GENERAL INFORMATION 



145 



than for domestic markets. Rack them thoroughly on a solid base while 

 filling. 



Put on a corrugated paper pad, with the smooth side against the 

 fruit, place head pieces and top hoop on the barrel, and attach the press, 

 or roll the barrel on the platform, if one is used in connection with the 

 press. 



Two types of presses are in common use, the screw and lever. Press 

 the head slowly into place, driving down the top hoop as the head set- 

 tles into the croze or groove in the staves. Nail the head as before, 

 four properly driven nails being sufficient. For greater safety, use head 

 liners. The package should always be handled very carefully after it 

 has been packed. 



(5) Packing tables : The packing table may be a fixed piece of equip- 

 ment in the shed or packing house, or portable tables may be used. A 

 good portable packing table, which will hold several barrels, provides a 

 slatted bottom, beveled on the upper edges, permits refuse to drop 

 out, the pitch from the back to front makes it easy to work the apples 

 toward the barrel, and yet they move deliberately enough to permit 

 careful inspection and to prevent injury. Padded baskets, hung on 

 the sides of the table, may be used for facers. 



A board or hinged device closes the lower end or gate through 

 which fruit passes to the barrel. The barrel should stand on a hard- 

 wood plank or concrete for "racking down.'' A canvas or burlap apron 

 extends from under the gate end of the table out over the barrel, so 

 that the apples may be lowered gently into the barrel. 



Such a table may have chutes or places for filling two barrels at 

 once and is often mounted on wheels at the back to facilitate move- 

 ment from place to place. Specifications of a good table follow: 



Table 8 feet by 4 feet with 8-inch sides, slats in bottom 1 inch 

 square with beveled upper edges and spaced 1 inch apart, legs 2 

 inches by 4 inches or 2 inches by 6 inches, lower legs 38 inches long, 

 upper legs 44 inches long ; opening or gate over barrel 8 inches wide — 

 material soft pine or other dressed lumber. The length may be 

 increased to permit handling fruit by a larger number of workmen, 

 but the table should always be narrow enough so that a sorter stand- 

 ing at either side may reach beyond the center. Sides should be 

 padded as well as the upper 2 or 3 feet where the apples are turned 

 onto the table. Chutes for culls may be built in. 



A grower with 1000 or more barrels to pack would probably find a 

 mechanical sizer a good investment, yielding better results than run- 

 ning the fruit over a packing table. 



