A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A NEW MACfflNE FOR PEEL- 

 ING CITRUS FRUITS. 



By S. C. Hood, 

 Scientific Assistant, Office of Drug-Plant and Poisonous-Plant Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 13 



Description of the machine 14 



Operating the machine 18 



Changes required for the various citrus fruits. 19 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the United States the production of citrus fruits, especially 

 oranges, grapefruit, and lemons, has reached a stage where there is a 

 demand for more careful grading of the fruit, and consequently the 

 lower grades are gradually being diverted from the fruit trade into 

 the manufacture of various by-products. The first step in the man- 

 ufacture of these products, whether oils or other materials from the 

 outer peel or food products from the pulp or juice, consists in remov- 

 ing the peel from the fruit. Owing to the tender nature of the fruit 

 and the great variations in its shape and size, it has not been easy to 

 accompHsh this with any of the machines now on the market. It 

 was necessary therefore to devise special machinery and apparatus 

 which would work up the fruit at low cost and with a minimum 

 demand on the labor supply of the citrus districts during the busy 

 harvest season. The machine which has thus been devised not only 

 peels the fruit with great rapidity, but also makes it unnecessary to 

 sort the fruit prior to putting it through the machine. 



The machine has been thoroughly tested at Orlando, Fla., and it 

 has been found that by its use one man can in one hour remove the 

 peel from 2 tons of oranges or from ^^ tons of grapefruit. The peel 

 comes from the machine in a finely divided condition suitable for 

 the extraction of the oil, and the peeled fruit is delivered in a condi- 

 tion suitable for use in the manufacture of various food products. 



This peeling machine has been constructed by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, has been patented under United States 

 Letters Patent No. 1186317 and is dedicated to the public. 



13 



