Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-12-24

or peach crates Deft fingers fold the
veneers into the shapes desired, and the
strips of tin are put on the edges and tack
ed down with one sharp blow Of hammer.
The larger baskets and crates are put to-
gether little more deliberately. Tough
strips of birch and elm are provided for
bands TO strengthen and hold together the
baskets. These strips have also been mark
ed and creased by machinery, so they bend
easily to the proper position The operator
tacks the strips with staples which go
through the veneer and clinch on the other
side There is a stapling machine provided
now for facilitating this work on large
crates and boxes. This machine Is fed with
a coil of wire. which forms staple after
staple thrusts them into the wood, ciinches
them and cuts off the wire automatically.
A girl stands before the machine and holds
the boxes or crates where they are to be
staDled, and the machine does it's work as
quietly and rapidly as sewing machine.
The marvellous amount of products that
these mills turn out is astonishing. With
the aid of the machinery, single girl will
finish between 1000 and 5000 berry bas-
kets in a day. This is rush, for the
girl simply folds and feeds the machine as
naturally as another would operate sew
ing machine. The girls are paid usually by
the piece, or, rather, by the thousand.
While prices vary, the average wages Of
fered are something like So cents per 1000
for the small berry baskets, 10 cents per
100 for peach baskets and 81 per 100 for
crates. 1t is because of the excellent sys-
tenn of economiZing time and labor and the
cheaoness of the wood and the cost OF
machine work that these baskets, plates
and dishes can be put on the market with
out cost to the consumer of the fruits. The
farmers pay for the packages and the con-
sumers use them for kindling wood or other
purposes. Very few of these are ever re-
turned to the farmer, and each year he
has to make outlay for new packages.
The cost to him must necessarily be low,
but small as the price is, it often bears
.J,1on nf q
vegetables.
Fruit Baskets.
The berry boxes and packages are pur-
chased by the hundred or thousand, and
they run from 20 cents apiece down to
a few cents hundred. Crates with eight
baskets snugly fitted in them for holding
grapes can be purchased for 10 cents COM
plete. Large peach baskets cost from to
cents apiece. Pic and butter dishes cost
less than 81 per thousand. Orange and
lemon crates can be purchased in Florida,
with the freight paid from Maine, as low
as 10 cents apiece. During the height of
grange growing in that state the Maine
mills would ship between two and three
million crates there every season. 1t was
profitable business. and thu falling off of
Florida'S orange production has hurt
Names business as we'll as that of the
peninsula state. Some of the larger crates
and boxes are shipped to the producers
packed in fiat cases, so that bulk may be
greatly reduced. They reach the farmer
in perfect condition, so that in a short time
he can put them together Even the strips
of wood, nails, tin and staples are shipped
with the packages, with nail holes drilled
in the right places, and full directions
showing how to put the package together
As to the number of the veneer boxes
crates and dishes used in this country
1t is only possible to get an approximate
estimate. AS near as the output can be
figured, about 200, 600, 600 butter dishes are
annually made and used; about the same
number of berry baskets, half as many
peach baskets and crates and probably 1OO,-
100000 pie dishes. To make these articles
thousands of cords Of wood must be con-
sumed. and each year a good-sized for
est must be striped of its growing trees