October, 1908. J 



345 



Edible Products* 



Just over the fruit bin are eight 

 windows, four feet by four feet, provid- 

 ed with shutters. These shutters swing 

 outward and upward, being held up by 

 ropes provided for that purpose. The 

 fruit is brought in from the fields 

 in wagons, unloaded on the plat- 

 form outside just under the windows 

 and emptied through them into the 

 fruit bin inside. In the north end 

 there are two windows similar to 

 those over the fruit bin. In the south 

 there is one window and one sliding door 

 and two sliding doors and two windows 

 on the west side. The sliding doors are 

 six feet, The tipper story of the build- 

 ing gives ample room for crate making 

 and storage of crate material. It will 

 hold about 1,500 made-up crates. This 

 building cost complete about $1,000. 



Packing Tables.— These are placed 

 alongside the fruit bins to hold the 

 crates while they are being packed. A 

 smaller one sometimes stands between 

 the packing table and the bin and in 

 front of the packer to serve as a wrap- 

 ping. A convenient length for the pack- 

 ing table is about eight feet. It should 

 be made twenty-seven inches high and 

 fifteen and a half inches wide. 



Nailing Tables.— For placing the heads 

 on the crates a slightly lower table 

 (twenty-one inches high) of the same 

 width should be provided. As the crates 

 are packed they are slid off on to the 

 nailing table and there headed up. One 

 man will nail up about as rapidly as cwo 

 can pack. 



Paper Trays.— Trays for holding the 

 wrapping paper should be provided. If 

 substantially built, these will serve as 

 wrapping tables as well. 



The tray should be slightly wider and 

 a couple of inches longer than the paper. 

 It should be made so as to hang on the 

 edge of the fruit bin in such a way as to 

 permit of its being shoved along from 

 one place to another. 



Field Equipment. 



Wheel-barrcnvs. — For bringing the fruit 

 in from the field, an ordinary wheel- 

 barrow is frequently used. It should be 

 light, but strongly built, and provided 

 with a rack two feet high. Such a 

 wheel-barrow will hold three or four 

 crates of pineapples. The wheel should 

 be four inches wide to prevent its sink- 

 ing in the yielding sand. A plank track 

 should be provided if the wheel be any 

 narrower, and at any rate, planks should 

 be laid down in the main trails. 



44 



Tracks and Cars. — Tracks may be laid 

 through the field and provided with 

 proper switches. This makes one of the 

 most convenient methods of bringing 

 large quantities ot fruit to the packing- 

 house. 



The track can be made of 2 by 4 inch 

 or 3 by 3 inch scantlings. The cross ties 

 may be made of the same material. 

 Cars can be made by anyone at all handy 

 with tools, ordinary tram car trucks, or 

 such as are used on hand-cars being used 

 for wheels and axles. 



Iu many parts of the pineapple district 

 the natural fall of the ground is sufficient 

 to permit of the loaded cars being 

 brought to the packing-house by simply 

 allowing them to slide down hill. A 

 brake should be provided to be managed 

 by one man riding on the back of the 

 car. The empty cars can be returned by 

 man power, unless the incline is very 

 steep. 



Mule power may be used. If a mule or 

 horse is used a path can be made along- 

 side the track for the animal, or the 

 space between the cross ties may be 

 filled iu to make a level path. Occasion- 

 ally a small gasoline engine is used as 

 the propelling power, an excellent plan 

 where large quantities of fruit have 

 to be transported any considerable 

 distance. 



Baskets. — Bushel baskets may be used 

 in gathering the fruit, i.e., in bringing 

 it from the beds to the tram cars, or 

 even in some eases to the packing-house. 

 The baskets should be strong and well 

 made. 



Mitts and Leggings. — For the protec- 

 tion of the hands and clothing of the 

 pickers some covering is necessary. 

 Leather has not proven satisfactory 

 owing to its expensiveness and to the 

 material increase of heat to its not 

 allowing the air to pass through it. 

 Nothing has proven better than heavy 

 weight duck (ten ounce). 



The mitts should fit loosely and should 

 be made with sufficient " wrist " to 

 afford am file protection to the forearm 

 of the pickers. The leggings are made 

 of sufficient length to cover the whole 

 leg of the wearer, projecting up on the 

 outer side to the waist and attached 

 around the waist with a string, or 

 attached to the suspenders. 



When to Pick. 

 That portion of the crop gathered in 

 winter should be allowed to reach a 

 greater degree of maturity than in 

 summer. The reasons briefly are these i 

 In winter the amount of sugar deve- 



