THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 161 



be preferred, as we shall show directly. If no plate is used, the opera- 

 tion is as follows : At the filling table, fifteen pounds of loose raisins 

 are weighed off directly in the twenty-pound boxes. Then five pounds 

 loose are weighed separately in a tin tray. The whole boxes are 

 taken to the packing-table and placed close to the press, one on top of 

 the other, the smaller trays, with five pounds each, are brought to the 

 facer, who now takes one of the loose wooden frames with a sliding 

 bottom and places in it the necessary papers. He then fills in the five 

 pounds of loose raisins, smooths and spreads them out, and sees that 

 no bad berries are among the good ones. This operation may also be 

 performed by different hands, so as to divide up the work. This is 

 probably the best and most economical way. The next step is to 

 take the tray to the press and subject it to a certain pressure, so as to 

 get a smooth upper surface on which to face or place the raisins in 

 rows. When this is done the tray is taken to the facer. The facer 

 now has in front of him a tray filled with the ornamental papers and 

 the five pounds of raisins. The surface of the raisins is smooth and 

 even. The next operation is to place large raisins in rows on the top 

 surface. A small box with loose, large raisins should be at the side of 

 the facer, who in taking each one of them at first presses it towards the 

 table with the thumb of either hand, thus flattening out the raisin in 

 order to make it appear large. When the tray is faced, it may again 

 be subjected to slight pressure, but generally this is not needed. The 

 contents of the tray are now transferred to the twenty-pound box, 

 which already contains fifteen pounds of loose. These loose raisins, 

 which will be on the bottom of the box, are not generally wrapped in 

 paper, although such would very much improve their appearance. 

 The box is now ready for nailing. This top-up method is very inferior 

 to the top-down method, as will be described further on. In packing 

 with this method, only the wooden frame with the sliding bottom is 

 used. The drop-bottom frame is only used for the top-down method. 

 Facing, Top-down Method. In using this method, the top layer is 

 finished first, and the bottom last. The packing is done as follows: 

 In the bottom of a tin or galvanized-jron tray, previously described, is 

 placed one of White's facing-plates. As will be remembered, the 

 frame has a loose drop-bottom, which falls out as soon as the tray is 

 turned over. The facing-plate is placed either directly on this loose 

 bottom, or on the flange supporting it, and always with the facing-cups 

 upward. The facer now places loose selected raisins, one in each hol- 

 low, presses his finger on the raisin and works it in the hollow until it 

 becomes flattened. When all the cavities are filled, loose raisins are 

 carefully filled in until the tray is full, when but a gentle pressure is 

 re-quired to steady the raisins and make them keep their places. In 

 the meantime, fifteen pounds of raisins have been put in twenty-pound 

 boxes and gently pressed. Some packers of choice raisins use a wrap- 

 per and label for every layer of five pounds, which greatly improves 

 the general appearance of the box. After all is ready, a loose zinc 

 plate is placed over the filled frame or tray, the latter is reversed and 

 placed directly over the raisin box, in which has already been placed 

 the required paper wrapper. The zinc plate, which only served to 



