The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1901-07-04
GEORGIA PEACH CROP
SOME VALUABLE >;tsG!G PON>
10 The cEO ~; o. THi
LUCIOUS EEUIE.
GRADING AND PACKING
Method rracticed In Large Georgia
Orchard-The Necessity of ~
Canning Factory.
June list. 1901.

AS the peach crop has become one Of
the most important in Georgia. and q
some peach growers i'll our state are new
at this business, some hints on this sub
Ject may porve helpful to many. The
condition in which peaches reach the
market and their adaptability for the
fruit trade depend largely upon the
manner in 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 i'll the selec-
ton few peaches. perhaps but slightly
tainted, find their way into the crates,
with the result that the whole mass be.
comes infected and the fruit rejected by
the dealers is thrown back upon the
hands of the shipper. Then we hear
the complaint that there is no money i'll
peaches. But Providence has never yet
bestowed a gift upon a people for the
handling of which there could not be
found some intelligent and hence sue.
cessful method
The orchards of Georgia have attrac-
tea such wide attention throughout the
United States that we find them FIRE.
quently mentioned i'll periodicals de-
voted to farming and horticulture even
in the distant north.
In the American Agrlculturist, pub.
ished in Springfield. Mass, and in New
York and Chicago, Professor w. G.
johnson thus describes the method
practiced in the orchards of ]. 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 the
table. with the packers on the opposite
side. The peaches are classified into
three grades and then packed into car.
riers 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 $50, while No. 2 takes
from 100 TO 2l0. Peaches below this
size are, as a 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 ripeness before being
placed In basket. The general fore.
man OF the packing shed keeps very
careful watch over all the fruit packed,
and before the lid is nailed on a crate an
expert makes full inspection, being
sure that every peach is up to standard.
Ii a single peach is found containing a
bruise or 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 bv white
men and women, and expert packers
can put up from 80 TO 100 carriers per
day, the number depending largely upon
the variety and amount of fruit being
packed. Some experts pack from l75 to
300 carriers a day. each person handling
from 10000 to 1000 pieces of fruit, in
addition 10 removing the baskets and
middle tray of each carrier"
Every well equipped orchard should
have not only its 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 at the
home or for sale in all the cities and
towns, where there is always a demand
for such goods.
None OF the fruit should be wasted
but the peaches not shipped or canned
or consumed at home while fresh from
the trees should be carefully dried and
stored away for future use. For thi,
the evaporation Is in many respects supe.
rior to the old method. The fruit thus
dried looks whittier and cleaner and finds
q reader sale than that dried by the
sun. though some prefer the latter.
Among the famous orchards of Geor.
gia are those of Messrs. Rumph, Stubs.
Gober and Miller.
Save he tarm Manure,
The most important problem with
morse manure Is to prevent il from
teaching. Some haul it to the field a,
once and spread it. During the cror
season. while the growing plants al
ready have all the fertilizers needed fol
them, this manure can be protitablv
used by spreading it upon the meadow.
and pastures. In spreading manure
when the fields are bare 1t must be SC
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 fall through
1t, 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 inn
peratlve. as it does not heat so readily
being known as cold manure. For thi,
Teason it should not be used for hot he'd,
and cold frames.
Where beef cattle are stall fa5 49, :;