GRADING AND PACKING 67 



shall come as nearly as possible under the eye of a 

 single person. If one man can handle all the fruit 

 the sorting should be entrusted to him alone, and he 

 should be as nearly an expert as can be found. Under 

 any circumstances as few graders should be employed 

 as possible. It is especially undesirable to have a 

 picking gang of five or six persons who are always 

 " trading jobs " with one another. 



When large quantities of fruit are to be handled 

 into small packages girls are often employed. This is 

 done for cheapness' sake, and may or may not result 

 in poorer grading. Girls are usually hired to sort and 

 pack grapes, and Mr. Hale employs girls for packing 

 peaches. In all such cases, of course, the packing is 

 done under the immediate supervision of an experi- 

 enced foreman, who sees that the grading is properly 

 attended to. 



Grading by machinery has been resorted to in some 

 cases, especially with apples and peaches, and mechan- 

 ical graders are occasionally offered for sale. They 

 are not to be recommended, however. Grading is 

 chiefly a matter of judgment, and a machine has no 

 judgment. 



VI. FILLING THE PACKAGE 

 The manner in which the fruit is put into the 

 package is a matter of some consequence. The per- 

 fect arrangement of California fruits into the packages 

 does much to make the goods attractive and to expe- 

 dite sales. Even strawberry and blackberry boxes may 

 be advantageously faced if a good grade of fruit is 

 going to a good market. 



Apples in this country are habitually faced at 



