Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  Years ago hand-picked fruits & vegetables were loaded into 
AH>  baskets, then transferred to wooden crates or barrels for 
AH>  shipping elsewhere.  Grocery stores often displayed their 
AH>  wares in such containers... whereas nowadays you would be 
AH>  more likely to see cardboard cartons used for this purpose. 
AH>  But the principle is the same: a rotten piece of fruit can 
AH>  easily infect others.  :-Q


AK>  Although it is strange a bit when you put next 
                     | a bit strange

AK>  "wooden crates/barrels". Crates have gaps between planks and 
AK>  fruits feel better in such condition. But if we put apples 
AK>  (or oranges) into a barrel... IMHO it is a bad idea. ;) 


         Uh-huh.  In my experience some fruits & veggies do "keep" better if they can get a bit of air, and the crates I remember seeing as a child which were originally used to contain apples or oranges had gaps between the top & bottom boards.  Maybe what we have here is an idea which has gained momentum during the past century or so.  If shopkeepers opened barrels upon arrival & Farmer Brown employed gently-used barrels (minus lids) to keep apples in his root cellar, it may have taken awhile for people to realize the fruit in the bottom of the barrel might not fare so well & to understand why.  What I see nowadays is cardboard boxes with holes at strategic intervals where I reckon they'd allow air to get in & make it fairly easy to remove the lids....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+