_ THE AUSTRALIAN GAk 
flower. The ‘Florist” for September, 
1848, contains cvlored illustrations of two 
of the leading pinks cf that day, and it is 
reen that the rounded edge to the petals 
had been secured and universally recognised 
as an indispepsable feature of high-class 
quality. A somewhat sharp controversy 
waged for some years between the northern 
and southern florists as to the size and full- 
ness cf the flowers; the latter favored size 
combined with the rounded petal and per- 
fect lacing; the. northerners preferred a 
smaller number of petals, derisively term- 
ing the larger flowers favored by the 
growers in the south as ‘‘mops.” This, 
like other controversies, died out in course 
- of time, but it was somewhat acute while it 
Jasted. he abolition of pink exhibitions, - 
avhile it bas reduced to a minimum the 
production of new varieties, has happily 
zot driven the pinks ont of cultivation. 
Some of these being of a stiff, erect habit 
of growth make excellent border plants. 
John Bull, Modesty, and Mrs. McCrorie 
deserve a special mention in this respect. 
A few yeais ago Mr. James Thurston, then 
of Cardiff, raised several new varieties of 
tine quality, but very few of them found 
their way into cultivation. They appeared 
ata time when the interest in the flower 
was decidedly on the wane. Border varie- 
ties of varied character are still much 
grown, and apart from their usefulness as 
decorative agevts in the garden they possess 
a distinctly commercial value, in that they 
are wuch cultivated for bunching for 
market purposes. — Gardeners’ Magazine. 
‘Ihe Oxehartd. 
OPERATIONS FOR MARCH. 
NOTES ON PACKAGES USED AND 
METHODS OF PACKING FRUITS 
FOR EXPORT. 
By GEORGE QuiNN, in the “Journal of 
Agriculture and. Industry.” 
Next to being able to produce first-class 
fruits to meet tne requirements of outside 
markets comes the question of saft transit. 
+ is true, the temperature and storage 
conditions maintained during the journey 
may be said to hold the key to the posi- 
tion; but, granted that the treatment in 
these respects on the voyage is in keeping 
with our present knowledge respecting 
what has proved successful in the past, 
the next consideration is the adoption of 
suitable packages into which the carefully 
selected and graded fruits should be 
securely encased. 
The case now known as’ the “Peacock” 
ease—from the name of the gentleman who 
first suggested it—is fast becoming the re- 
cognised standard for the Huropean as well 
as the interstate trade in apples. The case 
has outside measurements of 10 x 15 x 20 
jn., so that if necessary in stacking the 
‘cases they will cross pack exactly, thus 
rendering the bond in the pile as complete 
as that secured by the bricklayer in nis 
wall-building. It is claimed that this re- 
sults in economy of the shipping space, 
=e 
enabling two or three cases more to be 
stored in a measured ton than was possible 
with the older styles of cases. When made 
from Tasmanian hardwoods, battens ¢ in. 
in thickness are used in the sides, tep, and 
bottom, and the ends are cut from boards 
# in. in thickness. With our softer import- 
ed pine woods, the ends need to be # in. or 
§ in. timber, and some of the side battens 
from 4 in. material. 
Mr. James Lang, the well-known fruit- 
grower, of Harcourt, Victoria, has suggest- 
ed a modification in the thickness of the 
timber used in the battens which form the 
sides. This has been adopted here with 
conspicuous success, and the refrigerating 
engineer of the Orestes declared the cases 
shipped in that boat, which were made ou 
Mr. Lang’s plan, to be the best he had met. 
The modification is simply that the sides 
—the 20-in. side—are each made of four 
battens, two of which are 4 in. thick and 
two ¢ in. thick. In construction the battens 
} in: thick are nailed on the outer edges of 
each side, and those 2 in. thick are placed 
side by side between them. This has two 
advantages, for not only does it give sta- 
bility to the cases, but when they are laid 
on their sides in the ship or stack the thicx 
battens of the upper case always rest upon 
those of the case beneath it. The thin, 
or #-in., battens then are opposite acd 
parallel to each otner, affording a ventila- 
tion space of a quarter of an inch between 
each tier of cases, which cannot be omitted 
“by careless stacking or removed by the 
shifting of dunnage or by splintering of, 
as was so often the result when a lath was 
tacked to the end of each case. To secure 
the proper “tightening” of the contents, 
when nailing down it is desirable that the 
top of each of these cases should be made 
from one piece of board rather than of two 
battens. When made as described above 
the cubic contents of this case is a fraction 
over 2,331 m. Asan Imperial bushel con- 
tains 2,218,192 cubic in., the buyer secures 
full measurement when he purchases the 
contents as a bushel of apples. The spaces 
between the battens on the sides should 
not exceed } in., otherwise there is danger 
of sufficient of the convex surface of the 
fruits being squeezed in between the sharp 
edges, and thus being seriously bruised or 
cut. Rats also insert their sharp noses 
between wider spaces, and I have seen 
pieces which a shilling would not conceal 
eaten out of, row after row of fruits in cases 
stacked overnight in wharf sheds. 
In the filling of the cases it should be 
needless to repeat that only evenly graded, 
sound apples, of well-proved varieties, 
which have wilted for a few hours after 
being picked, should be wrapped and 
packed for export. If possible, grades 
-which will allow the apples to be placed in 
the cases on their flattest sides or shortest. 
Giameters should be selected. If, however, 
a few have to be turned edgeways to fit 
in securely, it is better to follow that plan 
than to insert smaller fruits or permit slack 
packings. Respecting the use of wood 
wool, it is only necessary to use enough to 
fill gaps into which fruits of even grade 
cannot be fitted, while a good pad on the 
bottom, before beginning to pack, and on 
DUENER. 
SS 
“boards instead of four battens. 
March 1, 1904 
a TS ee 
the top, prior to nailing down the lid, is. 
valuable. If the bottom and top layers 
have the crown or calyx ends facing out- 
wards, the appearance of the contents is 
enhanced when the cases are opened for 
sale. 
Case for the carriage of oranges to 
Europe: Its outside measurements are 9 
x 138 x 28 in. The ends and (partition are 
made of wood # in. thick, and the sides 
of laths % in. thick, the top and bottom be- 
ing each composed of a single board § in. in 
thickness. A small lath cleat, } in. thick, 
was usually nailed across each end for ven- 
tilation purposes. This was the case for- 
merly used in the apple export trade from ~ 
this State. 
In packing oranges, besides paying 
great care to the quality, soundness, grad- 
ing, variety, &c., sent, much depends upon 
the proper wilting, or toughening of the 
skins before the final packing is performed. 
To attain, ibis the fruits must be allowed 
to stand in a shed or shelter for several 
days after being cut from the trees, until 
considerable evaporation has taken place 
from the skins. The fruits are then wrap- 
ped separately in paper, and, after putting 
in a pad of wood wool they are packed in 
rows until the case is filled somewhat above 
the top. ‘Another pad of wood wool is 
placed over the fruits, the lid adjusted, 
and the case rocked endways sharply to 
settle them down. When properly wilted, 
oranges may be packed very firmly. As 
with the apples, it should be possible to 
stand the lidless case on end when packed, 
without the contents rolling out. 
Tho grape case is similar in size and 
shape, but the sides are each made of two 
In the 
grape case no open space is left between 
the edges of these boards; in other words, 
the edges of the boards meet, so that no — 
granulated cork may leak out. 
The method of packing is simple. The 
case is opened on one of the flat or wider 
faces, as shown in our illustration. The 
inside is lined with white paper, fitted in 
the ordinary way. The grapes, which 
should have been cut a few hours before, 
and kept dry, are embedded in granulated 
cork. A. good layer of the cork is placed in 
the bottom of the case, and a tier of bun- 
ches of grapes placed on it. More cork 
is then put in and shaken down closely. 
between the berries and stalks, until the 
grapes are covered, and so until the case is 
“filled, say, to half an inch above the level 
of its sides. The papers are then adjusted 
and the lid nailed on, after “rocking” 
down the contents, as described before. It 
takes from 5 Ib. to 6 Ib. of granulated cork 
—say, 1/3 worth—to fill the above case. 
and great care must be taken not to put 
in too much fruit and too little cork. The 
whole of the contents should be firm 
enough to form a compact block of cork, 
in which the grapes are embedded quite 
out of sight. If this is not done the ber- 
ries protrude through the cork, which 
settles down on the voyage, and there is 
much danger of rubbing and decay. Jarrah 
borings or shavings haye been used success- 
- fully in place of cork in this work. The 
