264 
GRADING AND CURING. 
Prunes are generally graded before qne and various home-made 
contrivances are employed. Some use nclined planes of aye slats, 
the grader being thus available for thet fruit than prunes; the large 
fruit rolls along into receptacles at the bottom, while the small frait falls 
through into other receptacles. Other grading devices are made wit 
wire screens, or riddles of different sizes of mesh. me of them work 
on the principle of a fanning mill—three or four riddles placed one 
above the other, each witha slight inciine, and a spout on the side, 
where each gr: rade drops into abox. Some have along riddle, say 12 feet 
long, with three different sizes of wire screen on it. This riddie is hung 
upon four ropes, with an incline; the prunes are thrown in at the 
E end, and by dishing it they roll down and fall through the holes 
into boxes underneath. The first piece of screen shouid be small, to 
let bls stems aud dirt through, and no Beer This long, hanging 
screen is also used to grade prunes after dr 
The object to be attained by gradin g bakers drying is equality in 
i 3 it dri pidly y 
drying. The smaller fruit dries more rapidly than the larger, and b 
grading it p br or three sizes, m , greate 
uniformity in evaporation is secu and a more even quality of 
finished fruit i is the result. The grader also removes id ai twies, dre 
or other foreign substances which may have become mixed with t 
fruit in picking. 
e next process to which the fruit. is subjected is known as dipping. 
This is one of the most important processes in the whole preparation of 
the prune for market, and much of the success of the pack will depend 
n the person having it in charge. The ripeness of the fruit, the 
toughness of the skin, : and other: peculiarities of the fruit have to be 
considered in the preparation of the lye into which it is dipped, so that 
o certain rule can be laid down. The object to be enitn is to 
remove the bloom, which fills up the pores, and at the same time crack 
The length of time required for immersion also varies according to ud 
toughness of the skiu, the soil upon which the fruit is grown, and t 
e of the orchard, fruit from old orchards and heavy land beitip 
tougher than that from ycung orchards and freer soils. The average 
time required is about 30 seconds, but the fruit must be withdrawn as 
soon as the skin shows minute cracks cn its surface. If left too long 
the sugar will ooze through the cracks in drying, Mice the fruit 
sticky and disagreeable to handle, and causing it to lose much of its 
best qualities; if it is removed too soon it will not dry well. After 
their removal from the lye bath, ie calded prunes are next plunged 
wa 
nto c 
yews to them in the first cV pam This water must be changed 
irequently to prevent its becoming too heavily impregnated with lye. 
For dipping the fruit is put into wire baskets, or galvanised pails with 
ne es and bottoms. In the Buxton orchard, at Campbell, in 
ea a ae sos tonie device is used, which does the 
ius i work y prunes are taken direct from the orchard, 
