DIPPING AND PACKING coc 



turned occasionally with a scoop shovel; or, if allowed to sweat in 

 boxes, the fruit is occasionally poured from one box to another. 

 The sweating equalizes the moisture throughout the mass. Some 

 large producers have sweat-rooms with tight walls, which pre- 

 serve an even temperature. No fruit should be packed before "go- 

 ing through the sweat." If this is not done, discoloration and in- 

 jury will result. 



Dipping Before Packing. All fruits except prunes can be packed 

 in good condition without dipping, provided the fruit is not over- 

 dried. Efforts should be made to take up the fruit when it is 

 just sufficiently cured to prevent subsequent fermentation. If taken 

 from the trays in the heat of the day and covered so that the fruit 

 moth can not reach it there is little danger of worms. The high- 

 est grades of fruit are made in this way. If, however, the fruit 

 has been overdried or neglected, it can be dipped in boiling water 

 to kill eggs of vermin and to make the fruit a little more pliable 

 for the press. The dipping should be done quickly, and the fruit 

 allowed to drain and then lie in a dark room, carefully covered, 

 for twenty-four hours before packing. 



Packing. To open well, packages of dried fruit should be 

 "faced." The many fine arts of paper lining, etc., must be learned 

 by observation. Flatten some fair specimens of the fruit to be 

 packed (and reference is especially made to such fruits as apri- 

 cots, peaches and nectarines) by running them through a clothes' 

 wringer or similar pair of rollers set to flatten but not crush the 

 fruit. Do not face with better fruit than the package is to contain. 

 It is a fraud which will not in the end be profitable. Lay the flat- 

 tened fruit (cup side down) neatly in the bottom of the box. Fill 

 the box until it reaches the amount the box is to contain, and then 

 apply the press until the bottom can be nailed on. Invert the box 

 and put on the label or brand ; the bottom then becomes the top. 



Many different kinds of boxes are used. A very good size is 

 made of seasoned pine, six inches deep by nine inches wide by fif- 

 teen inches long, inside measurements, and it will hold twenty-five 

 pounds of fruit. 



METHODS WITH DIFFERENT FRUITS 



As already intimated, it will be impossible to enter minutely 

 into the operations of drying and packing on a commercial scale, 

 or even to notice all the small and ingenious arts by which the work 

 is facilitated. Any one who contemplates production on a large 

 scale should personally visit leading regions and inform himself 

 by inquiry and observation. Such an education will save mistakes, 

 which may cost many times more than the expense of getting it. 



