102 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 2, 1883. 
an easy first, Mr. Rollisson, Eastbourne, being the principal prizetaker in the 
other classes.—J. G. 
THE NEW PARCELS POST. 
As the new Parcels Post, which has just come into operation, forms 
an epoch in the history of the Postal Service, and as there is scarcely one 
of our readers but who will be affected by or influenced in the new 
arrangement, but many who will not have the information they require 
at their elbow, we publish the regulations that have been issued on this 
important subject. 
The Inland Parcels Post commenced on Wednesday the 1st of August, 
and parcels not exceeding 7 lbs. in weight are now received at any Post 
Office for transmission between places in the United Kingdom. 
In order that a packet may go by Parcels Post, it must be tendered for 
transmission as a parcel, and should bear the words “ Parcels Post ”—which 
should be clearly written in the left-hand top corner. 
Every Post Office will be open to the public for Parcels Post business on 
week days during the same hours as for general postal business. No Parcels 
Post business will, as a rule, be transacted in England or Ireland on Sundays, 
Christmas Days, and Good Fridays ; nor in Scotland on Sundays and 
Sacramental Fast Days. 
The follrwing are the principal conditions and regulations :— 
The size allowed for an Inland Postal Parcel will be — 
Greatest length .. .. .3 ft. 6 in. 
Greatest length and girth combined.6 ft. 0 in. 
Por example— 
A parcel measuring 3 ft. 6 in. in its longest dimension may 
measure as much as 2 ft. 6 in. in girth, i.r. —round its 
thickest part; or— 
A shorter parcel may be thicker; thus—if it measure no more 
than 3 ft. in length, it may measure as much as 3 ft. in 
girth— i.e., round its thickest part. 
The most convenient mode of measuring will be by means of a tape 6 ft. 
long, having the length of 3 ft. 6 in. marked thereon. So much of the tape 
as is not used in measuring the length will be the measure of the maximum 
girth permissible. Such a tape, if provided by stationers, might conveniently 
be marked in one colour up to 3 ft. 6 in., and the remaining portion in 
another colour. 
The rates of postage will be—for a parcel :— 
Not exceeding 1 ft. in weight . 3d. 
Exceeding 1 ft. and not exceeding 3 fts. .. .. 6d. 
„ 3 fts. „ „ 5 fts. .. ., 9d. 
„ 5 fts. „ „ 7 fts. .. .. Is. Od. 
No parcel will be accepted which weighs more than 7 lbs., or is not 
sufficiently paid. The postage must, in all cases, be paid in advance , and by 
ordinary postage stamps, which must be affixed by the sender before tender¬ 
ing a parcel for transmission by Parcels Post at a Post Office. 
Posting of Parcels. 
Parcels must not be posted in a letter box, but must be taken into a 
Post Office and handed over the counter - . Care must be taken that every 
parcel bears a clear address. 
If a parcel be posted in a letter box it will not be forwarded by Parcels 
Post, but will be treated as a letter, or as a book packet if it can pass under 
Book Post regulations. 
The address of a parcel must be clearly written, either on the outer 
wrapper or on a separate address label securely fastened to the parcel ; 
and the necessary stamp or stamps to prepay the postage must in all 
cases be placed (as in the case of letters) close above the address. 
Forbidden Articles', Treatment of Perishable and Dangerous Articles; and 
Parcels which must be refused. 
Parcels which bear on the outside any writing or drawing of an indecent 
or offensive nature, or within which any contents of a like nature may be 
observed, and parcels containing gunpowder, cartridges, lucifer matches, 
or anything explosive or liable to sudden combustion, bladders containing 
liquid, live animals, grossly offensive or filthy matter, and anything in a 
condition likely to injure other parcels, or any officer of the Post Office, are 
prohibited. 
If any such parcel be tendered for posting, it will be refused, or, if 
detected in transit, it will be detained. 
Parcels containing fish, game, meat, eggs, &c., or razors, scissors, needles, 
knives, forks, or other sharp instruments, will not be accepted unless 
securely packed so as to guard against risk of injury to other parcels. 
Liquids or semi-liquids, such as jellies, pickles, paint, varnish, Ac., will not 
be accepted unless in bottles or cans securely stoppered ; nor powders 
unless so packed that they cannot escape in transmission. Bottles, or 
glass in any form, will be accepted only when so packed as to be secure 
from breakage. If a parcel be tendered in a damaged or insecure condition, 
or in a condition likely to injure other parcels or any officer of the Post 
Office, it will be refused. If a parcel in such condition should be observed 
in transit it will, if possible, be made secure and sent forward ; but if it 
cannot be so secured it will be detained. 
Parcels known to contain a letter, packet, or parcel intended for delivery 
at an address other than that borne on the parcel itself, are prohibited. 
Parcels to and from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. 
Parcels addressed to the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, 
Sark, and the adjacent inhabited islets) will be received from the public 
under the same general conditions with regard to weight and size, and at 
the same rates of postage, as parcels for all other portions of the United 
Kingdom ; but as the Channel Islands, in relation to the Custom laws of 
the United Kingdom, are subject to the same restrictions as foreign 
countries, such parcels will be liable to Customs examination at the port 
of arrival, and the sender will be required to make a declaration of contents 
upon a special form provided for the purpose at the office where the parcel 
may be posted. 
Goods intended to be warehoused in the Channel Islands, or on which 
it is intended to claim “ drawback ” of duty on subsequent exportation from 
the Channel Islands, will not be accepted for transmission by Parcels Post. 
Parcels for the Isle of Man will be treated in all respects in the same 
way as parcels for places in the United Kingdom generally. They will 
be liable to examination by the officers of Customs, but the sender is not 
(as in the case of the Channel Islands) called upon to furnish a declaration 
of contents. 
lSsi“ The Customs Laws of the United Kingdom do not admit of the use 
of the Parcels Post for the introduction into Great Britain of tobacco in any 
form. 
Parcels Addressed to a Post Office to be Called For. 
To those Post Offices to which letters may be addressed to be called foi, 
parcels may also be addressed to be called for. . , 
There is no private box delivery of parcels ; but parcels may be obtained 
as follows on application at a Post Office, provided the Postmaster is satis¬ 
fied of the identity of the applicant :— 
1. By persons having parcels addressed to a Post Office. 
2. By persons not residing within a free delivery. 
3. By persons residing within the free delivery of a Head Office, or 
of any rural post, so far as regards parcels for which there is no 
immediate delivery by the usual means. 
4. By members of the military, naval, constabulary, and coastgnaia 
services, under the same rule as applies to the delivery of then* 
letters. 
Parcels addressed to a Post Office to be called for, or to a person residing 
beyond the free postal delivery, will be kept three weeks. 
Parcels addressed to a ship will be kept one month. _ . 
If, however, such a parcel contains perishable matter it will be kept only 
forty-eight hours ; and should it become offensive it may be disposed of at 
any time as the Postmaster General may direct. 
Parcels Liable to Demurrage. 
Parcels addressed to a Post Office “to be called for,” and only such 
parcels, are liable to a demurrage (detention) charge, if not called for within 
a certain time, at the rate of 1 d. a day after they have remained in the office 
one clear day, counting as a day the period during which the office is 
ordinarily open to the public. 
Thus a parcel arriving after the opening of the office on a Monday 
becomes liable to demurrage if not called for before the closing of the office 
on Tuesday night, and if delivered on Wednesday the charge will be la., one 
penny being added for each succeeding day, or part of a day. 
No charge will be made in respect of Sundays, Christmas Days, Good 
Fridays, or Bank Holidays in England or Ireland ; nor in respect of Sundays, 
Bank Holidays, and Sacramental East-days in Scotland. 
No demurrage will be charged on parcels addressed to persons residing 
outside the limits of the free delivery, or to persons on board ship. 
Re-direction of Parcels. 
On receipt of a properly signed authority a parcel may be re-directed 
under the following regulations :— 
If the re-direction be from one place to another within the same 
delivery, the parcel, not having been delivered, and being re-directed 
by an officer of the department, is liable to no charge for re-direction ; 
but if re-directed by any person other than an officer of the depart¬ 
ment, or to an address in another delivery, it is liable to additional 
postage at the full prepaid rate for each re-direction. If it has not 
been delivered and is re-directed by an officer of the department, pre¬ 
payment for re-direction is not compulsory, but a parcel which has 
been delivered as addressed will not be accepted for re-transmission 
unless the postage for re-direction be prepaid. 
Returned Parcels. 
In order to facilitate the return of parcels which cannot be delivered, it 
is most desirable that the name and address of the sender should appear on 
the outside of every parcel. 
If a parcel which cannot be delivered bears on the cover the name and 
address of the sender, a printed notice will be sent to him by post, inform¬ 
ing him that the parcel (if not claimed in the meantime by the addressee) 
will be given up to him or to any person whom he may direct to call for it, 
or will be returned to him by post. _ 
If the parcel should be called for by the sender or his agent, or if it 
should be returned to him by post, it will be liable to a charge of la. for 
each day or part of a day after the expiration of two clear days following 
that on which the notice has been sent. 
If the sender should elect to have the parcel sent back to him by post, 
he must return the printed notice, with stamps sufficient to cover new 
postage at the full rate and also to cover any other charges to which the 
parcel may be liable, including the charge of 1 d. a day described above. 
The parcel will then be forwarded to him prepaid by stamps affixed thereon. 
If no reply be received within six days after the date of the notice, 
or if the Postmaster should have reason to believe that application is 
made for the parcel by a person who is neither the sender nor the addressee 
nor duly authorised by either, or if the sender fail to pay the charges due 
on the parcel, the parcel will be sent to the Returned Letter Office. 
If a parcel which cannot be delivered does not bear on the cover the 
name and address of the sender, it will be sent to the Returned Letter 
Office, where it will be opened and examined. 
If upon such examination the name and address of the sender are 
ascertained, a printed notice such as is described above will be sent to- 
him, and the parcel will be treated in the same manner as a parcel upon 
the cover of which the name and address of the sender appears. 
If the name and address of the sender cannot be ascertained from the 
examination of the parcel, the name of the addressee of such parcel, and 
the Post Office at which it was posted will be entered on a list, which 
be exhibited in a conspicuous position at the Returned Letter Office of the 
District for inspection by the public. 
Personal applications for parcels entered on such lists will be enter- 
