The first step in packing is the dipping of the dried fruit, and this must be done whether the figs are packed cheaply or expensively. The dipping, which must be done just before packing, causes the figs to become soft and pliable, equalizes moisture, and improves the skin and its color. Perforated buckets holding 5 gallons of dried figs are suitable vessels for holding the figs during the dipping. A kettle arranged for heating water and large enough to permit the immersion of the bucket of figs should be provided. In this kettle sea water or brine made of one-fourth pound of coarse salt to a gallon of water should be heated to the boiling point. The bucket of figs should then be immersed in this boiling brine for a few seconds and emptied on to wire screens to drain. While draining, the figs should be covered with a cloth or otherwise kept dark. The fruit should be packed on the same day that it is dipped. The best grade of white figs, or very soft figs of any grade, should only be dipped in _cold_ salt water, just before packing. The salt water is never washed off, and the salt that remains does not in the least injure the figs, but, on the contrary, improves their quality. ASSORTING. The inferior figs which were removed from the trays during the drying process should be assorted into at least two sizes for packing. A yet lower grade which can not be profitably packed may be sold in sacks. The largest Smyrna figs weigh, when dried, about 23 grams [355 grains, or about four-fifths of an ounce avoirdupois], while the average French and Italian figs weigh each about 8 grams [123.45 grains, or a little more than one-fourth of an ounce avoirdupois]. PULLING. The best grades of figs should be pulled or flattened before packing. This pulling consists first in squeezing the fig with the hand to soften it, and then flattening it so as to shape it into a disk in which the eye and stalk are nearly in the center of the flat sides, as may be observed in packages of figs imported from Smyrna. The object of this pulling is to have the figs present as fine a surface as possible when they are pressed and packed, this method enabling the packer to hide the eye and stalk ends effectually. For inferior brands it will suffice to simply flatten the figs in such a way that the eye and stalk are at opposite extremities of the fruit when pressed. In pulling and handling the figs, the hands of the worker should always be moistened with salt water to prevent them from becoming sticky with sirup and thus soiling the figs. PACKING.