The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1921-08-12
They Look The Same Size. but They Ars No.

They Look the Same
Prepared by the United States Depart.
ment Of Agriculture.)
Standard containers for marketing
fruits and vegetables are Of more in.
lerest to the average citizen than he
generally realizes. Not only IL he de-
erauled frequently by the substitution
" short-measure packages at the full
measure price, which Is inevitable II
the difference In the size of the pack
sges Is not easily detected. but also
the cost Of marketing IL increased by
me greater expense Of manufacturing
I large number Of unnecessary styles
and sizes and by breakage In transit,
sometimes directly attributable to the
lificulty Of loading odd-sized con-
tainers. These losses constitute an
Unnecessary tax on the fruit and
vegetable industry that the bureau Of
markets, United States Department
" Agriculture, 10 endeavOring to cut
lown by fostering the use Of stand.
lrd containers.
Old. Time Units cause Confusion.
Local package units that came into
sse long ago are most largely re-
sponsible for present difficulties.
such packages may have been salts
factory when their use was confiued
10 limited territory. but Of late years
sapid transportation and the use Of
pecial refrigerator and ventilator
:ars have brought the products Of
very section Of this country into our
great marketing centers. where the d.
'ersity Of styles and sizes Of contain
ers have resulted in unnecessary con-
fusion.
There are in common use today
about 40 sizes Of cabbage crates. 20
styles Of celery crates, 80 lettuce
srates or boxes, 30 styles and sizes
II hampers. Is styles and sizes Of
sound stave baskets, and market bas-
TETS. varying in size from / to "a
quarts, whereas relatively few stand
ard sizes would satisfy all the de-
hands of the trade.
The unfair competition Of short
measure containers has been another
unsatisfactory factor. Certain shrewd
packers have found that by slight
notifications In the shape of pack
sges the cubical contents can be re-
iuced substantially without noticeably
affecting the appearance.
Short. Measure Package.
Commodities sold in these contain
ers can be offered at lower price per
package than those sold In standard
packages. but the price by unit Of
weight Is, Of course. higher. Often
this has caused the general adoption
Of the short.measure package, and
there Is no end to this procedure, for
once the short measure Is recognized
as the standard still shorter one IL
put out by an unscruplous minority.
The six-quart market basket. the
f4-quart peach basket. the seven
eighths-bushel bean hamper, and the
ave-peck lettuce hamper are easily
confused with peck, half-bushel, bush.
Il and 1h-bushel baskets.
Another factor which has caused
the addition Of many unnecessary
packages Is the lack Of q unit which
Is accepted as the basis for all pack.
age standards. II manufacturer
wishes to introduce crate into a pro.
aucing section normally using the bar
rel instead Of using the bushel unit.
the tendency IL to offer a barrel
crate or half-barrel crate. At the pres
ent time the crates and boxes are be-
Ing manufactured In sizes based on
the United States standard barrel (1O1
luarts) with Its subdivisions. the
United States cranberry barrel zee
1884 quarts) with its subdivisions, the
weight bushel. the heaped bushel. and
the volume bushel. These different
standards are used because Of compel
ting packages.
Series Of Crates.
The result may be seen by a glance
at the following table:
Three Series Of Crates Which Cannot Be
Readily Distinguished From Each Other.
Crates based ON U. 8. apple barrel:
1-oarrel crate."...............Qu quarts 100
M-barrel crate.................. do 621t
Is barrel crate................ do S
Crates based on U. g. cranberry barrel:
M-barrel crate .............. do Is l1-32
Is barrel crate.............. do Is 29-a2
Crates based on standard bushel:
'S-bushel crate. quarts SO
Iz-bushel crate................... do u
1-bushel crate. ..................... do 81
A standard unit Of measure should
he permanent. definite. and of fixed
and uniform value. The heaped bushel.