18 



BULLETIN 569, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



apron systems 20 to 25 bushels per sorter per hour have been about 

 the practical limit for obtaining uniformly good results. Packers 

 heretofore have given this point far too little consideration. It has 

 been observed in some factories that the tomatoes were passing 

 through at the rate of 200 bushels per sorter per hour. It is quite 

 evident that little or no benefit can result from the operation of a 

 sorting table under such conditions. 



In order to impress upon producers the importance of handling the 

 crop properly, some packers have put into operation a " loss-off " 

 system by which they pay for the tomatoes on the basis of the sound 

 tomatoes, allowing the presence of only a nominal proportion of 

 spotted ones. . 



EFFICIENCY OF SORTING. 



Practically all plants have some kind of sorting system, but ex- 

 periments and observations in different plants show a wide variation 



t£7 





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Fig. 



1. — Efficiency sorting chart. Each cross or dot represents the result of an indi- 

 vidual test and indicates the percentage of rot found. 



in the efficiency of such systems. In some plants the sorting is done 

 effective^', while in others the work is performed so poorly as to be 

 practically valueless. 



In order to obtain a numerical expression of the efficiency of sort- 

 ing, the following method was employed: To secure the samples 

 small portions of the stock were taken from the stream at intervals 

 of about 15 seconds until a total sample of 20 to 10 pounds had 

 been secured. The tomatoes in the composite sample were then 

 examined critically for decayed portions. The objectionable parts 

 were cut out, weighed, and their percentage calculated. Tests 

 made under a variety- of conditions in different factories showed 

 that with proper equipment and control the percentage of decay 

 can be maintained at 1 per cent or less. For purposes of com- 



