CONTROL OF DRIED-FRUIT INSECTS IN CALIFORNIA. 13 
all the surface moisture was gone. Lot No. 2 was dried in the sun a 
few minutes. Lot No. 3 was allowed to drain and cool thoroughly 
in the shade. Lot No. 4 was allowed to drain a few minutes and 
was packed while still hot and damp. All were packed in Mason 
jars, infected with spores from growing fungus, and sealed up. 
On examination one month later no fungous growth was found to 
have developed on Nos. 1, 2, and 3, but No. 4, the lot which was 
packed wet and hot, had a very good growth of the fungus. 
The experiment was repeated on September 1, dipping the figs in 
the hot water three minutes instead of one. On examination two 
weeks later it was found that in lot No. 1 no growth of fungus had 
developed. In lots 2 and 3 slight growths were present, and in lot 4 
a heavy growth. The same figs were used in both experiments, and 
by the time they had been put through the boiling water the second 
time their surfaces were softer and stickier than they should be, and 
hence were good media for fungous growth. 
These experiments confirm the earlier observations, namely, that figs 
thoroughly drained or dried and cooled before packing are less likely 
to develop fungous growth than those packed while still damp and 
ee A CARTON WRAPPING AND SEALING MACHINE. 
Several machines are now being manufactured which do away with 
the slow and expensive method of wrapping and sealing cartons by 
hand. Such a machine is shown in Plate VII. The cartons are fed 
into the hopper at the top and the waxed paper is fed automatically 
or by hand. ‘The machine wraps the waxed paper neatly and tightly 
around the carton and seals it air-tight by means of electrically heated 
plates. One operator is required when equipped with the automatic 
paper feed, and two without. This particular machine was made 
to wrap cartons 8 by 3 by 3 inches. It will wrap and seal a mini- 
mum of 25 to 30 per minute, or about 10,000 per day of eight hours, 
The cost based on this output, including the waxed paper, wrapping, 
sealing, power to operate, and wages of the operator, will be less 
than $1 per 1,000: The maximum output will be from 15,000 to 
20,000 cartons per day, with a cost at this rate of from $0.80 to $0.90 
per 1,000. | 
At present, by the hand-wrapping method, one girl will average 
1,000 cartons per day. Thus the machine will easily do the work of 
a dozen or more girls. 
The cost of hand-wrapping the package referred to is given as $1.75 
per 1,000. Using the minimum output of the machine for compari- 
son, the saving in one day’s run would be over $7, at which rate the 
machine would pay for itself in less than four months, since it may 
be purchased capable of handling any size of carton desired by the 
purchaser at a retail price of about $600. 
