122 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
NEW PEACH SIZER 
Perfected and given for 'public use by workers in the 
United Stales Department of Agriculture 
This year a part of the peach crop may be better graded at less 
expense than heretofore by use of a new sizer developed by Gov¬ 
ernment workers. Two machines were built last year and tested 
under commercial conditions at Leesburg, Va., and Mayfield, Ga. 
Information gained through these tests was used in perfecting 
the present machine, drawings of which are now available to all 
glowers or manufacturers interested, according to announcement 
by the Bureau of Markets, United States Department of Agri¬ 
culture. 
The machine has several unique features and advantages over 
existing types of sizers which make it possible to handle fruit 
with less bruising, while its construction permits 10 to 15 pack¬ 
ers to work at one time, thus making possible a run of from two 
to three carloads of peaches a day from each machine, the amount 
depending on the average quality of the fruit. The overall di¬ 
mensions of the machine are 24 by 15 feet. It requires an electric 
motor of less than one horsepower capacity, or a small gas en¬ 
gine, to operate it, and it can be run at half capacity if desired. 
Under commercial conditions it should be sold at a price not to 
exceed $450, according to estimates of the designers. 
HOW IT WORKS 
The peaches from the orchard are delivered on an inclined 
roller conveyor, on each side of which sorters stand and pick out 
culls and damaged fruit. The rotation of the peaches on this 
conveyor, which is obtained without bruising, enables the sorters 
to see the entire surface of the fruit without touching it. From 
this roller conveyor the peaches are delivered to two sets of 
ropes running over pulleys. A simple lever arrangement permits 
the adjustment of the spaces between these ropes to accommo¬ 
date any size fruit it is desired to grade. Although the ropes 
diverge from each other under ordinary operating conditions, 
they may be set nearly parallel to facilitate the distribution into 
the bins of fruit which runs almost uniform in size. This con¬ 
trol is made possible by a perfected hat-rack movement which is 
one of the unique features of this machine. 
As the peaches come off the roller conveyor they roll down a 
slight incline to the ropes on which they travel until dropped 
through into canvas bins. It is impossible to congest the ma¬ 
chine, because the peaches are fed one at a time to the moving 
ropes. Some objections to former rope sizers have been over¬ 
come through the use of a special coupling device, an idler which 
serves to keep the proper tension on the ropes and the mechan¬ 
ism which quickly widens or reduces the space between the ropes. 
The machine, which was devised particularly for six-basket car¬ 
rier packing, can be used equally well for bushel packs with a 
slight modification of the bins. 
POSSIBILITIES FOR OTHER FRUITS 
In announcing the perfected machine, which is the work of the 
grades and standards project and the technological laboratory of 
the Bureau of Markets, it is stated that the machine has possi 
bilities for grading other fruits such as apples, pears, and or¬ 
anges, while it may be possible to modify it to handle sweet po¬ 
tatoes. 
An application for a public patent on this sizer is pending in 
the Patent Office, but the department can give no assurance that 
a patent will be allowed on the machine or that some of the ele¬ 
ments covered by the application are not already protected by 
existing patents. The bureau has applied for patents on parts of 
the machine in order to make them available to all, and is ready 
to furnish a set of working drawings to growers or manufacturers 
for $2, which is intended to cover merely the cost of labor and 
materials. 
John Watson, secretary of the American Association 
of Nurserymen, addressed the convention of the Agricul¬ 
tural Editors’ Association in Chicago, April 6, on “Keep¬ 
ing the Roys on the Farm by making Rural Homes at¬ 
tractive.” Mr. Watson told of the educational publicity 
work being done by the Association and outlined the 
standardization program under way. It is significant 
that the activities of the Association should have at¬ 
tracted attention that brought an invitation to have the 
Association’s Secretary take part in the program of a 
convention of Editors of Farm Papers. In the evening, 
Secretary Watson met some of the local nurserymen at 
the Hamilton Club, guests of Mr. Alvin Nelson. 
A CURE-ALL 
If your chickens get the pip, 
Or there’s a blister on your lip; 
Blame it on a little worm 
Or a pesky little germ, 
Try a quarantine. 
If your fruit trees miss a crop, 
Or unripe plums begin to drop; 
Do not spray or fuss and fume, 
Or mumble out a doleful tune, 
Use a quarantine. 
If the rust gets on your wheat, 
Or the growing corn is cut by sleet, 
Put the blame on some other plant 
Try and get the “bugman’s” slant, 
Find a quarantine. 
If your trees are struck by blight, 
Or your house is robbed at night; 
Don't let this your thoughts alarm, 
To protect you from all harm, 
Trust a quarantine. 
For brown rot that is on your peach, 
The use of bordeaux some will teach; 
Avoid such trouble and expense, 
And use a little common sense, 
Its a quarantine. 
Don’t dig and plow and reap and mow, 
Or prepare the ground with seed to sow; 
There’s a better way to do the deed 
Than the time worn one of sowing seed. 
By a quarantine. 
If a flood destroys your crop, 
And your house you have to prop; 
Square your shoulders remove the hump, 
Give Miss Fortune another thump 
With a quarantine. 
WATCHING PLANTS GROW 
The latest scientific wonder is the crescograph, which 
has been invented by a remarkable savant from Calcutta, 
Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose. A correspondent who was 
at the India Office found one of the spacious rooms had 
been locked for 48 hours and two Indians were guarding 
the door. With a little coaxing they admitted him, and 
he was shown the strange instrument, which magnifies 
plants to such a size that when flashed on a screen you 
can see them grow ‘ visibly before your very eyes.” The 
value of the crescograph lies in its application to agricul¬ 
ture and horticulture. It can easily be shown which of 
the artificial manures have the swiftest effect upon 
growth. Sir Jagadis has also discovered that plants can 
receive Marconi messages as well as the orthodox wire¬ 
less apparatus.— The Horticultural Trade Journal. 
