20 CIRCULAR 659, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Figure 9. — Field boxes properly filled and stacked to prevent damage to the fruit 

 and to facilitate cooling on the receiving platform of a packing house. 



which only 2 were severe; and where the work of pickers was not care- 

 fully supervised, there were 398 bruises per 100 apples, of which 14 were 

 severe. One cooperative association employed a man full time to in- 

 spect samples of every load received; his reports on injuries found were 

 promptly sent back to the orchard. As a result, the orchardist's atten- 

 tion was called to bad workmanship, and picking bruises became notice- 

 ably low. Examinations of picking bruises in several orchards where 

 metal picking buckets with canvas bottoms were used showed (23) an 

 average of 1 severe bruise per 100 fruits; whereas in orchards where can- 

 vas bags were used there was an average of 3.75. 



The use of pallets and fork-lift trucks for hauling and handling apples 

 before packing is being adopted in some growing sections to save time 

 and labor in receiving, stacking, and handling at the packing house. 

 Studies conducted in Washington orchards (23) show that the more 

 gentle and fewer handlings resulting from use of this method produce 

 substantially fewer bruises (table 2). In these studies a severe bruise 

 was considered to be a marked blemish to the appearance of the fruit 

 and was generally at least one-half inch in diameter. The slight bruises 

 recorded would not be discriminated against on the market, but they 

 show up rather prominently when an apple is peeled. Slight bruises 

 are also a decay hazard when caused before the washing process ; even a 



