Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-31
WITH THE ORANGE FROM
GROWERS TO MARKET 7
PROCESS OF PACKING CALIFOR-
MAS GOLDEN FRUIT
Weighing in at the Packing House..
Curing the Green Fruit--Sorting
by Sizes and Qualities-Cutting
Out the "cuIIs"-Packing in Boxes
from the Fullerton News;

From the Fullerton News:
After the orchard work of picking the
oranges into lossely filled boxes the
orange grower proceeds to haul them
to the packing house. The packing is
sometimes done by contract, but 1t is
usually the case that the grower sells
his loose fruit to the packer, who at
tends to the shipping himself or else
the consignment is sold on commission
basis, and beyond delivery the grower
has no further active interest in his
fruit
Usually there are from 100 to 120
boxes hauled on each wagon. AS they
arrive they are placed on the scales,
which are placed as near the receiving
door as is convenient, and weighed.
loose boxes averaging from 40 to 45
pounds to the box. They are then
trucked back into the packing house
and stacked in tiers about six boxes
high and each growers fruit is marked
with tag or lot number showing
growers name, date, the number OF
pounds and boxes received.
The fruit is generally allowed to re-
main in the packing house for two or
three days before it is packed. When it
is sufficiently cured it is trucked up
and dumped into a hopper or feed box,
from which it is carried into the brush
ers, an automatic feeder controlling
the supply as the fruit rolls down the
gentle incline by force of gravity. The
brushes are about four feet long and
are made of three cylinders placed side
by side, faced with hair bristles two
or three inches in length. The cylin-
ders rotating in opposite directions
from runway through which the
oranges pass, and as they pass through
they are thoroughly cleansed of dust
and dirt.
Through the brushes, the oranges
then run down a short incline to an ele-
vator which carries them up to the sort
ing table. This sorting table is also
built on an incline and is usually from
eight to ten feet long and about four
feet wide at the upper end, tapering
to a width of two feet at the lower end,
with division board running length
wise through the center. Here the
oranges are sorted over and carefully
graded by hand, according to their
standard of excellence, from one to
four men being employed in this oper-
alton. The perfect oranges are placed
on one side of the division board and
the second grade on the other, the culls
being thrown out and disposed of in
various ways.
From the sorting table the fruit runs
into the grader, or more properly the
many kinds, the one in most general
use, however, being what Is commonly
called the rope and roller grader. This
sizer varies in length from twelve To
thrty-six feet, the center division
board being in line with the division
board on the sorting table. On each
side and parallel with the center board
are wooden rollers. which vary in
length according to the length of the
grader These rollers rotate away
from the center, and with the center
board forming runway for the
oranges Along the center board ana
on each side. i'm groove, Is a rope
belt which carries the oranges from
the sorting table along the runways
of the sizer. These rollers are placed
just close enough together at the end
attached to the sorting table to permit
oranges which will pack 28S in a box or
smaller, TO drop between the rollers ana
the center board and the larger oranges
pass along until they reach a space
wide enough to permit them to pass
through. There are eight of these
spaces on each side, the first allowing
the 2SS and smaller sizes to pass
through, the next the 250s, then the 216s,
zoos. 176s, 1905, 1865, 112s, 96s and larger,
these last sizes going over the end
after they pass over the entire length
Of the runway. When the oranges drop