convenient type has one end mounted
on wheels so that it can be pushed from one place to another. The top
of the table should be made of two strong layers of canvas, one tacked
firmly to the framework of the table with about three or four inches
of dip and the other laid loosely over it. This plan provides a soft
resting place for the fruit and the table can be easily cleaned off by
simply throwing back the upper layer of canvas.

Three feet six inches is about the right width for the table, and the
same sloping to three feet four inches at one end, is the correct
height from the ground. Most packers like to have this gradual slope
to one end so that the apples will naturally feed toward that end. The
length may be anything up to eight or ten feet, beyond which the table
becomes heavy and unmanageable.

BARRELS.--The standard apple barrel adopted by the National Apple
Shippers' Association and made law in New York State has a length of
stave of twenty-eight and one-half inches and a diameter of head of
seventeen and one-eighth inches. The outside circumference of the
bilge is sixty-four inches and the distance between the heads is
twenty-six inches. It contains one hundred quarts dry measure. The
staves are mostly made of elm, pine, and red gum, and the heads
principally of pine with some beech and maple. In most apple growing
sections barrels are made in regular cooper shops where their
manufacture is a business by itself. Only the largest growers set up
their own barrels. Practically all barrels are purchased "knocked
down" and it costs from four to six cents each to set them up. Barrels
can ordinarily be purchased for about thirty-five cents each, but the
cost varies somewhat with the season and the region.

Apple packages should always present a neat, clean, and attractive
appearance. Never use flour barrels, soiled or ununiform barrels of
any kind. If a head cushion is used a good deal of waste from the
crushing and bruising of the fruit will be saved. A head lining of
plain or fringed paper also adds much to the attractiveness of the
package. The wrapping of apples for barrel packing is hardly
advisable. The fruit is pressed into the barrel tightly with one of
two types of presses, both of which are good.

The lever press is more responsive and the pressure is more easily
changed, but it is harder to operate. The screw press distributes the
pressure more evenly with less injury to the fruit and is more
power