340 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Fig. 13. Gilbert Sortinj; Belt Receiving Tiays in Place. 



pie, when compared to the orange, having 

 led many to doubt if machinery could 

 ever be constructed so as to handle the 

 apple crop according to the labor saving 

 methods employed with the latter fruit. 

 The wiping machine is, of course, used 

 only where the apples are coated with an 

 excess of dust or spray. No more wiping 

 should be given an apple than will re- 

 move these defacements. Otherwise there 

 is danger of removing some of the wax 

 with which the apple is coated, and which 

 acts as a deterrent toward inoculation 

 with decay. A few persons go so far as 

 to say that apples to be shipped or stored 

 should not be wiped under any circum- 

 stance. In this connection, it is well to 

 add that the consumer should be educated 

 to the fact that spray does not render 

 the apple unfit for consumption and that 

 a polished apple means a short-lived ap- 

 ple. A wiping machine, which can be 

 run by hand or motor power, is con- 

 structed in the shape of a horizontal 



trough, through which the apples pass on 

 a rubber or canvas band, at the same 

 time being slapped by short strips of 

 cloth. 



Combinution Sorting and Packing Tables 



These are great savers of labor, and. 

 unlike the sizing machines, are simple 

 enough in construction to be made by the 

 average orchardist at home. Two types 

 are now manufactured and sold in the 

 Northwest. The Sykes table consists of 

 a tray upon which the apples are sorted, 

 and of various radiating canvas trays 

 into which the apples are shoved directly 

 by the sorters ready for handling by the 

 packers. The use of a belt for carrying 

 the apples in front of the sorters and 

 for delivering the sorted apples into vari- 

 ous packing trays was originated by Mr. 

 H. M. Gilbert, North Yakima, Wash., who 

 has operated it successfully for two years 

 at his ranch near North Yakima, Wash. 



Mr. Gilbert's machine is simple and in- 



