4 BULLETIN 8&4, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



canvas extends the length of the machine immediately under the 

 opening between the tracks, to receive the fruit from the ropes and 

 break the fall into the sloping bins. This strip is fastened to a ratchet 

 drum at one end by which it may be tightened. The bins (see fig. 1), 

 which slope about 20°, are in two parts; the sloping floor is heavily 

 padded and the bin pockets are formed by the loose canvas at the 

 bottom, from which the fruit is taken by the packers. 



OPERATION. 



The peaches from the field are placed in the feeding hopper and 

 fed in regular amounts into the spaces between the rollers as they are 



Fig. 4.— Detail of screw-controlled track adjuster. 



presented. The rollers revolve as they travel up the incline, thus 

 revolving the peaches which rest on them as they pass before the 

 sorters. This is a great aid to sorting, for it makes unnecessary the 

 turning of the fruit by hand in order to see the entire surface and there- 

 fore makes it possible for more efficient work to be done by fewer 

 people than is the case where an endless canvas belt or an inclined 

 chute is used for this purpose. 



The sorters remove the defective specimens not intended for pack- 

 ing and place them in baskets or chutes attached to the sides of the 

 coaveyer frame. When the peaches reach the upper end of the con- 

 veyer they are delivered to a divided galvanizcd-iron chute that 

 directs half of the fruit to one set of sizing ropes and half to the other. 



