Florida celery can be sleeved at the shipping point and quality main-

tained satisfactorily, but the trade must be convinced.

 As for shorter-cut, closed-sleeved celery, the added shelf-life
 achieved by removing leaves does not appear to be necessary for most

 retailers. The shelf-life of celery available presently is generally

 adequate. Many feel that the shorter length with fewer leaves lacks

 customer appeal; a few contend that the shorter length and few leaves

 make no difference to the consumer and that transportation savings and

 added shelf-life make it a desirable product to handle. One considera-

 tion is that California's whole stalks are generally a little longer

 than Florida's. A move to force shorter stalks on retailers would

 require California's cooperation or it would probably fail. Further,

 there is much speculation on what the consumer likes, but little or no

 concrete information.

 Celery hearts constitute an important part of retail celery sales,

 but repackers evidently fill a substantial portion of retailers' heart

 requirements. A slightly fancier package, i.e., the tray-poly bag, may

 be one means of increasing the Florida celery industry's share of the
 heart-packing business in some market areas. Similarly, a short (8 1/2")

 heart appeals to some retailers and offers additional shelf-life, It

 would also offer a greater contrast to shorter-cut, closed-sleeved, whole

 stalks. This contrast would remove one objection to the short-cut stalks

 that they "look too much like hearts."

 Pricing of celery by the pound, which would permit packing of mixed

sizes, does not appear to be a viable alternative to the presently-used

unit price. The obvious reason is the additional labor required at the

store level for weighing.