18 Bru.KTIX 1206, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
graders can then grade from the table to the container, picking up the 
potatoes with one hand and placing them in the container with the 
other, without changing their positions. A few houses use, instead 
of tables, a device which is called a belt conveyor or grading belt. It is 
a slowly moving belt that carries the potatoes in front of the graders 
in such a way that defects are easily detected and careful handling 
is forced. 
It is advisable for one man to assume responsibility for the grading. 
Too many supervisors prevent uniformity in the grade and cause con- 
fusion among the graders. With suitable grading facilities and proper 
supervision it should be possible to reduce the number of laborers that 
are usually employed. The amount of instructions and supervision 
given to the graders depends on their experience. Much of the work 
is done by inexperienced negro women, who require close supervision. 
Even the best graders should be instructed to verify their sizing 
occasionally by actual measurements. This may be done by providing 
each grader with two iron or steel rings, one If inches in diameter and 
the other 3£ inches. A less durable but satisfactory sizing device may 
be made from heavy cardboard. It should be 4 inches wide and 10 
inches long with two circular holes cut in it If inches and 3£ inches in 
diameter. The width and the length of the card are the minimum 
and maximum lengths specified in the U. S. Grade No. 1, and the 
diameters of the two holes, through which the potatoes may be passed, 
are the minimum and maximum diameters permitted in the grade. 
Devices like these should be used by graders until their eyes become 
accustomed to sizing. After that they should be used occasionally 
as a check. 
Graders should be instructed to sort out potatoes that show decay, 
bruises, cuts, scars, cracks, and damage caused by heat, disease, in- 
sects, or mechanical means. Those that are irregular in shape and 
those showing considerable soil stain or scurf should be culled out. 
Any excess of dry dirt should be rubbed off. " Rat-tails," as they are 
called, should be broken off. 
Containers should be examined from time to time to determine 
if the percentage of off sizes and damaged potatoes is within the tol- 
erances permitted in the grades. Different varieties should not be 
placed in the same container; in fact, they should not be stacked 
in the same section of the house. Containers should not be packed 
closely for storing and should not be heaped. Container lids or covers 
should not be used until after the potatoes are repacked for shipment. 
Care should be exercised to prevent bruising. After storing, the 
potatoes should not be handled again until they are removed for 
shipment. [ 
REGRADING AFTER STORING. 
The amount of regrading necessary at shipping time depends upon 
the thoroughness of the grading prior to storing. Regardless of 
how well they were graded they should be examined and any potatoes 
showing decay or shriveling should be thrown out. Sprouts over an 
eighth of an inch long should be removed. If the potatoes are in 
good condition, well-graded, and if they are to be shipped in storage 
containers, it is not necessary to dump them. The container may 
be partially emptied, the damaged or diseased potatoes removed, 
and those from another container used in refilling it. Better packing 
results, however, from removing all of the potatoes, either from one 
