Grading  and  Boxing  Apples 
BATING  WITH  THE  EYES.— Did  you  ever  stop 
to  til  ink  liow  people  “eat  apples  with  their 
eyes”?  That  sounds  like  a  queer  question,  hut  let's 
stop  and  consider  it.  Suppose  we  take  any  average 
person,  place  him  in  front  of  a  box  with  20  or  30 
apples  in  it,  and  tell  him  to  take  his  choice.  Sup¬ 
pose  further  that  all  those  apples  are  of  good  size, 
and  in  good  condition,  but  vary  in  color.  Some  are 
yellow,  some  are  Greenings,  and  the  rest  are  varying 
shades  of  red,  all  the  way  from  a  light  to  a  deep  red. 
Now,  which  apples  will  he  take?  Nine  chances  out 
of  10  he  will  pick  out  those  that  have  the  deepest 
First  layer.  Second  layer. 
The  3-2  Pack 
shades  of  red.  Why?  Because  with  the  average 
person,  unfamiliar  with  the  different  varieties  of 
apples,  the  word  “apple”  brings  a  mental  picture  of 
a  large  red  apple.  It  seems  to  be  natural  for  a  per¬ 
son  to  associate  red  color  with  quality  in  apples. 
This  fact  is  taken  advantage  of  by  the  grower  who 
caters  to  a  fancy  market,  and  uniformity  in  color  is 
one  of  the  requirements  in  all  grading  and  packing 
work  with  apples,  regardless  of  whether  they  are 
sold  to  a  fancy  trade  or  a  general  trade.  But  what 
is  definition  of  grading?  It  is  the  separation  of 
fruit  into  classes  as  determined  by  size,  color,  and 
condition.  Grading  has  the  following  four  advan¬ 
tages  :  1.  The  keeping  qualities  are  improved,  be¬ 
cause  the  poor  stuff  is  eliminated.  2. 
The  apples  bring  better  prices.  3.  It 
is  the  poor  ungraded  fruit  that  gluts 
the  market.  4.  Grading  has  made  it 
possible  to  establish  brands  and  stand¬ 
ards,  and  the  buying  public  is  thereby 
better  protected. 
GRADES  IN  PACKING— There  are 
three  grades  of  box-packed  apples,  as 
follows :  Extra  fancy,  fancy  and 
choice.  Apples  grading  extra  fancy 
are  almost  perfect  in  condition,  free 
from  blemish,  bruises,  spots,  worm- 
holes,  etc.,  and  if  red  each  apple  must 
be  at  least  75  per  cent  red.  Fancy  ap¬ 
ples  do  not  quite  come  up  to  the  stand¬ 
ard  set  for  extra  fancy,  and  are  al¬ 
lowed  to  have  a  few  minor  bruises  or 
blemishes,  but  not  enough  to  detract 
from  their  eating  or  cooking  qualities. 
The  color  requirement  is  only  50  per 
cent  red.  Choice,  or,  as  it  is  some¬ 
times  known,  the  “C”  grade,  has  no 
color  requirement  at  all,  and  apples 
that  would  have  poor  keeping  qualities 
are  the  only  ones  eliminated.  ;,Each  box 
Th*  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
two  sheets  of  paper,  similar  to  wrapping  paper,  each 
IS  by  2G  in.  in  size.  These  protect  the  apples  from 
dirt,  and  to  a  certain  extent  from  bruising.  Each  ap¬ 
ple  is  wrapped  in  a  separate  piece  of  paper  before 
packing  because  if  they  are  worth  going  into  a  box 
pack,  they  are  certainly  worth  being  wrapped.  The 
paper  used  is  a  light  grade,  similar  to  a  tissue  paper, 
and  comes  in  two  sizes,  SxS  in.  and  9x9  in.  When 
wrapping,  the  paper  is  spread  out  on  the  palm  of 
the  left  hand,  and  the  apple  placed  on  it  with  the 
stem  toward  the  person  wrapping.  The  right  hand, 
is  carried  along  the  edge  of  the  left  hand,  from  the 
wrist  to  the  finger  tips,  and  the  papel*  is  brought  to¬ 
gether  by  means  of  the  crotch  formed  by  the  ex¬ 
tended  thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  right  hand.  The 
right  hand  is  carried  far  enough  forward  to  bring 
the  paper  well  up  around  the  apple,  and  does  about 
80  per  cent  of  the  wrapping  operation.  The  fingers 
of  the  left  hand  are  then  closed  over  the  palm,  fold¬ 
ing  the  free  ends  of  the  wrap  back  over  the  apple, 
thus  completing  the  operation. 
PACKING.— The  wrapped  apple  is  then  placed  in 
the  box.  The  equipment  of  a  box  packer  consists  of 
a  table  for  holding  the  apples,  a  bench  on  the  side  of 
the  table  to  hold  the  box,  and  a  shelf  in  a  convenient 
position  near  the  box  to  hold  the  wraps.  The  box  is 
held  at  an  angle  inclining  toward  the  packer,  thus 
making  it  easier  to  form  the  pack.  All  boxed  apples 
are  packed  so  as  to  form  a  bulge  at  the  center.  This 
is  done  to  hold  the  apples  tight  in  the  *box,  and  pre¬ 
vents  bruising.  This  is  done  in  many  ways ;  some 
packers  place  larger  apples  in  the  center  than  at  the 
ends,  and  others  place  the  center  apples  end  to  end, 
or  side  to  side,  whichever  way  will  produce  the  de¬ 
sired  effect.  There  are  two  general  methods  of  ar¬ 
ranging  the  apples  in  the  box.  These  are  known  as 
the  2-2  pack,  and  the  3-2  pack.  The  numbers  refer 
to  the  number  of  apples  across  the  end  of  the  box. 
The  accompanying  illustrations  will  explain  these 
two  packs  better  than  words. 
UNIFORMITY  NECESSARY.  —  The  •method  of 
packing  to  use  depends  on  the  size  of  the  apple. 
There  is  also  a  3-3  pack  and  a  2-1  pack,  the  former 
for  smaller  apples  and  the  latter  for  larger  ones.  It 
is  important  that  the  apples  be  packed  in  compara- 
1039 
A  Rejected  Federal  Land  Bank  Loan 
WE  frequently  have  letters  from  readers  who 
are  disappointed  and  indignant  because  they 
cannot  obtain  a  loan  on  what  they  call  good  farm 
property.  Here  are  the  records  of  one  such  case  in 
New  Jersey.  A  workman  in  electrical  outfits  bought 
a  place  on  the  seacoast.  It  is  a  large  tract,  mostly 
salt  marsh  and  swamp — an  old  hunting  property. 
This  man  gave  a  mortgage  when  he  bought.  Now 
he  wants  to  pay  off  this  mortgage  and  obtain  an  in¬ 
come  for  clearing  some  of  the  land  for  farming  pur¬ 
poses.  It  is  reported  that  no  farming  is  now  done. 
There  is  a  garden  and  a  flock  of  poultry.  The  in- 
The 
Second  layer. 
Pack 
of  apples  has  certain  markings,  and 
these  denote  the  variety,  grade,  num¬ 
ber  of  apples  in  the  box,  the  party  re¬ 
sponsible  for  packing,  and  the  place 
where  grown  or  the  grower.  Thus,  if 
necessary,  it  is  possible  to  trace  a  box 
back  to  its  origin.  Grading  is  done 
in  one  of  two  ways,  either  by  hand  or 
machine.  From  50  to  75  ‘bushels  per  day  can  be 
graded  by  hand,  or  from  500  to  1,000  bushels  by  ma¬ 
chine.  With  machine  grading,  the  weight  and  size 
of  the  apple  are  the  factors  used  to  determine  the 
grade  it  shall  be  placed  in.  Of  course  all  the  ap¬ 
ples  must  be-  of  the  same  size  and  variety  in  order 
to  do  this  satisfactorily.  After  grading,  the  next 
step  in  the  preparation  for  market  is  packing.  Ap¬ 
ples  are  packed  in  both  boxes  and  barrels,  but  the 
box  is  a  much  neater  pack,  and  the  one  with  which 
the  average  person  is  probably  most  familiar. 
THE  STANDARD  BOX. — The  standard  size  apple 
box  does  not  contain  a  bushel,  as  many  people  seem 
to  think.  It  is  lO1^  in.  deep,  ll1/^  in.  wide  and  18  in. 
long,  inside  measurements.  The  liner  is  the  first 
thing  that  goes  into  the  box.  This  is  composed  of 
Some  tremendous  crops  of  onions  are  grown  in  Southern  New  Jersey,  tinder 
the  over-head  system  of  irrigation.  How  onions  look  as  they  are  being  har¬ 
vested  is  shown  above.  This  land  is  made  very  rich  to  begin  with  and  strong 
vital  seed  is  used.  The  onions  are  kept  clean  and  whenever  there  is  the 
slightest  need  of  water  a  spray  is  turned  on  through  the  overhead  pipes 
which  are  seen  running  through  the  field.  The  result  is  that  this  combina¬ 
tion  of  high  feeding,  clean  culture  and  abundant  water  produce  fine  onions 
and  they  are  handled  usually  with  a  good  profit. 
tively  tight,  the  reason  of  course  being  to  prevent 
bruising.  It  is  also  important  that  the  number  of 
apples  in  each  row  be  uniform  throughout  the  pack. 
The  apple  is  placed  in  the  pack  with  the  stem  to¬ 
ward  the  packer,  and  the  fold  of  the  wrap  is  placed 
on  the  bottom.  Proficiency  in  packing  naturally 
comes  with  practice.  At  first  it  will  be  awkward, 
especially  the  wrapping.  It  will  be  difficult  to  get 
the  wrapper  on  tight  without  tearing  it.  But  as 
practice  continues  the  work  becomes  more  or  less 
mechanical,  and  the  packer  will  wonder  why  it  took 
him  so  long  to  learn  such  a  simple  operation.  And 
a  well-packed  box,  uniform  in  every  way,  has  a  neat 
appearance,  and  this,  together  with  the  quality 
found  in  extra  fancy  apples,  offers  no  small  tempta¬ 
tion  to  a  buyer.  h.  w.  Baldwin. 
come  is  mostly  derived  from  salt  hay,  used  largely 
in  ice  houses.  The  salt  marsh  is  considered  waste 
land. 
Now  this  man  applied  to  the  Federal  Land  Bank 
for  a  loan.  As  is  usual,  an  appraiser  was  sent  to 
view  the  property,  and  he  makes  the  following  re¬ 
port  : 
This  is  not  a  farm,  but  a  salt  hay  and  timber  propo¬ 
sition.  This  has  some  of  the  best  timber  I  have  seen  in 
the  State.  I  measured  white  cedar  40  in.  in  diameter 
that  would  measure  1,200  to  1.500  board  feet.  There  is 
a  swamp  area  of  five  or  10  acres  that  will  run  about 
six  large  white  cedars  per  acre.  This  timber  can  be  got 
out  in  Winter  when  frozen,  or  in  Summer  when  it  is 
very  dry.  There  are  a  great  many  pines  of  native 
growth.  One  area  has  a  large  amount  of  floor  maple 
stock.  I  have  tried  to  be  conservative,  but  I  think  this 
is  a  very  valuable  piece  of  timber.  The 
salt  marshes  have  recently  been  drained 
by  the  State  for  mosquitoes,  and  this  area 
is  very  good  hay  land.  He  can  cut  ap¬ 
proximately  100  tons  of  hay.  This  is  an 
old  hunting  preserve,  formerly  owned  by 
New  York  parties,  and  even  now  it  u  a 
good  territory  for  duck  hunting.  The  ap¬ 
plicant  has  a  sawing  outfit  for  sawing 
down  trees,  cutting  cordwood  and  even 
boards  for  crate  work.  Forest  fires  two 
years  ago  took  one  corner  of  this  area,  and 
he  is  clearing  out  the  burned  trees,  selling 
them  for  firewood,  and  intends  to  clear 
this  for  farming.  The  man  is  getting  in¬ 
come  from  hay,  swamp  huckleberries, 
cordwood  and  making  cranberry  crates 
from  pine  to  bring  in  a  fair  income.  He 
has  steady  income  the  year  around.  He 
seems  to  be  a  busy  man,  likes  the  place 
and  work,  has  a  good  comfortable  house 
built  for  a  lodge  and  clubhouse,  and  I 
believe  this  is  a  perfectly  goxl  safe  prop¬ 
osition  if  it  comes  within  the  Farm  Loan 
act.  He  does  not  intend  to  clear  off  tim¬ 
ber.  but  just  thin  out  for  tne  good  of  the 
woodlot. 
The  report  of  the  loan  committee 
was  along  the  same  line.  The  directors 
of  the  bank  decided  to  refuse  a  loan. 
They  say  that  while  the  property  offers 
a  chance  for  a  man  to  earn  a  living,  it 
cannot  be  called  standard  farm  prop¬ 
erty.  Before  this  man  went  to  the 
property  it  was  vacant  for  some  time. 
Should  he  leave  it  there  would  be  a 
good  chance  of  its  being  vacant  again. 
The  joint  stock  bank  took  the  same 
position,  on  the  conclusion  that  “the 
loan  applied  for  is  not  for  agricul¬ 
tural  purposes.” 
Naturally  the  man  who  asked  for  the  loan  is  very 
indignant.  He  writes  us  : 
“Do  you  not  think  that  this  is  a  joke  to  think  that 
I  am  conducting  a  218-acre  'blacksmith  shop  or  a 
Chinese  laundry!” 
Now  let  us  put  the  case  up  to  you.  Would  you 
lend  money  on  such  a  proposition  for  a  long  term 
investment,  knowing  that  when  the  timber  has  been 
cut  the  salt  marsh  would  have  little  value? 
They  tell  us  that  the  wooden  washtub  has  practically 
disappeared  from  the  market. 
There  was  a  man  who  was  urged  to  screen  his  win¬ 
dows  against  flies  and  mosquitoes.  He  said  he  would 
compromise  by  screening  half  the  windows,  and  if  that 
worked  he  would  have  the  rest  done.  About  like  any 
attempt  to  “taper  off”  or  compromise  with  trouble. 
