PREPARING THE FRUITS FOR MARKET 25 
tions have designed a simple warehouse or packing-house 
to which all the fruit is brought. There it is packed by 
experts. This insures a much greater degree of uni- 
formity and enables the cooperative organizations to 
guarantee a standard grade or pack. 
Many of the Western fruit organizations have these 
central packing-houses and it is from the success of 
Fig. 18.—DELIVERING PEACHES TO A PRIVATE PACKING- 
HOUSE IN GEORGIA 
these that their use has spread to many of the Eastern 
states. It is quite probable, however, that this method 
is better suited to the Central and Western states than 
to the far East, because the areas adapted to fruit grow- 
ing in the East are usually so scattered that a central 
packing-house would not draw enough fruit to make 
it pay. A large packing plant of this kind costs 
several hundred dollars, and to be a paying proposition, 
large quantities of fruit must be handled. 
Dividing into Grades.—Before attempting to explain 
the way fruit is graded, it is necessary to give a clear 
