34 



MODERN FRUIT MARKETING 



wormy specimens, all that is necessary in the grading 

 house is to separate according to the requirements of 

 fancies first and second grades. When a sorter becomes 

 sufficiently expert at ttiis work, he can grade and pack 

 at the same time in either boxes or barrels, thus reduc- 

 ing the amount of handling necessary. 



Mechanical Fruit Graders. During the past five or 

 six years, a number of mechanical fruit graders have 

 appeared on the market. Most of these are designed for 



Fig. 23. GRADING FRUIT IN A WESTERN CANNERY 



Peaches, plums, apricots, need to be carefully graded for size and 

 ripeness before canning. 



use in grading apples. However, some of them are also 

 supposed to do good work on other fruits. The citrus 

 growers of both California and Florida have used me- 

 chanical graders for 10 or 15 years, and have found 

 them a very great help in cutting down the expense of 

 the operation. They, however, do a large business, often 

 sending out as high as 1,000 cars of fruit from a single 

 packing-house. 



