The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-25
.RAISIN MAKING.

trablc as the grave Gecelana Leader.
.RAISIN MAKING.
HE Operation az Conducted by tho
Larscst California Packers.
The grapes are purchased on the vines,
some by actual weight, others by csti.
mating the crop from weighing the pro-
duct Of every tenth vine. Good judges
can make a pretty close guess al the
number of tons on an acre OF vines, and
years OF practice enable the buyer to tell
very nearly not only the amount, but the
quality of the raisins to be made from
the vines which grow in different soils.
While the lower and damper lands bring
the largest crops and perhaps the largest
berries, the dry lands give a much larger
percentage of sugar, and consequently o
finer raisin. 1t is claimed that the best
grade of Orange raisins will this year
equal any in the market, and it is con-
Gdenlly expected that IL product will
gain a very cnviable name and footing
in the East this year. Unusual care is
being taken to pack and grade i n a mail
ncr that will reflect credit on Oranges
products, and the result will certainly
be a strong demand in the future.
The grapes are picked by crews OF
men under experienced foremen, and are
placed in trays or wooden frames, which
arc piled on top Of each other in wagons
and taken to the scales, weighed, and
then taken to the drying grounds. These
consist OF about sixty acres OF land,
smoo,hcd and cleaned like a brick yard,
and the grapes are spread out In long
rows to dry in the sun. Ten days or two
weeks from the laying down" is usual
" about the time required to dry them,
and then those thoroughly cured are
taken up and put into the sweat boxes.
Probably onc-third are not yet cured,
and these are turned over and placed in
narrow rows until the action of Old Sol
has made them ready. The enormous
quantity of grapes handled by one firm
can be estimated when it is known that
at one time this s%ixty.acrc plot was COW
cred, and a portion Oft has been covered
a second time. Teams are continually
coming and going, and a small army OF
men are employed to take care of the
cranes and keep the teams on the move:
Many women and girls arc also employed
picking up the loose raisirs which have
fallen from the stems. The trays are OF 8
number and capacity to hold 800 o n OF
grapes. Another thing which catches
The eye at the drying grounds is the pre-
paration made for possible rains, in the
shape of rolls of oiled paper stacked up
in all directions. This paper is in sheets
about four feet in width and sixteen
feet long, prepared to withstand rain by
dippino it in boiled oil. Two carloads OF
paper and fifty barrels Of oil have been
used this season, but rs yet it has moi
been found necessary to use the paper.
When properly dried the grapes are
taken up and put into sweat boxes,
probably sevcnty-fve or 100 pounds to
the box, and hauled to the packing
house, where they are piled from floor
to ceiling in the large front room. They
are left here some ten days, and passed
through sweating process, the object
being to cqualize the mo:ster contained
in them. When placed in boxes some
arc much drier than others, but when
ready for the packer the intention IS to
make them, as nearly as possible, equai
and uniform in that regard. Four lay
ers arc placed in a box, and each layers
weighed by the packer, and the whole
must make exactly the twenty pounds
REQUIRED. When a box is filled the packer
takes it to the scales near the door, pre-
sided over by an expert in the business,
who carefully weighs and examines it,
and il all right it is carried to the next
room, where it is nailed up and the col
ncrs smoothed off, and it is ready for
shipment. Particular care is exercised
in grading and weighing. About 100
men arc employed in ana about the pack.
inp house, and o "steady stream Of boxes
is kept going around the circle. We
were informed that about 1900 boxes a
day were being turned out. or three car
loads every two days.
The most of the packers are Cinnamon,
and as usual they soon become very ex'
merit at the business, putting pfrom ten
TO twelve boxes q day. White men fill
all the responsible stations, it evidently
being considered necessary to keep, a
close and vigilant watch over the
"hea,len" to keep him from rcsort:ng to
"wavs that arc dark" Occasionally a
box goes back to the packer and is upset
on his table as a gentle reminder that
first class work must be done all the
time.
The box lids are branded by a power
full cylinder press run b. horse power,
and it is rather amusing to 4 printer to
watch the modus o~perandi of this coarse
grained printing. Checks are used IN
every department, a packer receiving a
check for each box delivered 1T the
scales. The whole business seems to be
systcmatizcd thoroughly and moves
along like clockwork. The work promls-
cs to last until Christmas or New Years
before the whole crop is disposed OF, but
the favorable weather which the ra!sln-
makers have been blessed with will IA
~cilitate their operations, and if it con-
tinucs for another month they will have
the most of the work done. -Orange
(Cal.) Tribune.
An agricultural editor says: ono ami
NAL can fight and eat at the same time"