over the joints, and with a coat of China wood oil over these."

Export Packing of Bric-a-brac and Fragile Sundries. -A large New York exporter, handling a great variety of bric-a-brac, and all kinds of fragile goods, provides us with a number of interesting photographs (see pages 466, 556, 585), and states that export packing consists mainly in finding suitable cases, strong enough and roomy enough to contain the materials, snugly and tightly packed. All cases, except those to contain chinaware, are lined with waterproof paper, and each item is separately padded. The case itself is floored with excelsior, and the items are placed in and very tightly packed between layers of excelsior. The cases are reënforced inside with a long piece of lumber nailed very tightly, so as to prevent the case collapsing in case a heavy load is placed on top of it. Cases are ironstrapped, pulled tight by machine and sealed. End straps are nailed into the case, but straps about the middle of a case are merely pulled very tight, and not nailed. All bric-a-brac is packed individually with paper and excelsior, laid in the cases in even layers, and thoroughly protected all around by excelsior. Each piece of bisque bric-a-brac is padded carefully to fill in the spaces between the parts of the ornament, wrapped in excelsior and paper, and large pieces are padded in layers. Bronze pieces of bric-a-brac are also padded, usually by bands of excelsior-wrapped paper. Cases employed by this manufacturer frequently have double ends, and are also often reënforced by wooden battens at the ends. In a general way, the packing of these fragile articles of bric-a-brac may be described as thorough "floating" of the goods in their outside containers.

CHAPTER XVII

EXPORT PACKING OF TEXTILES AND APPAREL

J

OHN S. LAWRENCE recently stated that, "Four and a half years ago we studied our Federal tariffs and probable imports, today we look to our foreign markets and probable exports in anticipating our industrial conditions. The responsibility

of caring for the world's needs has come to us through the misfortune of others, and with it we have undertaken a new obligation. The permanency of this business will depend upon the degree of 'sane, sound service' rendered by our United States industry in the next few years." The author does not know that it has ever been his good fortune to see expressed more concretely the international situation of any industrial branch.

From 1890 to 1914 the United States consumed 31 to 38 per cent of its own cotton crop, but the statistics for the war years show a very rapid increase of demand at home for the approximately 12,000,000 bales produced in the United States. In 1915-1916 we used 53 per cent of the domestic crop; in 1916-1917, 54 per cent; in 19171918, 58 per cent. This means that British spindles are being robbed of the raw material that has given England the lead in world trade for so many years, and it also explains the very determined efforts that Great Britain is now making to foster cotton growing within her own domains and thus make herself independent of foreign countries in the matter of raw cotton supplies.

The foregoing paragraphs will be of interest to any man interested in foreign trade in textiles, but it all has reference to the past and will be meaningless for the future unless the proper work is done to hold the ground won and by "sane, sound service" make a good fight

for world markets. As an absolutely necessary element of this good service must be included good packing, and as a necessary element the packing problem demands the most careful and painstaking study.

Packing of Textiles. The packing of textiles offers a large variety of interesting technical angles. There is the question of customs requirements, which as applying to textiles are of the most exacting character. The arrangement of the goods in the case and the character of the case has a most important influence on the laid-down cost of the goods. There is further the protection of the goods, and above all, the necessity of doing everything possible to prevent pilfering. Textiles, unlike a great many goods, are merchandise of instant use in any country, and there are comparatively few other lines that offer the universal and constant attraction to the pilferer.

Textiles is, of course, a generally comprehensive term and applies not only to cotton piece goods but to silk, woolen and other goods in the piece, of which in recent years the United States has come to rank as an important exporter. It seems probably true that English shippers have brought to bear on the question of the export packing of textiles a good deal more thorough and scientific study than we in the United States have up to the present bestowed on this subject. Indeed, the export packing of cotton textiles is, it is understood, a distinct branch of industry in Manchester, in which are engaged specialists devoting their attention to nothing else than the packing for export of the tremendous volume of export business enjoyed by Manchester and other British firms of exporters. Market peculiarities are quite thoroughly studied and generally understood, and the packing of textiles by these Manchester specialists is said to follow more or less standardized lines-in the making of bales, for example. In many instances, double if not treble the hydraulic pressure is brought to bear in compressing the contents than is employed by American shippers, with the result that bales are made to occupy not to exceed twothirds of the cubic space of an American bale containing

similar yardage. This perhaps is especially true in shipments of certain varieties of cotton piece goods to British India, where long established custom has developed the practice of compressing the several pieces into bales while still damp, and even soaked, with the sizing liquids employed, utilizing very heavy hydraulic pressure, with the result that when the bales are opened in India each piece is as stiff as a board and the folds of the cloth have almost to be torn in unwrapping the pieces. Practices such as this vary with different markets and, of course, have to be learned with the course of long and intimate acquaintance with market peculiarities and the wishes of customers. It is notable, however, that British packers invariably charge for the special packing supplied, while the usual practice of most American shippers is to supply packing without cost. There is, or at least used to be before the war, a more or less standard packing price-list in vogue among the Manchester packing houses, and charges for packing of various descriptions-bales, cases, tin linings, etc.-as made by British shippers were widely understood and accepted. Whether it might be better for American shippers to go deeply into this subject of the export packing of textiles and impose charges for packing which would deliver goods to the better satisfaction of customers, or with considerably reduced freight charges, may be a subject for discussion. The volume of American export business has become so tremendous that economies offered customers for their better satisfaction in one way or another have become matters of the highest importance to us.

Use of Cases and Bales. As illustrating American packing methods at present in vogue among shippers doing a very large export business, the following quotations from correspondence which has been received will be of value.

A house doing an international business writes: "Cases. For countries where case packing is permissible, we use 3/4-inch new cases, line these inside with good heavy paper and protect the outside by iron strap

ping. The number of straps varies according to the size and weight of cases, but it is hardly ever less than three. To ports in which unloading is difficult, in other words, where steamers cannot dock at piers, but must stay outside and the cargo has to be unloaded into lighters, we usually employ waterproof paper as a lining in order to avoid damage in case a parcel is dropped into the sea in the unloading process. Cases going to countries with a very humid climate are tin lined. This tin lining is also employed for shipments to certain Far Eastern markets where merchandise in cases has frequently been damaged by a class of vermin eating into it. We employ tin lining entirely on all shipments to Korea.

"Bales.-Packing in bales is demanded by customers for two reasons. The first reason is that duty is assessed on the gross weight, and for that reason naturally the customer wants to have his tare as light as possible in order to keep down the amount of duty he has to pay. In this case, we make bales as large as we can possibly. make them consistent with their safe arrival. We employ a large power press to compress bales, then wrap the entire parcel in strong paper, over which goes a layer of oilcloth and outside burlap. The outside is then provided with not less than four iron straps. To avoid damage to the merchandise we put under the layer of burlap a light board of exactly the length of the bale. This board at the same time prevents cutting of the strapping into the merchandise.

"The second reason for packing in bales is that certain markets do not have railroad connections with the ports, and merchandise has to be transported on muleback. In that case a certain weight must not be exceeded. The weight given by various merchants as a limit varies but we have found that for the interior markets of South America such as Colombia, Bolivia, etc., to cities without railroad connections, the customary limit given is about 50 kilos. The make-up of these bales is the same as in case one."

Another large textile exporting concern sends a num