The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-09-04
VIRGINIA APPLES
AGREAT INDUSTRY

(Continued from First Page)
croze, yesterday. and ! was told that
at least thousand people were ex-
pected to attend. One will be in ses-
sion at covesville tomorrow. and IL
will be attended by quite as many as
that at Crozet. instructors from the
PARKWAY Hood River country in Ore
gon are employed in these Institutes
to tell our people how these oregon
frui;-growers pack their goods SO
nicely and 50 successfully.
have been reading after one OF
these Hood River fellows. John ..
Cashier. and he tells me that one OF
the most Important factors of the
apple industry out in his country, II
not the most important, is the pack.
For In this day the apple buyers ana
consumers of the world are demand
ing that the fruit be put up in num-
per one shape. That is. that the fruit.
be graded and packed SO they get
what they pay fos.
An Experts Views.
Mr. Cashier writes:
when / say that the pack should
be considered first, ! mean that no
matter how fine a grade OF fruit we
nay S' NAlSSS t!1c pdCh DC VITAL
should the fruit in the rough handling
and long distance 1t is shipped, Will
not be In hrst-class condition when
1t Is placed on the market. The one
thing we should do is to try and I'M
prove the methods OF packing. instead
Sof leaving 1t as it is, for this is an
era OF advancement. There should be
some pressure brought to bear on the
grower as we'll as the packer TO I'M
prove the grade of fruit and pack.
For by our fruits we are known
There seems to be an INCLINATION All
over the Northwest to improve the
method OF packing the apple, as the
National Apple Low at Spokane.
p:oved to those who attended that It
does not pay to put poor fruit on
exhibition. OF course, we of different
districts have different ideas and
methods OF packing our fruit, but the
main thing is to have good pack and
number one fruit in the box IL we
expect to get the top price. The ques-
ton arises: How are we to improve
our system of packing and keep up to
standard? Will the growers Them
selves take the responsibility and see
that II is done right, or leave 1t all
to the packers?
Getting Down to Business.
The trouble SO far has been that the
responsibility has all laid with the
packers, the growers not seemine-to
know what should go as number one
truit. The grower should. by all
means. besides knowing how to raise
the fruit. educate himself to the meth.
DDS OF packing 1t. It would be one
OF the most important lessons he could
learn In the great apple growing in
tdustry. The style Of packing has
changed wonderfully in the last few
years. The old-style pack OF straight
four-tier, and. in fact, all STRAIGHT
packs are giving way to the diagonal
pack, which seems to give better salts
1acton IN shipping. as the fruit does
not bruise so easily With the old
style straight pack, where one annia
rests entirely on the one below It. II
the pack Is the least bit high when
the cover Is put on every apple viii
be more or less bruised, while WITH
the improved methods of the diagonal
pack not one apple rests on another
but cushions in between the four an,
pies below. 50 the loss from bruises
from the last named pack is small |
compared with the other. Growers q.
Hood River use two styles Of hoxes |
for their apples. the standard and the |
special. and BY SO doing are able to |
work most of their apples In tba
diagonal pack, and I think the time
is coming when the straight pack viii
be abandoned entirely" Z -
No More barrels For No. 4.
It will be observed that MrSCastnar
speaks altogether OF boxes" and boy
packing, and nowhere mentions bar
rels. did not know 1t before. hut ha
informs me that the apple growers OF
the Pacific coast never, nowadays.
pack any, No. j apples in barrels AZ
perience having shown that box pack. !
Ing Is better, and is really cheaper. In.
as much as the goods are more Zoo.
nomdcally handled. I understand that |
the experts who are now holding In
Btltutes in the Virginia orchards are,
advocating box packing altogether.
and teaching only that method Bar
rels do all right for second and third,
class fruits. but not for No. 4 apples,
SO say the experts. We'll. If there is
anything new to be learned about
packing or anything else in connec.
tlon with the apple Industry the Yir,
glnla apple-growers ought to know
IT. and what is more. they are going
70 know all about It before they set