Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-04-18

EVERY DAY TOPICS CONSIDERED IN
a PRACTICAL MANNER.

Capacity of Packages for vegetables-The
Question OF How Much a Barrel, Box or
Crate uolds--Market Demands in the
Way of Packages.
The question of how much barrel
box, crate, or sack really holds often
veXes the prospective shipper of produce,
and he is at a loss to know the proper
size or style of package in which to ship
his crop so that it will sell to the best adj
vantage. Does the market demand a
certain style of package in which certain
crops must be sent or suffer depreciation
in price in consequence? This is an inn
portant question, and Rural New Yorker
answers it in this wise: Nearly every To-
cality has a size and style Of package
peculiar to itself, and the regular ship
pers from those points understand what
is meant by the different terms used in
market reports.
Cabbages, cauiAowers lettuce and
sometimes egg plants, when quoted by
the crate are generally in barrel crates;
that is, in crates holding barrel. Bects,
green peas string beans, tomatoes,
onions and some other articles sold in
crates usually run about bushcl to the
crate. But the size of bushel crate
varies according TO the locality from
which it comes. The smallest come
from Bermuda. and as the season adj
vances and shipments arrive successfully
from Florida, Savannah, Charleston and
Norfolk, the size gradually increases,
Norfolk sending the largest.
From Charleston large numbers of oc-
tagOnal crates are forwarded. While not
holding, apparently, SO much as the rec
tangular ones, they have the added adj
vantage that they cannot be packed SO
closely together, thus insuring better
circulation Of air in transit Other things
being equal, neat, clean packages pro
senting an attractive appearance sell
best, Prime goods, packed in slovenv
manner, sometimes sell for lower prices
than inferior goods attractivelv put up.
The barrels coming to the New York
market are of innumerable kinds and
sizes. Produce neatly packed in round
hooped barrels sells best. Potatoes in
bulk, when sold by the barrel, call for
$50 pounds. Some dealers say those in
barrels should weigh the same; but this
is impossible because very few barrels
will hold that amount, and 100 pounds
are generally accepted. The Scotch po-
tatoes in sacks weigh about 1GS pounds
per sack. Bermuda and Florida pota-
toes come in the ordinary round hoped
barrels and weigh about 165 pounds per
barrel. Onions, tilrnips, carrots, squash,
lale, spinach, etc, usually come in the
ordinary barrels.
y new kind of ventilated barrel made
of sort of thin, splint like stuff is much
used for kale, spinach and similar light
products, but it is not strong enough for
heavy goods like potatoes. The shipper,
TO secure the best results, should strive
TO put his produce in clean, neat pack
ages, have it well graded and marked
for just what it is. If he should happen
tosend it in packages above the ordinary
size, it would probably sell for higher
price proportionately, other things being
equal. Strong efforts have been made
by the retail dealers of New York to COM
pei the sale by weight of all vegetables,
but the effort has thus far been defeated.