Picking and Packing the Fruit 401 



Sizing and grading. 



Probably the average grower does not give enough atten- 

 tion to sizing and grading the fruit preparatory to packing. 

 For clearness of understanding, it should be stated that 

 sizing refers to the separation of the fruit according to the 

 size of the individual specimens, while grading has to do with 

 its separation according to degree of perfection in finish, 

 color, and freedom from blemishes. Grading must obviously 

 be done by hand, and sizing is most commonly accomplished 

 in the same manner, though mechanical sizers are sometimes 

 used. A question may consistently be raised, however, as 

 to the extent to which the fruit is bruised when it is run 

 through a sizing machine, except possibly when it is picked 

 in a very hard condition. 



The need of accurate sizing is evident in packing the 

 baskets used in carriers and flats and in filling boxes and 

 Climax baskets. So far as packing is concerned, less careful 

 sizing is necessary in filling the bushel and the Delaware 

 basket, though from the standpoint of marketing, careful 

 attention to sizing doubtless pays whatever the type of 

 package used. 



Skill in sizing when done by hand, as also in packing, comes 

 only with experience. Sizing, except when done mechan- 

 ically, and grading are usually done by the packer as he 

 selects the fruits for the package. In packing the Georgia 

 carriers, the three baskets that go in the bottom tier are put 

 in the crate and then filled, following which the top tier is 

 similarly handled. If the baskets were filled before they are 

 put in the crate, it would be practically impossible to get 

 them in place. 



In filling the baskets for the carrier and flat, also in packing 

 the box and Climax basket, the fruits must be put in place 

 2p 



