The steps in properly packing a barrel of apples are: First, see that the middle and closed end hoops are tight, if necessary, nailing them and clinching the nails; second, mark the head plainly with the grade and variety and the name of the packer or owner; then place the barrel on a solid floor or plank and lay in the facing papers (the face end being packed first); select the "facers," which should be the best representatives of the grade being packed, and no others, and place them in two courses in regular order stems down; with a drop handle basket fill the barrel, using care not to bruise the fruit, and jarring the barrel back and forth on the plank as each basket is put into it in order to settle the fruit firmly in place; lastly, arrange a layer of apples stems up and apply the press, using a hatchet to get the head in place and to drive on and tighten the hoops.
The Box Package is rapidly growing in favor, especially as a carrier of fancy fruit. There is no standard box the size of which is fixed by law unless it be a box labeled a bushel. But two sizes of boxes are in common use, both probably being necessary on account of the variation in the size of different varieties. The "Standard" box is 10½ by 11½ by 18 inches inside measurement and contains 2,173.5 cubic inches (the lawful stricken bushel is 2,150.4 cubic inches). The "Special" box is 10 by 11 by 20 inches inside measurement and contains 2,200 cubic inches. The bulge when properly made will add about 150 cubic inches more, making the two boxes hold 2,323.5 cubic inches and 2,350 cubic inches respectively.
Spruce is the most reliable and in general the best material. Fir is sometimes used, but is likely to split. Pine is good if strong enough. The ends should be of three-quarter-inch material; the sides of three-eighth-inch, and the tops and bottoms—two pieces each—of one-quarter-inch material. There should also be two cleats each for top and bottom. The sides of the box should be nailed with four, preferably five-penny cement-coated nails, at each end. The cleats should be put neatly on each end and four nails put into them, going through into the top and bottom. Boxes commonly come "knocked down" or in the flat and are usually put together by the grower. They cost from ten to thirteen cents each in the flat.
There are several kinds of packs, depending on the size of the apples and the choice of the grower. The diagonal pack with each apple resting over the spaces between others is preferable, but on account of the size of the apples one is often forced to use the straight pack with the apples in regular right angle rows for some sizes. The offset pack, first three (or four) on one side and then on the other, is very much like the diagonal, but not much used on account of its accommodating too few apples in a box. The following table gives the packs, number of rows, number of apples in the row, box to use, and number of apples used to the box, as used at Hood River, Oregon:
| Size expressed in No. apples per box | Tier | Pack | No. apples in row | No. layers in depth | Box used |
| 45 | 3 | 3 St. | 5-5 | 3 | Standard |
| 54 | 3 | 3 St. | 6-6 | 3 | Special |
| 54 | 3 | 3 St. | 6-6 | 3 | Special |
| 63 | 3 | 3 St. | 7-7 | 3 | Special |
| 64 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 4-4 | 4 | Standard |
| 72 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 4-5 | 4 | Standard |
| 80 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 5-5 | 4 | Standard |
| 88 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 5-6 | 4 | Standard |
| 96 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 6-6 | 4 | Special |
| 104 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 6-7 | 4 | Special |
| 112 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 7-7 | 4 | Special |
| 120 | 3½ | 2-2 Diag. | 7-8 | 4 | Special |
| 128 | 4 | 4 St. | 8-8 | 4 | Special |
| 144 | 4 | 4 St. | 9-9 | 4 | Special |
| 150 | 4½ | 3-2 Diag. | 6-6 | 5 | Standard |
| 163 | 4½ | 3-2 Diag. | 6-7 | 5 | Standard |
| 175 | 4½ | 3-2 Diag. | 7-7 | 5 | Standard |
| 185 | 4¼ | 3-2 Diag. | 7-8 | 5 | Special |
| 200 | 4½ | 3-2 Diag. | 8-8 | 5 | Special |
It is good practice to wrap apples packed in boxes. For this purpose a heavy-weight tissue paper in two sizes, 8 by 10 and 10 by 10, according to the size of the apple, is used. A lining paper 18 by 24 in size and "white news" in grade is first placed in the box. Between the layers of apples a colored "tagboard" paper, size 17¼ by 11 or 20 by 9¾, according to the box used, is laid so as to make the layers come out right at the top. In packing the box is inclined toward the packer for convenience in placing the fruit. After laying in the lining paper each apple is wrapped and put in place. As an aid to picking up the thin wrapping paper a rubber "finger" is used on the forefinger. When the box is packed the layers should stand a quarter to a half inch higher in the middle than at the ends, in order to give a bulge or spring to the top and bottom which holds the fruit firmly in place without bruising.
There has been much discussion as to whether the box or the barrel is the better package for apples. This is needless, for as a matter of fact each is best for its own particular purpose. The barrel is best adapted as a package for large commercial quantities of fruit and where labor could not be had to pack apples in boxes even if the trade wanted them. The barrel permits the packing of a greater variety in size and shape than does the box, and these can be more easily and cheaply handled in packing.
On the other hand, the box is the ideal package for small amounts of fancy fruit, to be used for a family-or fruit-stand trade. It presents a neater and more fancy appearance and is a more convenient package to handle, as well as one which is more open to inspection. It already has a better reputation as a quality container than the barrel. As a fancy package for a limited private trade from the small general farm orchard with high-class varieties like the Northern Spy, McIntosh, and others there is no comparison of the box with the barrel.
Storage.—Car refrigeration and cold storage of fruit are comparatively modern developments. Few persons who have not been affected directly realize what a tremendous influence they have had upon the fruit, and particularly the apple industry. Apples could not be shipped any very great distance. Crops had to be marketed immediately and when they were large the markets were soon glutted and the fruit became almost valueless. The first hot spell would demoralize the trade altogether. Then later in the season the supply would become exhausted and famine would ensue where but a few weeks before there had been a feast. Under such conditions it is not surprising that the apple industry did not develop very rapidly and that apple growing was mostly confined to areas near the larger markets.
The coming of the refrigerator car extended fruit-growing over a much wider area. Refrigeration on shipboard opened up and enlarged the export trade. Cold storage warehouses lengthened the season by holding over the surplus of fruit, thus relieving fall gluts in the market and providing a winter supply of apples. These conditions created a more stable market with more uniform prices, extending the business from a side issue to one of chief importance. Marketing has become almost a business by itself, inducing the formation of growers' associations and creating a profitable occupation for large dealers and commission men. These conditions, too, have led to speculation.