The Bulletin. 7 



condition and general appearance. Produce put up in this shape will 

 appear to best advantage at the time of sale. Markets are seldom over- 

 stocked with good fruit and vegetables; it is the poorly developed, 

 unevenly ripened, badly selected products that injure the sale of better 

 articles. Produce of all kinds should be sorted so that in each package 

 each specimen is as nearly like the others as is practicable. The efficient 

 grader has in mind the appearance of the whole package, and not the 

 individual specimens. This work can seldom be overdone, for the more 

 rigid the grading the greater the profits at the time of sale. 



Under ordinary conditions, grading can best be done in the packing 

 shed or in the shade of convenient trees where the produce will be pro- 

 tected from the direct rays of the sun and have an opportunity of becom- 

 ing cool before being packed. Usually, fruits and vegetables are divided 

 into three grades, "Firsts" or "Primes," "Seconds" and "Culls." "First" 

 grade or "Prime" produce must be uniform in size, color and shape, of 

 an even degree of ripeness, and free from insect injuries, bruises and all 

 other defects. "Seconds" must be good, fairly uniform specimens, not 

 noticeably marked by insect, fungus or other damage. "Culls" are those 

 specimens which will not fill all requirements of either of the other two 

 grades. Produce is generally graded as it is packed. 



PACKING. 



Packing is equally as important as any of the other operations in- 

 volved in the preparation of fruits and vegetables for market. There 

 are several important points in connection with this work worthy of 

 consideration, probably the most important of which is honesty. "Every 

 grower's pack should be as good as his bond." Customers want honestly 

 packed goods and they are usually willing to pay good prices for them. 

 A grower never loses by placing honestly packed produce on any mar- 

 ket, be it at home or abroad. 



Each package should be filled with the same grade throughout. If 

 this is done the top may be "faced." "Facing" is the arranging of from 

 one to three layers of fruit on the top, thus increasing the attractiveness 

 of the package. This is an honest and perfectly legitimate practice 

 provided the entire contents are fruits of the same grade as those placed 

 on top. "Seconds" and inferior grades should never be "faced" with 

 "prime" specimens. "There is neither cash nor character in this prac- 

 tice." A few "seconds" or "culls" scattered in with a lot of fancy or 

 prime specimens gives the buyer an opportunity to discriminate against 

 the whole package and ruins the reputation of the grower as an honest 

 packer. 



Produce should be cool and dry before being packed. Heat and mois- 

 ture promote decay. Conditions of this kind should be guarded against, 

 for decay means loss. Allow all fruits and vegetables to cool in the 

 packing house, and have them dry before packing. They will keep 

 longer and present a better appearance at the time of sale if handled 

 in this way. So much of the success in marketing farm products depends 

 upon the packing, that growers cannot be too particular in seeing that 

 this work is done in such a way as to show their produce to best advan- 

 tage when put on sale. While it is of the utmost importance that each 

 package be filled with the same grade throughout, it is equally as impor- 



