126 Pecan-Growing 



Under average conditions, a pound of pecans will occupy 

 about sixty cubic inches of space. Based on this, the grower 

 can construct his packages to contain any given number of 

 pounds of pecans. For example, a box twelve inches long, 

 ten inches wide and five inches deep contains 600 cubic inches 

 and so has a capacity of ten pounds of nuts. It should be 

 remembered, however, that the volume of a pound of pecans 

 varies with the varieties and the density of the nuts. For 

 this reason, when boxes are being manufactured for any par- 

 ticular variety or grade, it is best to make a few trial packages 

 first. 



GRADING PECANS 



Pecan-growers can never hope to standardize the industry 

 until they grade their nuts. "When no grading is practiced 

 the grower must necessarily receive a lower price for his 

 product, and in many instances will have to take whatever 

 the purchaser cares to pay. 



The grading of pecans by hand is so inaccurate and so 

 long and tedious that few growers attempt it. On the other 

 hand, satisfactory graders cost about $600.00 each, a greater 

 price than most individual growers care to pay. Therefore, 

 the most feasible method seems to be to sell pecans to a central 

 organization which maintains graders. 



The graders now in use are manufactured by a number 

 of firms and represent two distinct types. Each, however, 

 grades the nuts according to their smallest diameter. The 

 most common type of grader is a revolving drum, mounted 

 with one end a little higher than the other. This drum is 

 composed of several bands of metal containing oblong per- 

 forations. The perforations at the lower end are fifteen- 

 sixteenth§ of an inch across the narrow way, and those of 



