POORLY PACKED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 3, 14 January 1942, Page 5

POORLY PACKED

PARCELS FOR TROOPS ADVICE TO SENDERS "There is still a lack of appreciation in some quarters of the need for adequate packing of parcels, for jlaces overseas,' said the Postmas-ter-General, Mr Webb. Some parcels for members of the Armed Forces in the Middle East, Great Britain and Canada which, although in coming to Wellington they had travelled only a few hundred miles,, had burst open' and the, contents were scattered loose in the bags. "In packing a parcel," the Minister said, "senders —particularly business firms posting on behalf of private individuals —should realise the amount of handling that the parcel have to undergo' before it reaches the addressee. Parcels are dispatched in bags which have to be loaded on lorries, on trains, and in ships' slings, not to mention stacking in ships' holds. Much Handling "On arrival overseas they often have to be unloaded from steamer to lighter, from lighter to wharf, from wliarf to shed, shed to> railway siding, railway siding to lorry, and so on; and if people would, only remember that the parcel bags are stacked in piles twenty to thirty feet high, they would realise that the pressure on the parcels in the lower bags must be simply enormous.

"It is found from experience," added the Minister, 'that the type of parcel which stands up best to the difficult transit conditions is that which is enclosed in a tin container with the lid completely soldered down and the whole than wrapped in paper and finally sewn strongly in stout calico or canvas. Mothers, wives, and friends who so pack their parcels can be assured that the parcels have a good chance of reaching the addressee overseas in good con-

dition."