The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-08-09

Ne,v York market. where most of my
fruit is sold. but was used as denot-
ing rather second-rate quality
This fact (for I have no reason to
doubt that it is a fac) disturbed my
peace of mind for some little time.
but it was too late to help 1t, and af-
ter my experience in selling my crop
ceased to care anything about it.
because I learned. think. to a GER
tainty. as said before. that the prices
obtained are controlled by the quality
of the fruit and not by what is said
about 1t on the label. I firmly bellows
that when your pears are sent to a
strange market they will bring as
much money IL marked Bartlett
Pears from Tom johnson" as they
will il branded Extra Fancy Select"
for before any buyer will invest in
them he will open the package and
find out what you call extra fancy
select. and the price that he will pay
will depend upon what he thinks Of
the quality of the fruit.
"If you can produce Bartlett pear
with y fine bright blush or red cheek
you will find a delightful difference
in the price 1t will sell for.
"As soon as any considerable por-
ton of the pears will measure two
and three inches in diameter we be-
gin picking. and pick only those OF
that size and larger, and by going
over the orchard repeatedly--this year
We went over it five times-we get
our entire crop of a very uniform
size, for no matter how small some
of the pears are upon a heavily load
ed tree, they will Immediately shoot
ahead to full size as soon as the tree
is relieved of portion of it's crop.
| 1--WE grade our pears into three lots,
which for convenience we call Nos
1, 2 and 8. The pears which are
smooth, practically without blemishes
Of any kind, of good shape and not
less than two and three-eighths inch
es in diameter we put in the No.
40, which we pack in our Autograph
ed label boxes which have described
| 1.-THE pears which are not SO per-
feet, but are sound, not less than two
and quarter inches in diameter,
reasonably smooth and good shape,
with no stings or diseases, are put in
our No. 2 lot and packed in box with
printed brand, which sets forth that
they are good Bartletts and states the
number in the box. The balance of
the crop goes into what is called No.
8, which this year was sold to the
cannery, and this grade should always
go to the cannery Cor Seattle, as they
do not seem to know the difference
over there between good and bad).
| "Until this var we have made but
two grades, putting into our second
grade everything that was marketable
and not fit for our first grade. Now,
since we have the canneries, we Gun
very much more closely, raising our
first grade practically to perfection
and bringing the second grade up so
that 1t will pass for No. under any
fruit law that is likely to be passed
by the national government or any
state. This leaves our No. grade
good enough so that the canneries
were glad to take them this year
(19oS) at $12.5o per ton, when they
were paying s25 for strictly first-class
pears.
| "In packing we use the three-three
pack, that is, three pears in each row
across the box, and the ne-shap ped
wrap, which makes every wrapped
pear look tidy and neat.
| "By packing the smaller pears IN
the ends of the box and the largest
in the center we make a beautifully
GROWING top surface which will ex-
tend probably three-quarters of an
inch above the box at the ends and
an inch and a half or three-quarters
above the box in the center, and the
press brings the cover down tight,
when we have a box very snugly
packed, which is indispensable in view
of the fact that pears shrink very
rapidly and the pack would soon be-
come loose if not pressed in tightly.
The pear. being green and very hard,
is not liable to receive the least in
jury from this process.
Every box Of pears when it comes
from the packer is placed on the
scales, which are set at fifty pounds.
If the beam does not come up the
box goes back to the packer for more
| fruit; if it weighs more than f1fty-two
pounds we take some off. We keep
the weight between fifty and fifty
two pounds before the covers are put
on.
Fruit that measures in diameter
from two and three-eighths to two
and five-eighths inches will pack
about 1875 to the box. This is the
ideal size for the New York market,
and think is as good as any for any
market. Anything so small as to re-
quire more than $50 or so large as to
require less than 100 to fill the fifty
pound box is not regarded by us as
strictly select and goes into our Sec
| ond-grade. marked good ones"
"Our labeled boxes are all marked
either 100, 135 or $50 pears. and these
! numbers we do not change If to
make the right weight we have to
add or take out one row of the pears,
and with care we can always come
as near as that to the number re-
| qnired to fill the box.
"All these select pears are packed
five tiers and are 80 marked on the
box. but this term is becoming obso-
lete, and should become wholly so as
applied to pears. because 1t indicates
nothing. 1t used to be supposed to
indicate the size of the pears, but
with our present method of packing