Journal of Agriculture. 



[lo Aug., 1 90 J 



visited, the raisins were being put up in cartons each of which contained 

 I lb. of fruit — the packer received i peseta (about lod.) per case of 20- 

 cartons. He was able to properly pack from 2 to 3 cases per dav. 

 This will give an idea of the wages ruling. The grapes were weighed 

 out to the packer in i lb. lots and he had to place them in the cartons 

 so as to show them to best advantage. The size and shape of the package.s- 

 vary considerably, many different sorts being used. Raisins for one 

 country are quite differently packed to those intended for another. 



The difference between French and English packing is very striking. 

 For the French market, the bunches are kept entire, and so placed that 

 on opening the box the different bunches can usually be distinguished 

 from one another. Thev are pretty loosely packed, especially in the 

 case of the choicer grades, where each bunch is often ornamented with a 

 knot of bright coloured ribbon tied round its stalk. For the English 

 market the packing is tighter. The top layer is finished off by means of 

 a number of extra large berries careful Iv flattened out or moulded between 

 the finger and thumb of the packer. When opened, the case presents 

 an even appearance, no stalks being visible, and one is struck by the size 

 of the surface berries which are finer than those in the lower la\ers of 

 the case. With French packing there is no difference in quality between 

 the upper and lower layers, whilst with English packing the difference 

 is considerable. French cases are as a rule larger — a favorite size being 

 one containing 22 lbs. of fruit arranged in four superposed paper trays. 

 Cases containing one-half and one- fourth respectively of this quantity are 

 also used. 



The trade names given to the different grades for each country differ 

 a good deal. The French trade names are based on the original Spanish 

 ones with which thev correspond as the following list will show. The 

 different grades are in descending order of quality : — • 



Spanish terms. 



f Imperial 



' Imperial Bajo 



I Royau 



I Royau Bajo 

 J CiKirta (4a) 



■^ Ciiarta Baja 

 f^iiinta (.la) 

 (^>uinta Baja 

 Mejor Alto M/A 



vMejor Bajo 



f Reviso 



I Medio Revise 

 { Aseado 

 l^Corriente 



FieiK-h tenu«. 



Imperiaux Extra 

 Imperiaux 

 Royaux Kxtra 

 Royau X 



Surclioix Extra 

 .Surehoix 

 C'lioix Kxtra 

 Choix 



Surcouches Extra 

 Surcouches 



Egrenes Royaux, .5 couronnes 

 Egrenes Surehoix, 4 ,, 

 Egrenes Choix ... 3 ,, 

 Egrenes ... ... 2 ,, 



Knjj'lish terms. 



Extra Imperial Clusters, 7 cr» 

 Imperial Clusters ... 5 cr. 



Royal Clusters 

 Choicest Clusters 



Choice Clusters 



Best London Laj'ers 



4 cr. 

 3 cr. 



1 cr. 



Loose Muscatels, 4 cr., blue 



Loose Muscatel'^, 2 cr., blue 



Loose Muscatels, 2 ci-. , black 



Loose Mut^catels, 1 cr., black 



It will be noted that the English grading is somewhat different. 



The small, seedless loose raisins are termed Escombro in Spanish.. 

 They were worth, at the time of my visit, last December, about 5s. per 

 case of 22 lbs. wholesale — the Reviso grade at the same time being worth 

 twice as much. The correspondence of the different grades on the Con- 

 tinental and English classification as given in the above table is not 

 absolute, but varies a little according to circumstances*. The good 

 ordinary dessert raisin shipped to France is the '" Quinta " grade on the 

 Spanish scale; it corresponds to "Choice"' on the English. 



