The Brunswick times-call., 1901-06-18
GEORGIA. PEACH CROP
SOME VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS
TO THE GROWER OF THE
LUCIOUs FRUIT.
GRADING AND PACKING
Method Practlced In Large Georgia
Orchard--The Necessity Of "a
Canning Factory.
June LIST. 1901.


some peach growers in our state are new
ut this busilGsa, some hints on this sub
ject may porve helpful to many. The
condition III which peaches reach the
market and their adaptabilty for the
fruit trade depend largely upon the
manner il which they are graded and
packed In some orchards no special
preparations are made beforehand, and
there is no special organization for the
work. Unskilled hands do the packing
and through carelessness in the selec'
ton few peaches, perhaps but slightly
tainted, find their way into the Graz,
with the result that the whole mass 90
comes infected and the fruit rejected by
the dealers 10 thrown back upon the
hands Of the shipper. Then we hear
the complaint that there is no money III
peaches. But Providence has never YET
bestowed gift upon people for the
handling Of which there could not be
found some intelligent and hence suo'
cessful method.
The orchards Of Georgia have attrac'
ted such wide attention throughout the
United States that we find them fire.
Quently mentioned III periodicals de-
voted to farming ami horticulture even
in the distant north.
In the American Agriculturist, pub
lished IN Springfield, Mass. and In New
York and Chicago, Professor W. G.
johnson Thus describes the method
practiced in the orchards of J. H. Hale
Of Georgia
1.-The fruit Is sorted into three grades
and placed in long canvas trays arranged
in compartments in front of the worker.
about one foot above the center of tho
table, with the packers on the opposite
side. The peaches are classified into
three grades and then packed into, car.
rcrs of six baskets each. About 100
peaches of extra large size are packed In
carrier The No. l size usually re.
quires from 1870 to 100, while No. 3 takes
from 100 to $40. Peaches below this
size are, as rule. not placed in carriers.
The fruit is carefully graded by experts,
! many of them being orange packers
from Florida. Every peach must be up
TO standard size, without blemish and IN
perfect stage of ripeuess before being
placed in basket. The general fore
man OF the packing shed keeps very
careful watch over all the fruit packed,
and before che lid is nailed ON crate an
expert makes full inspection, being
sure that every peach is up to standard.
II a single peach Is found containing a
bruise OF blemish of any kind. the en-
tire crate is returned to the packer and
as penalty must be repacked.
1.-The fruit is handled mostly By white
men and women, and expert packers
con put mp from so TO 100 carriers per
day, the number depending largely upon
the variety and amount of fuit being
packed. Some experts pack from 175 to
300 carriers day. each person handling
from 10000 TO 10000 pieces of fruit, in
addition TO removing the baskets and
\ middle tray Of each carrier"
Every well equipped orchard should
have not only It's packing house, but
also its canning factory, where the
peaches not selected for shipping nor
reserved for home consumption can be
put up in cans and thus preserved until
required for fall and winter use OF the
homo or for sale in all the cities and
towns, where there Is always demand
for such goods.
None Of the fruit should be wasted,
but the peaches not shipped or canned
or consumed az home while fresh from
the trees should be carefully dried and
stored away for future use. For this
the evaporation Is In many respects supe.
rior 60 the old method. The fruit thus
dried looks whittier and cleaner and finds
a reader sale than that dried BY the
sun, though some prefer the latter
Among the famous orchards Of Geor.
gfa arc those OF Messrs Rumph, Stubs,
Gober and Miller.
Save the Farm Manure.
The mosb important problem with
horse manure Is to prevent it fron6
Teaching. Some haul it to the field az
onoo and spread 1t. During che crop
season, while the growing plants al.
ready have all the fertilizers needed for
them, this manure can be prohtably
used by spreading IL upon the meadows
and pastures. In spreading manure
when the fields are bare 1t must be SO
placed that rain will not leach out the
ammonia and other valuable materials
II the manure cannot be taken to the
fields, shed should be built In close
proximity to the stable and SO construct.
ed that the rains will not tall through
10, and under this shed the manure
should be placed from day to day.
Manure from cattle can be treated in
the same way. though the matter Of
keeping it from teaching is not so i'm.
peratlve, as IL does not heat so readily.
being known us GOLD manure. For this
reason it should not be used for hot beds
and cold frames.
Where beef cattle are stall-fed and In
lot or around straw stack, when the
animals have been sent 20 market, the
manure can be put upon spreader and
distributed over the fields Some Of these
spreaders will distribute the finest com.
mercial fertilizer or the coarsest lot ma.
nure filed with unrotted straw and fod.
der. The work done by the spresder Is
far better than that done BY hand
Conccrnina Sugar Cane.
In compilation Of the comparative
value OF field crops made by the Florida
Experiment. Station. Lake City, Florida,
1t is shown that sugar canets by far the
most productive crop for that state, and