342 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTIClLTfRE 



rifT. 13. Apple Sizing Macliine. Side View. 

 Conrtcst/ Jones Apple Grader Co. 



increasing diameter in successive belts. 

 The apples are guided to roll tranversely 

 from the assorting table upon the first 

 belt, and if too large to drop through 

 the grading holes they are guided to roll 

 tranversely upon the second belt, and so 

 on to the third belt, and over the end. 



Canvas pockets receive the graded fruit 

 and allow it to roll upon the packing 

 tables at sides and end of the machine. 

 From hopper to packing tables the fruit 

 touches only canvas or rubber, and is 

 protected from bruising. 



Fis 



16. Apple Sizing Macliine. Top View. 

 Courtesy Jones Apple Grader Co. 



Packingr Tables 



Where neither sizing machine nor sort- 

 ing table is employed, and where box to 

 box sorting is practiced, two types of 



packing table are in use in the North- 

 west. One has a sagging burlap top to 

 hold the apples loose, the other has an 

 inclined solid or framework top to hold 

 the apples in boxes. 



Hollow Top Type 



A style of this type frequently recom- 

 mended is described by Lowell B. Judson, 

 Horticulturist. University of Idaho, thus: 

 "It accommodates two packers and allows 

 free access to the ends for refilling. The 

 favorite size is 3x4 feet, as it allows any 

 part to be easily reached by either packer, 

 and yet holds plenty of fruit, that is, 

 three or four boxes. The full length of 

 the legs is three feet; they come up in- 

 side the frame flush with the top, but 

 should be sawed off on a slope inward to 

 prevent the corners bruising the apples 

 through the burlap. The real test of the 

 proper height of the table is the height 

 of the box when in position on the sup- 

 ports; if the packer's extended fingers 

 just touch the lower inside corners of 

 the box as he stands erect before it. the 

 height is correct. Table legs three feet 

 long usually fill these conditions. A 

 board nailed across the end and another 

 running across underneath serve to sup- 

 port the box at a convenient angle for 

 packing. The latter board should, in ad- 

 dition to being nailed, be fastened with 

 wire, or in some equally secure manner, 

 as there is constant and often heavy pres- 

 sure upon it. Commonly the box sup- 

 ports are arranged at diagonally oppo- 



