Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1911-08-04
BULLETIN OF INTEREST
TO AUGUSTA ORCHARDISTS
Secretary Whately Gives Tim ely
Advice Concerning Barrels

To the Editor,
Dear Sir: AS I find that barrels of
different sizes, have been, and are
being, furnished to apple growers in
Virginia in which to pack apples,
(they being usually furnished by the
buyer), and that these different sizes
are almost invariably larger than the
dard by our legislature For the
information of our growers gener-
ally, I quote the following extract
from our present code of laws:
STANDARD VA. APPLE BARRELS
Section 1913a. Pollard's Code of
Virginia
A barrel for use in packing, selling
or shipping apples, shall be of the
following dimensions: Head dame
ter, seventeen and one-eighth inches;
length of slaves, twenty-seven and
one-half inches; bulge, not less than
sixty-four inches; outside measure
ment. Every person buying or sell
ing apples in the State by the barrel,
shall be understood as referring to
quantity, or size of barrel herein
specified.
There is of course nothing to pre-
vent our growers from selling in a
larger barrel than specified by our
legislature, they can even use to-
bacco hogshead if they so agree. But
it is evidently against their interest
to do so. What l desire to empha-
size is, that the dimensions specified
by our law (Which is exactly three
bushels), is the legal standard for
any sales made in this State. And
we are protected in sending these
barrels anywhere by the Interstate
Commerce Law, and Virginia growers
have always shipped in these barrels
anywhere, without complaint, even
| if sold on consignment elsewhere.
Should the point of conflicting with
any State law elsewhere be brought
up, the matter can be adjusted by
marking such barrels as are offered
in that particular market "Short. !"
Tho l have never heard that this
has been. required. Our barrel al
ways sells without question in export
trade.
By way of comparison, I may say
that some states have no legal STAN
dard, so far as I can learn. Some
have the same as ourselves, and some
are different, the New York state
standard is the same as ours eX-
cept that their stave is 81 u inches
instead of 271a inches Gas ours) 3,
and it holds half peck more apples,
or a loss to our growers of 1 barrel
in 26 if they use it. Another state
has a barrel with larger bulge as
we'll as the longer stave, and it holds
one peck more apples, loss of one
barrel in every 10 to our growers.
This barrel has often been furnished
to our growers by buyers, when pur-
chasing with terms of buyer to
find barrels and pack. 1t would be
best if a standard was established
uniform for all states, and efforts are
being made in that direction.
AS an example of our standard
being all right in practice, I quote a
few examples of sales remember to
have taken place last year in this
county. One we'll known Chicago
buyer bought and shipped to Chica-
| go, over 5000 barrels in our standard
dimensions without any complaint. A
large New York buyer bought our
standard barrels, packed and shipped
them to New York without COM
plant.
The Virginia State Horticultural
| Society has long aimed at estab-
| fishing uniform packages for all
fruits in Virginia land our object
now is to emphasize this, and in
form our growers of their rights
| under the law.
WALTER WHATELY, Secretary,
Virginia State Horticultural Society.
Crozet, Va, August 1, 1911.
EYD DIM