GRADING FOR PROFIT 75 



so small that any gain in advanced prices for the produce 

 must show a profit to the grower. The simplest form 

 it can assume is the exclusion of defective, damaged, or 

 small samples, which can be effected at the time of 

 gathering. It commonly happens that a small proportion 

 of such fruits included with the better ones lowers the 

 value of a consignment very seriously, as growers would 

 realise more generally if they sometimes took the place 

 of buyers in the markets. Even though the excluded 

 specimens are unsaleable, the gain is yet on the side of 

 the grader, unless the whole crop is bad in quality. If 

 there are any good fruits, they are worth separating 

 from the inferior ones, and a special outlet may be found 

 for the poorer samples if they will not pay for carriage 

 to a market, and they seldom will do so. However even 

 and good a crop may be, it is nearly always possible to 

 make two grades, the first and second quality, and in 

 many cases three can be separated with advantage. This 

 is especially the case with Apples, which show consider- 

 able range in their degrees of merit. 



It is not only size which has to be regarded in grading, 

 but colour also demands its share of attention. Medium- 

 sized fruits, highly coloured, will often rank before larger 

 samples that are deficient in the latter character. But 

 if the qualities are well balanced, the larger fruits as a 

 rule will command the higher prices within certain 

 limits. No hard and fast rules can be laid down for 

 guidance in the selection, as the standard will not only 

 differ in distinct varieties, but in other plantations or even 

 on other trees in the same orchard, as well as in different 

 seasons. The chief points to be observed are that there 

 should be a well-marked difference between the grades, 

 and that each should be uniform in itself. These are 

 very important, however, and apply to all garden pro- 

 duce that may be subjected to the process of grading for 

 markets. 



