12 BULLETIN 1261, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
place the fruit of each grade in the proper section of the belt. The 
first grade is carried to the "sizer" reserved for this grade, and the 
second and third grades to other sizers. 
Orange sizes are described, according to the number required 
to pack a standard box, as "150's," "176's," etc. The so-called 
standard sizes are 126, 150, 176, 200, and 216. As a rule, sizes in a 
particular lot of fruit range from 96 to 252, but a large proportion of 
these are standard sizes. Seasonal conditions, however, may result 
in a crop with an undue proportion of large or small sizes. The 
marketing of "off sizes" is one of the difficult problems confronting 
shippers of citrus fruits. 
Oranges are neatly wrapped and packed according to a standard 
plan. (See fig. 4.) All first and second grade fruit is wrapped in 
strong tissue paper bearing the brand name or trade-mark under 
which the fruit is packed. The fruit is packed solidly, and must be 
1-J to 2 inches above the top of the box. This " bulge" allows for 
shrinkage and settling of the fruit in the box while it is en route to 
market and assures a full package at destination. After covers are 
nailed on the boxes, they are carried by hand trucks either directly 
into the car, or precooling room, or are stacked in the packing house 
until loaded. 
Grading and Packing Lemons. 
The handling of lemons in the packing house is a longer and more 
involved process than is necessary for oranges. Lemons are deliv- 
ered at the packing house in field boxes, and are washed shortly after 
they are received. The fruit of each grower is weighed as it is re- 
ceived, and is stacked. After it is washed the fruit is separated ac- 
cording to color. The keeping quality of the fruit is determined in 
part by the color at the time it is picked, and color is also an indica- 
tion of the length of time it must be cured before shipment. 
The most desirable fruit is dark green when picked; but light green 
lemons may be of equally good quality, although they can not be 
stored for as long a period. "Tree-ripe" lemons are those which 
have attained a deep yellow color on the tree. Fruit of this grade 
must be shipped within two or three weeks after it is harvested. 
Light green fruit is usually cured for about a month but may be 
held for two months without great danger of loss. Dark green fruit 
is generally well cured in six weeks, and present practice is to ship 
it at about the end of this period. However, dark green lemons 
have been held in the curing room as long as five to six months, and 
formerly three months was not an exceptional period to hold this 
class of fruit. At the end of the curing period lemons that were 
light or dark green when first stored are a light yellow color, the 
skin has become thin and flexible, and the juice content of the fruit 
has increased greatly. 
Lemons are placed loosely in packing boxes after they are washed 
and are transferred with hand trucks to the curing rooms. Often 
the fruit is cured in basement rooms, but sometimes a portion of 
the main floor of the packing house is also used as a curing space. 
The identity of each lot of fruit is maintained during the curing 
process. 
In the grading room the fruit is sorted after curing into shallow 
wooden trays and separated into the various grades which the asso- 
