Packing and Grading the Fruit 289 



So far only one fruit association (The Peach Growers' 

 Association, Palisade, Colorado) has installed machinery 

 for grading. This plant has been in operation only one sea- 

 son, and it cannot be said that it has been fully tested. The 

 writers have watched the plant in operation, and while 

 it gives an absolutely uniform grade of fruit, it seems that 

 some fruit cannot escape being bruised. The fruit is 

 first lifted to the grading belts from the floor level by 

 an elevator, and is then lowered from the hoppers to the 

 distributing belts through a canvas tube. The fruit of 

 each grade is weighed automatically, and the grower is 

 given credit by these weights. The managers of the 

 business seem to be pleased with the system. If the 

 associations insist on packing peaches at a central pack- 

 ing house, some such system of grading must be installed. 

 Previous to the installing of the grader, this association 

 graded with one of the common foot-power graders. 



Peaches should be packed from well-padded or canvas- 

 bottom packing tables, and should be handled as care- 

 fully as possible. The table should be so arranged that 

 the packer has a place for three boxes and a stand for 

 the wrapping paper. One end of the box is slightly 

 raised, and each layer is packed from the lower end up. 

 The packer generally stands with the right hand to the 

 table, takes the fruit in the right hand, places it in the 

 center of the paper in the left hand, crumples the paper 

 about it, and then places it in the box. The paper is 

 a rather heavy tissue, 7x7 or 7x8 inches. The experi- 

 enced packer learns many little tricks in wrapping and 

 packing. More is gained than one would think in having 

 the paper in just the right place, and a rubber stall on 



