the 
gauge board will be most con- 
venient. With a little experience 
he will learn to do his work very 
rapidly. 
From his position at the foot 
of the packing bench, the packer 
scrutinizes every apple, as it 
rolls towards him, both to dis- 
cover any blemishes and de- 
termine its grade. Standing 
between two barrels, he tills the 
apron, with No. I or No. II as 
the case may be, and then lowers 
and empties it into the proper 
barrel. 
All Ready 
Too much emphasis cannot be 
laid upon thoro preparation for 
the packing season. Everything 
must be in readiness before the 
work starts. There must be on 
hand a sufficient number of 
tools, boxes, barrels, crates, 
benches, ladders, etc., if the grow- 
er is going to make the most eco- 
nomical use of his lime and work- 
men. To fail to make proper 
preparation is unbusinesslike and 
expensive. It may mean the 
difference between success and 
failure, between profit and loss 
on the apple crop. 
Making Ready the Barrel 
Apple barrels are shipped 
from the cooperage with both 
heads in unnailed. By use of the 
hatchet, remove one head. The 
remaining head becomes the 
“face” end of the barrel. 
Next drive down the quarter 
hoops and nail them each with 
four nails driven slanting towards 
the head. Clinch the nails 
smooth. At the same time nail 
in the head with six or eight 
nails. Next nail on the head 
liners, set at right angles to the 
cracks and catching all the 
boards in the head. Drive the 
nails slanting into the second 
hoop. From four to six nails will 
be sufficient. 
Caution: examine the barrel 
outside and in to make sure that 
no nails project. 
If paper heads arc used, one 
should be laid in the bottom of 
the barrel at this time. If pre- 
ferred, the stenciling may be 
done before the barrels are 
packed. If deferred, the name 
of the variety, grade and packers 
number should be penciled on 
the barrel, in small letters, near 
the chine. This will prevent 
mistakes later. 
Making a Face 
Having acquainted himself 
with what constitutes “standard 
apples” and having provided 
himself with “standard barrels,” 
the packer will proceed to pack 
his apples according to “stand- 
ard grades.” 
Place a racking plank on 
either side of the foot of the 
packing bench and place a barrel 
upon each. One barrel is for 
No. I apples, the other for No. 
II. Always place the barrels in 
the same relative positions, No. I 
on the left and No. II on the 
right. 
Next select the apples for the 
face. They should be, as far as 
possible uniform in size and 
color, and fairly representative of 
the contents of the barrel. If 
there is variation in size, the 
smaller apples should form the 
outer circle of the face. 
By use of the wire nippers, nip 
short all of the stems on the face 
apples. 
Begin facing by laying the 
outer circle first, stems down- 
ward. Ordinarily there will be 
15 or 16 apples in the outer circle, 
10 or 11 in the second, and three 
or four, as the case may be in the 
center. See cuts. In no case, 
finish the center with one large 
or one small apple. 
Packing Bench 
The object in facing is to give 
the barrel a neat, attractive 
appearance when opened. This 
cannot be done unless the apples 
are approximately uniform in 
size and color. 
In laying each circle in the 
face, experience will soon teach 
