190 Subtropical Vegetable-Gardening 



the floor without any high lifting; they should be on a 

 level with the sorter's bench. After the tomatoes are 

 received, they should be sorted immediately, and the 

 different kinds placed in separate . places to be packed. 

 The person placed at the sorter's bench must be quick 

 at discriminating and active with his hands. Chutes 

 can be arranged to carry the fruit to the different tables, 

 or it can be made to run into different boxes, which when 

 full may be put in place for wrapping. The wrapper's 

 bench should not be higher than the boxes that receive 

 the fruit from the sorters. After the fruit has been 

 packed, it should continue to be carried downward and 

 in no case should there be any lifted upward. The packed 

 fruit may then be delivered to the other side of the packing- 

 house, and carted to the station. 



Sorting tomatoes. 



The successful tomato-growers usually sort their 

 tomatoes into various grades, depending largely upon the 

 tastes of the growers and the market for which they 

 prepare. There are two general grades that are recog- 

 nized by all tomato-growers, and they are usually observed 

 even by persons who make no pretense of grading their 

 tomatoes; these are usually spoken of as "ripes" and 

 " greens." These two grades give the grower a chance to 

 distribute the fruit to different markets and have them all 

 arrive in suitable condition. More advanced tomato- 

 growers make, besides these, other divisions, as "large 

 ripes," "small ripes," "large greens," and "small greens." 

 While it seems like a great deal of work to separate the 

 fruit into grades, it is found to be very profitable. The 



