PREFACE 



This report is part of a research project to determine how apple packing 

 methods and equipment developed for other varieties can be adapted to require- 

 ments of the Mcintosh variety. This work is designed to permit packers in 

 the New York-New England area to share in the benefits of research and devel- 

 opment work already completed in other areas. Where these methods and 

 equipment items prove unsatisfactory for the requirements of the Mcintosh 

 variety, new methods and equipment will be designed, developed, and tested. 



As a part of this overall project, an experimental line was assembled 

 and installed in a commercial apple packinghouse. This line incorporates 

 the latest developments in apple packing equipment, and will serve as a 

 basis for further developmental work. 



The work was performed under the general supervision of Joseph F. 

 Herrick, Jr., Agricultural Economist, Transportation and Facilities Branch, 

 Marketing Research Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, and John L. Matheson, Farm Products Promotion Coordinator, 

 Division of Markets, State of New York Department of Agriculture and Markets. 

 Many helpful suggestions were received from Frederick C. Winter, professor of 

 Industrial Engineering, Columbia University, and consultant to the 

 Transportation and Facilities Branch. 



Glen A. Robinson, Division of Markets, New York State Department of 

 Agriculture and Markets conducted the bruising and sizing tests on the 

 experimental line» The Trescott Company, Inc., Fairport, N. Y. , installed 

 the line under a research contract with the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

 Palmer F. and Budd Hart, Red Hook Cold Storage Company, Red Hook, N. Y. , 

 supplied the plant in which the work was done. Many packers and agricultural 

 researchers from the State of Maine contributed to the early planning of 

 this project. 



- 2 



