UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 864 



; .^gw Contribution from the Bureau of Markets 



J&?**$5l GEORGE LIVINGSTON, Chief S^^"^TU 



Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER July 28, 1920 



A PEACH-SIZING MACHINE. 



By Manley Stockton, Investigator in Marketing, and J. F. Barghausen, Investigator 



in Agricultural Technology. 



The sizing machine described in this bulletin was developed to 

 meet a demand from peach growers for a simple and efficient machine 

 that would accurately and carefully size and distribute peaches to 

 the packing bins. In addition to those features which are always 

 highly desirable in sizing machines, such as sufficient capacity for 

 economical operation, substantial construction, and freedom from 

 delicate adjustments, it was necessary to produce at a reasonable 

 cost (the estimated cost of building single machines at the present 

 price of materials should not exceed $450), a machine which would 

 not injure tender fruit by bruising or roughening the pubescence. 

 Several sizers were in use in the northern and southern sections when 

 the first experimental machine was built and put in the field, but exist- 

 ing types were open to the general objection that they were too expen- 

 sive for the smaller grower or, if relatively inexpensive, either were 

 not accurate enough or handled the fruit too roughly. 



While the sizer described herein (see fig. 1 ) was developed primarily 

 to meet the needs peculiar to the packing of peaches in 6-basket car- 

 riers, it may also be used, with a few slight changes in the bin con- 

 struction, for jumble packing of bushel baskets. Furthermore, al- 

 though the bureau does not officially indorse its use for sizing other 

 crops, it is believed that this machine may be adapted to the sizing 

 of other fruits, such as pears and apples. Where barrel packs are used 

 for apples and no necessity exists for sizing the crop into numerous 

 exact size classes, as is the case in box packing, this machine could 

 probably be used with as good results as any other machine which sizes 

 the fruit by measurement. 



CONSTRUCTION. 



In designing this machine an effort was made to specify as many 

 standard parts as possible in order to facilitate construction. In the 

 conveyer section (fig. 2) the wood framework is simply made and 



180761°— 20— BulL 864 



