Gustavus A. Eisen

—The packing-house should be large and airy and, whether it is made of lumber, brick or adobe, it should in preference to anything else be large. Room is needed at every operation in the packing-house, and it is hardly possible to get too much of it. So far no very large and perfect buildings for packing-houses have ever been erected in California; the raisin industry is too young for that, and even the best of our buildings are only temporary ones. It is here not possible nor desirable to give any instructions how to build and arrange a raisin packing-house, as every packer will have his own ideas and his own necessities in this respect, and not two packers would build alike. All we can do here is to refer to what is needed in a general way, in order that the reader will get some preliminary ideas of what he will require when his raisin vineyard comes in bearing.

The packing-house should contain the following apartments: First, the general packing-room, in which the raisins are assorted and packed. Then the sweating-house or equalizing room, in which the boxes are stored for several weeks in order to equalize the moisture in the raisins. Then the stemming-room, in which the stemming and grading of the loose raisins is carried on. Then we have the weighing room, where the raisins are received from the field, and where they are weighed when this is required. There should also be an office and a pasting room, where the labels are pasted on the lining paper, and finally there should be plenty of veranda or shed room all around the building, where boxes of all kinds can be received and temporarily stored, either before the raisins are packed, or afterwards when they are ready to be shipped. We might also wish to have a room for a box factory, where boxes of all kinds are nailed up. This can in our climate best be done in the shed or under the veranda. The packing-house proper should be as large as all the other rooms together. It can hardly be made too large, as during the lively packing season hundreds of hands will here be busy, each one with his special work. The floor of the packing-house should be of matched lumber, and slanting towards the center, along which should run a small gutter. Any other material, such as cement, may also be used, the only object in view being that the floor can be washed from time to time and the dirt carried off through the gutter as readily as possible. The packing-room should have places for long narrow tables, at which the packing and assorting is done, and these tables can most conveniently be run the whole length of the room. At one end there should be room for the presses and the nailing tables, as well as storage room for empty and full boxes.

The Sweating-house.

—The sweating-house or sweating-room should immediately adjoin the packing-room. It should be built either of matched lumber or of brick or adobe, in order that the temperature may be kept tolerably even and the moisture confined if necessary. The sweating-room in the Fresno Raisin and Fruit Packing Co’s house in Fresno is large enough to contain 40 tons of raisins at one time, and is about 50 feet square, while the sweating-room on the Forsyth vineyard measures about 35 feet by 50 feet, and is built of brick in two stories, the lower one of which is used for raisins, the upper one for storage. For those who wish figures, we might state as examples of buildings, that the Forsyth packing-house, which also contains a sweating-room but not a stemming-room, is 120 feet by 35 feet, and contains besides a small platform outside for the reception of boxes, etc. The Fresno Raisin and Fruit Packing Co’s building is about 150 feet by 75 feet.

Raisin Stemmer and Grader.

The Stemmer and Grader.

—This large machine is a California invention. The principle on which it works is that the dry stems are separated by revolving the raisins rapidly in a drum made of perforated galvanized iron or of strong galvanized wire. After the stems are separated, the raisins fall together on screens of wire with various size meshes, through which the smaller berries are separated from the larger berries, while the refuse and broken stems are blown away by a fan. The most perfect stemmer and grader is the one on the Butler vineyard. The raisins are first dumped into a hopper below the floor, and from there they are run automatically on a belt to the top of the stemmer, where they enter the drum. From the drum they fall on the separating screens, which grade them in three grades, each one falling in a box of its own. Somewhat similar stemmers are seen in all the large vineyards, all run by steam and large enough to stem and grade from forty to sixty tons of raisins a day. There is considerable difference as to the ingenuity with which these stemmers are built, some requiring many more hands to run them than others. The Butler stemmer requires, part of the time, only one man for its successful running. The Forsyth stemmer stands under a shed in the open air, apart from the packing-house, in order that the dust may be freely carried away. The smaller vineyards have stemmers run by hand, and have separate graders also run by hand, large enough to stem and grade from five to eight tons of raisins per day.

The Presses.

—These are of two kinds, screw presses and lever presses. The screw press is much preferable (at least until the lever press may be perfected), as with it we can gauge the pressure given the raisins. The only press of this kind is found on the Raisina vineyard of T. C. White. The press that is generally adopted, and the one that is most handy, is the lever press, which is so constructed that four boxes of raisins can be kept in the press at one time, or until the last box or part of a box is ready. By a pressure with the foot, the levers are released and the boxes freed from the pressure. While this press is exceedingly handy and quickly worked, the pressure cannot readily be gauged, and the raisins are apt to be injured by too heavy pressure. But it is likely that improvements will soon be made which will remedy this defect.

Boxes and Cartoons.

—The California raisin boxes are of three kinds,—whole boxes of twenty pounds, halves of ten pounds and quarters of five pounds. The wholes and the quarters are those most used, while the halves are seldom used or required. The cartoons are made of paper and contain two and one-half pounds of raisins each. The following are the measurements of raisin boxes and cartoons, and of the lumber required for making them. Twenty-pound box: 9 x 18 x 4³/₄ inches. Ten-pound box: 9 x 18 x 2³/₈ inches. Five-pound box: 9 x 18 x 1³/₁₆ inches. The foregoing are inside measurements. The tops and bottoms are one-quarter inch thick, 19¹/₂ inches long and 9³/₄ inches wide. The sides of the twenty-pound box are 19¹/₂ inches long, 4³/₄ inches wide and three-eighths inches thick. The ends of a twenty-pound box are 9 inches long, 4³/₄ inches wide and three-fourths of an inch thick. The sides of the ten-pound box are 19¹/₂ inches long, three-eighths of an inch thick and 2³/₈ inches wide. The ends of a ten-pound box are 9 inches long, three-fourths of an inch thick and 2³/₈ inches wide. The sides of a five-pound box are 19¹/₂ inches long, three-eighths of an inch thick and 1³/₁₆ inches wide. The two and one-half pound cartoon is five inches wide, ten inches long and one and one-half inches deep.

Packing Frames or Packing Trays.

—These are of two kinds, according to the method of packing. For the top-up method, wooden frames large enough to hold five pounds of raisins are used. In length and width these frames correspond with the raisin box, but in height they are only one-third of a whole box, or about one and one-half inches. The bottom is a sliding one, and can be pulled out broadwise. The frame is first lined on the inside with the necessary paper, and then five pounds of raisins are placed in the paper. A follower or block of wood, large enough to fill the form or frame, is then placed on top, the frame is placed over an empty box, the sliding bottom quickly withdrawn, and the whole contents fall in the box below undisturbed. For the top-down method, frames of galvanized iron are used, slightly deeper than the former, but the bottom is a drop-bottom, resting on a flange, instead of a sliding bottom, as in the former tray. A loose plate of zinc is placed on top of the frame, the latter is inverted and placed over the box, and the zinc plate quickly withdrawn, when the contents covered by the loose drop-bottom (or by the facing-plate) fall into the raisin box.

Facing-plate.

—This useful tool was invented by T. C. White. It consists of a brass plate large enough to fit readily into the bottom of the raisin box. In this plate are arranged small cavities, each one wide enough to hold a large raisin. For large boxes the plate is made to contain eleven raisins the short way and eighteen the long way. The plate is first placed in the bottom of the iron frame in place of the loose bottom. A raisin is placed in each cavity and lightly pressed, and loose raisins are carefully filled in on the top. When this frame is afterwards reversed and the raisins and the plate as follower are received in the box, it will be found that the top layer has retained its arrangement and is regularly faced. This facing-plate enables the packer to face quickly and cheaply, but it can only be used when the top-down method of packing is used. The standard plate is nine inches by eighteen inches, and the plate for cartoons is five inches by ten inches, both made of heavy brass.

Scales.

—For weighing the quantity of raisins necessary for every layer, scales must be found on every weighing table. Any ordinary grocery scales which work with springs may be used. Generally one pair of such scales are used at each end of the assorting table.

Labeling Press.

—Of late every large packer labels his boxes before they are nailed together. This is done by passing the shooks through a labeling press, which prints under pressure the required label on each side or top, the name, etc., appearing in concave type on their face. These presses are run by machinery and work very rapidly.

Tables.

—In the packing-house are tables of various kinds; they are generally long and narrow, and about four feet wide. The assorting tables should be furnished with square holes at intervals of five or six feet, so that the loose raisins may be scraped through them into boxes below. The assorting and weighing tables are furnished with a low flange or guard all around, to prevent any raisins falling on the floor.

Bags and Bag-holders.—Two kinds of bags are used,

—cotton sacks or jute sacks. The former are white like flower sacks, the latter coarser and brownish. In the former no paper linings are used, but in the latter a paper bag is stitched, in order that the air may not penetrate and dry the raisins. Both kinds of bags are used to an equal extent. The cotton sacks contain either thirty or sixty pounds, while the jute sacks are made to contain an average of eighty pounds each. Patented bag-holders are used everywhere for holding the bags open while they are being filled.

Trucks.

—For inside work, trucks very similar to those used in the vineyard are now generally adopted. They are handled with ease, and for moving boxes of various kinds are absolutely indispensable in the modern raisin packing-house.

Trays for Weighing.

—These are small, shallow boxes, made of zinc or tin, and large enough to hold five pounds of raisins each. One short side of the tray should be slanting outward in order that the raisins may fall out readily. They are only used in weighing the raisins which are to go in each five-pound layer in the whole boxes.

Followers.

—These are wooden blocks of the size of a quarter box of raisins, inside measurement. They should be lined with zinc on the flat sides, in order that they may be washed readily, and also to prevent the sugar of the raisins from adhering to them. They should be large enough to just fit inside a box or frame, and are used to keep the raisins steady while being changed from the frame to the box. They are also placed on top of the raisin frames when they are being pressed.

Paper.

—Several kinds of paper are used in the raisin business. Heavy yellow manilla paper is used to place in the sweatboxes, one sheet between every two layers of raisins. The paper should be heavy, and cut to fit the box. Many growers use too short paper, which always has the inconvenience of causing the raisins to mix and become entangled. Only one whole sheet of paper should be used at a time; two short sheets will not answer, as, in lifting out a layer of raisins, the assorter takes hold of the four corners of the paper, and thus readily lifts out the raisin block. Lighter paper for lining the raisin boxes is used, both for layers and loose. The paper generally used is common book paper twenty-one by twenty-eight inches, and forty, fifty or sixty pounds to the ream in quality. Previous to being used, this paper is cut to fit the tray, a square piece being cut out of every corner. When placed in the tray, the central part of the paper fits the bottom of the tray, while the sides of the paper extend sufficiently over the sides of the tray to meet on top when folded over the raisins. Waxed tissue paper should always be placed on the top of the raisins in order to prevent the moisture from the raisins injuring the colored and artistic labels.

Colored lithographs or chromos of various designs and qualities are used for all raisins packed in boxes. When bought they come in three sizes. The central label should be nearly the size of the face of the box. The top labels are shorter pieces, almost as wide as the box, but only a few inches long. They are previously pasted to the top flaps of the lining. The side labels are twice as long as the face of the box, but not quite half as wide; they are similarly pasted on the long side flaps of the lining. There is a great variety of designs used, some of which are not appropriate. Whatever designs we use, it will be to the advantage of every country not to imitate, but to use labels characteristic of the country and locality where the raisins are made.

Tin Boxes.

—For packing raisins for tropical countries, boxes made of tin should be used. The dampness in those countries causes raisins packed the common way to mold and spoil. No box should contain more than ten pounds of raisins, and the top should be so soldered on that it can be removed without cutting or injuring the box. The French system of soldering on by means of a narrow strip of tin, which can be wound up, is admirable, and could hardly be improved upon. Five ten-pound boxes should be packed in a light case made of light timber, and the whole package when closed should not weigh over sixty pounds. Four such cases will make one mule-load, and two such cases can be conveniently carried by one man.

LOOSE RAISINS.

Stemming and Assorting.

—It must be understood that all the mechanical appliances and tools mentioned above should now be on hand ready for use and properly placed. The several different operations in packing, stemming, assorting, etc., of both loose and layers, will at times be carried on in different parts of the packing establishment at the same time, so as to meet the requirements of mixed lots or orders, the general shipments being of that nature. Loose and layer raisins are produced more or less from almost every sweatbox brought into the packing-house, and the only delay to their being immediately disposed of is because the layer raisins must be sweated or equalized before they are ready for use. The loose raisins, provided they are properly or sufficiently dried, are ready to be handled as soon as brought from the vineyard. A loose raisin, or a bunch from which loose raisins are to be made, must be overdried rather than underdried; at any rate, it must be so dry, that no juice will come out of it when the raisin is squeezed heavily or even torn. But a matter of greater importance even is that the stems should be brittle or sufficiently dry to break off readily. If they do not break, the raisins cannot be easily separated from the stem. The stems, instead of breaking off, will tear off, and the raisins will be open to the entrance of air, which will cause them to undergo a chemical change, to sugar and deteriorate.

As soon as a perfectly dried sweatbox of third-grade or loose raisins enters the packing-house, it should be taken to the stemmer. Any delay in this is injurious to the raisins, as they will rapidly undergo a sweating or equalizing, causing the stems to soften and to lose their brittleness. It will, therefore, be seen that loose raisins must on no account be sweated or equalized before they have been stemmed. Besides, if the raisins are in any way moist, they will not shed the dust and dirt when being passed through the stemmer. It is therefore to every raisin-grower’s interest to so hasten the drying of the loose raisins that as many of them as possible can be out of the way when the layers, which take longer to dry, come in. This, as we have shown before, can only be done by assorting the raisins while green, and at the moment they are being picked from the vines. The different size bunches dry at different times, and the loose can then be partially disposed of when the layers are ready. The stemmer and grader should separate the raisins in at least three grades: Number one, large loose; number two, smaller loose; number three, smallest seedless, to which may be added a number four, or rubbish. The large loose bring always a good price, and great care should be taken with them. After having passed through the stemmer and assorter once, they should be passed through a second or third time, in order that all the inferior or smaller raisins may be eliminated. In this way, a fine, large number one is had, which is sure to give satisfaction. Number two loose may be passed through a second time if the stemmer has not done its full duty, and the same may also be done with number three seedless. It always pays to do a thing well, and this holds good with raisins as with everything else. Colonel Forsyth, who has acquired a high reputation for his loose raisins, advocates and practices this repeated assorting, especially of the number one grade, in order that it may be entirely uniform. Too many poor raisins are generally found among the small seedless, and if they are to be made to partially replace the seedless Sultanas or the Currants in the same manner as the number two is expected to replace the imported Valencias, they must be made clean from all rubbish. Only by producing a superior article can we hope to replace the imported dipped raisins by our loose Muscatels.

Packing and Cleaning.

—The number one and two loose are always put up in whole boxes of twenty pounds each, never in quarter boxes, but sometimes in cartoons, to be used as samples or as holiday gifts. In packing whole boxes, they may either be faced or not. If not faced, the work is very simple. The raisins are first brought to a large separate table with a guard all around its edges, so as to prevent the raisins from falling to the floor. On each such table are one or more small scales. The workmen gather the raisins with small shovels, and place them in quantities of twenty pounds each in tin trays, with the guards slanting at one end, in order that the raisins may fall out readily. These trays are then immediately carried by other hands to the packing-table close by. Here the proper papers are being placed in regular whole raisin boxes, the loose raisins are poured in from the trays, and from time to time looked over and cleaned. All poor or inferior raisins should be carefully eliminated, and only good ones allowed to be boxed. Finally the paper leaves are folded over, and the boxes are taken away to be nailed up. Number two undergoes the very same process when packed in boxes.

Sacking.

—A very large trade is springing up in sacked raisins, and the demand for them is increasing every year. Both numbers two and three grades loose are now exported this way either in cotton sacks, or in jute sacks lined inside with paper. The jute sacks are by many preferred on account of their showing the dirt less, the cotton sacks generally arriving soiled at their destination. If cotton sacks are used for shipment East, they should be first placed in common burlap sacks, in order to arrive clean and attractive. The extra expense is not great, as the cheapest kind can be used for this purpose.

Facing, Top-up Method.

—The facing is quickly done with the aid of White’s facing-plate, but it can also be accomplished without it if the packer may so desire. The facing-plate, however, is greatly to be preferred, as we shall show directly. If no plate is used, the operation is as follows: At the filling table, fifteen pounds of loose raisins are weighed off directly in the twenty-pound boxes. Then five pounds loose are weighed separately in a tin tray. The whole boxes are taken to the packing-table and placed close to the press, one on top of the other, the smaller trays, with five pounds each, are brought to the facer, who now takes one of the loose wooden frames with a sliding bottom and places in it the necessary papers. He then fills in the five pounds of loose raisins, smooths and spreads them out, and sees that no bad berries are among the good ones. This operation may also be performed by different hands, so as to divide up the work. This is probably the best and most economical way. The next step is to take the tray to the press and subject it to a certain pressure, so as to get a smooth upper surface on which to face or place the raisins in rows. When this is done the tray is taken to the facer. The facer now has in front of him a tray filled with the ornamental papers and the five pounds of raisins. The surface of the raisins is smooth and even. The next operation is to place large raisins in rows on the top surface. A small box with loose, large raisins should be at the side of the facer, who in taking each one of them at first presses it towards the table with the thumb of either hand, thus flattening out the raisin in order to make it appear large. When the tray is faced, it may again be subjected to slight pressure, but generally this is not needed. The contents of the tray are now transferred to the twenty-pound box, which already contains fifteen pounds of loose. These loose raisins, which will be on the bottom of the box, are not generally wrapped in paper, although such would very much improve their appearance. The box is now ready for nailing. This top-up method is very inferior to the top-down method, as will be described further on. In packing with this method, only the wooden frame with the sliding bottom is used. The drop-bottom frame is only used for the top-down method.

Facing, Top-down Method.

—In using this method, the top layer is finished first, and the bottom last. The packing is done as follows: In the bottom of a tin or galvanized-iron tray, previously described, is placed one of White’s facing-plates. As will be remembered, the frame has a loose drop-bottom, which falls out as soon as the tray is turned over. The facing-plate is placed either directly on this loose bottom, or on the flange supporting it, and always with the facing-cups upward. The facer now places loose selected raisins, one in each hollow, presses his finger on the raisin and works it in the hollow until it becomes flattened. When all the cavities are filled, loose raisins are carefully filled in until the tray is full, when but a gentle pressure is required to steady the raisins and make them keep their places. In the meantime, fifteen pounds of raisins have been put in twenty-pound boxes and gently pressed. Some packers of choice raisins use a wrapper and label for every layer of five pounds, which greatly improves the general appearance of the box. After all is ready, a loose zinc plate is placed over the filled frame or tray, the latter is reversed and placed directly over the raisin box, in which has already been placed the required paper wrapper. The zinc plate, which only served to steady the raisins while the frame was being turned, is now quickly withdrawn, and the five-pound faced layer falls down in the box entirely undisturbed, kept so by the facing-plate which here acted as follower. The box is now ready for nailing, after a label and wax paper have first been placed on top of the plate. Without the facing-plate, a skilled facer can face some forty boxes a day, while from twenty to thirty boxes is a low average. With the facing-plate, the facing can be accomplished with more speed and accuracy.

Comparative Value of the Two Methods.

—The top-up method has several disadvantages. It requires a heavy pressure of the raisins to create a smooth, flat surface on which to face. But even if no facing is done, the top layer will always be more or less uneven, and requires heavy pressure to make it smooth, and appear well and to advantage. This heavy pressure always bursts many of the raisins, and causes them to sugar and spoil. It has also another disadvantage, that the facing of the top layer can only be done with the fancy paper previously placed in the box. In facing and manipulating the raisins, this paper becomes more or less soiled and wet. In using the top-down method, the paper is placed in the box at the last moment, just before the final five-pound layer is emptied from the tray upon the fifteen-pound layer below. I consider these advantages so essential that I must strongly indorse the top-down method, and I believe that, in course of time, it will be generally adopted by all packers who care for the keeping qualities of their raisins. As to the time and expense required by these two methods, there is but very little difference. The top-down method is possibly a little slower and more expensive, but it is by far the better, and the difference in expense of packing is not great enough to be taken into consideration.

LAYER RAISINS.

Sweating or Equalizing.

—This is a process by which the overdried raisins are made to attract sufficient moisture from the underdried raisins in the same box or bunch, and whereby the overdried raisins are made moister, while the underdried ones become drier. Equalizing also moistens the stems sufficiently to prevent them from breaking when being handled. In our California climate, where the air is so dry, this equalizing process is an absolute necessity, and no first-class raisin pack can be produced without the raisins having first been equalized. The word “equalizing” is to be preferred to “sweating,” as the latter word may be misunderstood as meaning that a certain amount of heat is developed by storing the raisins. Heat is indeed necessary, but it should come from the outside air, not from the inside or from the raisins. If from the latter the raisins will be in a fair way to become spoiled. In the foregoing I have described the construction and workings of the sweathouse. It may be suggested that, if there is no sweathouse on the vineyard, a large sail or canvas may be used as a substitute. The latter is simply thrown over the boxes where they are piled out-of-doors, and answers to some degree in keeping the raisins moist. But as this is only a substitute, I shall not dwell longer on its usefulness. It may, however, be said in favor of this appliance, that it is used by one of our largest packers, and by him considered as of equal value if not superior even to a regularly constructed equalizing house.

The raisins which are to be sweated are only the clusters or layers, and not the loose, which as we have seen should at once be taken from the field to the stemmer, while the stems are yet crisp and dry. It is therefore of importance that the bunches or layers should be separated from the loose already in the field, or, which is much preferable, before they are dried, at the time when they are picked from the vines. If the latter is done properly, there will be only a small quantity of loose which will go in the sweating-house with the layers. The layers should at any rate be placed at once in sweatboxes when taken from the trays, and between every two layers of bunches there should be a stout sheet of manilla paper, in order that the bunches may not become mixed. When taken to the sweathouse the boxes should be so placed that air can enter every one. It will not do to place one box on top of another so as to cover up the top entirely, as the raisins are then apt to ferment in a very short time, and, before the raisin-packer is aware, whole piles may be absolutely spoiled. It is not necessary to place the boxes crosswise, as it is enough to allow the short side of each box to overlap the underlying box a little; sufficient air will then enter. In very dry weather the floor of the sweathouse may be sprinkled with water, but this is generally not needed, as the underdried raisins will give out moisture enough to soften those that are too dry, as well as the stems. Every day the sweathouse should be aired, and it is a mistake to believe that all air should be excluded. If air is not daily admitted, the raisins will mold and spoil, and it is even advisable to keep a circulation of air constantly through the house during the daytime. The attentive packer will soon learn to regulate this, and nothing but actual experience with his particular sweathouse will enable him to decide how much air should be let in and to what extent the doors should be closed.

At the end of from ten days to three weeks, the equalizing process should be over, and the layers ready for further packing. When the boxes are removed, it will be found that the majority of those raisins which had been too moist or underdried have dried sufficiently, while on the contrary the overdried raisins, as well as the formerly brittle stems, will have acquired sufficient moisture to enable the packer to manipulate them without risk of breaking the bunches. The raisins should be pliable, and stand moderate pressure without cracking or breaking. But while equalizing is an important operation, and one which we cannot dispense with, it is always to the grower’s interest to so dry his raisins previously that they will require as little equalizing as possible, as even the most carefully sweated raisins which have once been overdried will never afterwards equal those which were at once properly dried in the field. The overdried raisins will always have a tougher skin and be inferior in color; but on the other hand they will keep better than raisins which have been dried less.

Grading and Weighing.

—The next step after the raisins have been equalized is to remove them to the grading tables. This should not be done by dumping the contents of a sweatbox on the table, as in this way but very few of the real choice bunches are saved for the packer. If, however, the raisins have been placed carelessly in the boxes, without sufficient or perhaps without any manilla papers between the layers, the only way is to dump out the contents. By first placing the sweatbox on the long side, and then turning it over, the raisins are but slightly disturbed. But to get these out afterwards from the chunk is the great difficulty, and many bunches must necessarily be broken. If, again, the raisins have been carefully handled and consigned to the sweatboxes, with four papers in every box, not counting in the top cover, the care and handling of the sweatboxes will be much simplified. The sweatbox is then placed alongside of the grading table, and each layer with its paper is lifted out carefully, and placed on the table. The assorting is now to begin. The bunches are taken up one by one, all inferior berries are clipped out, all soft ones are separated and placed in a box by themselves to be further dried. As each bunch is examined and cleaned, it is put in one of the weighing trays resting on small scales at either end of the table, and, when the scales indicate that five pounds of raisins are in the tray, the latter is removed to the packing table.

In the meantime all loose or inferior bunches are raked down through the openings in the grading tables and received in sweatboxes below, to be either further dried or to be stemmed and graded at once. In packing several grades of layer raisins, the grading of the bunches should be made at this table. No great choice in selecting the bunches should be left to the packer, as his time should alone be occupied with the packing of his box. The best way is to have differently colored scales for number one and number two layers, and when taking them out of the sweatbox assort them at once by placing them in different trays. The graders can never be too careful. No moist raisins, no small ones, no red and poor raisins, should ever be allowed among a better quality. They will lower the grade of the whole box, while the good quality of high-grade raisins will not raise the grade of a generally poor box. Thus, while the many good raisins in a poor box are not paid for according to their value, the few poor raisins which will be accidentally or carelessly smuggled in a good box will lower the value of the whole. Few packers will sufficiently understand this, which is really the principle of all good packing, and which should be scrupulously adhered to. Even inferior size berries, if otherwise ever so good, should be carefully clipped from the large-berried bunches. It is astonishing how quickly the buyer will notice a few small berries, and how readily he will ignore the value of the largest raisins in the box.

Packing Layers, Top-up Method.

—As with packing the loose raisins, there are two methods, the top up and the top down. The top-up method can be as little recommended in this case as in the former, but as it is used by many of the packers I will here describe it: The trays containing the five-pound layers are placed in front of the packer on the packing table, so as to be within easy reach of the packer. The trays or frames with the sliding bottom are now used. The first move is to place one of the inner paper wrappers in the tray, and next the layers are placed in the frame as carefully as possible. There are two ways in vogue in which this is done. One of them is to crowd the raisins to one side,—“bunch” them, so to say, beginning at one end of the tray and gradually working towards the other end. This is the wrong way, which I am sorry to say is used by very many packers, who desire speed above everything, thus sacrificing care and quality and even appearance. Raisins packed this way point their ends upwards in a slanting way, which not only detracts from their appearance, but causes them to get entangled in each other. Such bunches when pressed will generally break, and, when lifted out of the box afterwards, will be very different from what they were when they were placed there in the first instance. The raisins, whatever method is used, should always be placed flat on the bottom of the tray. Care should be taken to arrange them so that they will fit, and only very few broken bunches should be allowed to fill unoccupied corners or spaces in the box. It is better even to leave such spaces empty than to tear up good bunches in order to get the small quantities needed, or in using inferior berries to fill up the holes.

When at last the tray is full, and all the five pounds of raisins from the weighing tray are in, the upper surface should be smooth so as to require as little pressure as possible. When full the trays are taken to the press and stored on a side table until actually used. The presses are generally arranged for four trays. These are now placed under the press, a follower is placed on the top of every tray, and only sufficient pressure applied. Frequently too much pressure is used, and the raisins are flattened out to their greatest possible extent, many even crushed and so broken that the juice runs out. All such crushed raisins will sugar in a few months, and the whole box containing them will spoil and deteriorate in value. If, again, the raisins have been properly pressed, they will keep for months or even years. After the trays have been sufficiently pressed, which generally is accomplished in one minute’s time, the pressure is released, the follower removed, the folders turned over the raisins, and the trays removed to the boxing table, on which they may be allowed to accumulate until the boxer is ready to fill his boxes. On this table the final packing or “making up” of a box is done. It takes four of these five-pound frames to fill one whole box. Each tray is in its turn placed over a box, the sliding bottom is quickly removed, and the five-pound layer drops down in the box undisturbed. Every fourth frame should, in addition to the common paper wrapper, have labels and fancy paper pasted on the folders, or, as is sometimes done, an extra fancy folder or wrapper is placed on the third layer, and on the top or inside of it the fourth layer is dropped. Each layer will thus be found in its own wrapper, but the upper layer will have two, the outside one of which is fancy. Fine layers should have a waxed paper immediately above the raisins, in order that the moisture or sugar from them may not spoil the labels. On the top of the waxed paper the chromo or label is placed. The box is now ready for nailing.

Packing Layers, Top-down Method.

—This method I advocate as the most proper one to use. Thin galvanized-iron trays with a drop bottom are used. On the top of the drop bottom is placed a heavy follower of metal. White’s facing-plate, turned over, can be used to great advantage, even where no facing is required. The choicest bunches are now selected and spread evenly on the bottom of the tray; other bunches are placed on top of them, and so on until the tray is full. Great care must be taken in packing so as to make the bunches fit each other and lie solid; otherwise they are very apt to be disturbed, or they will require too heavy pressure to be kept in place. When the tray is full, it is gently pressed, and the pressure kept up for a few seconds. A loose zinc plate is then placed over the tray, the latter is turned over and placed over the box, in which the necessary wrapping papers have been previously placed, the loose zinc plate is quickly withdrawn, and the contents fall into the box. The heavy follower keeps the top layer steady, and with a little care the raisins are not disturbed.

The top-down method for packing layers has the following advantages over the top-up method. It gives a smooth surface on which to pack the top layer, without necessitating pressure to first create such a surface, the packing being done on a hard plate. The wrappers are not soiled, as they are not first placed in the frames. The packer is enabled to pack and select his choicest bunches for the top layer while he has plenty to select from, and any odd berries and broken or smaller bunches come naturally in the bottom of each layer. In the top-up method all such odds remain for the top, where they must go in, in order to make up the required five pounds.

A raisin-packer averages seventy-five trays of five pounds each per day, for which she is paid two cents each. Some pack more than this; but very excellent packing proceeds slower, and a packer of very choice layers can only pack twenty-five trays of five pounds each per day, for which a correspondingly higher price is paid. In Malaga, a trained and expert packer receives between two and three dollars per day. In California, they do not receive any more. In our raisin district, the girls are rapidly becoming expert packers, and the same ones are reËngaged year after year by the same packing-house.

Filling.

—The filling of the raisins is a trick to make them appear larger than they are. This filling was invented in Spain, and is used there especially on Dehesa boxes and where very expensive packing is required. It is done in the following manner. The raisin is first flattened out as much as possible, then the edges are bent, making the raisins slightly concave. In placing the concave side downwards, a smaller raisin is slipped underneath so as to cause the manipulated raisin to keep its shape. These filled raisins are used for facing only. The Spanish filled raisins have been handled to such an extent that all the bloom is lost, and the raisin looks anything but attractive. The California method of filling is a great improvement on the Spanish way. When the facing-plate is used, the raisin is first placed in a cavity on the plate, then worked out by a pressure with the finger, and when sufficiently concave another raisin is dropped in the hollow and pressed tightly. The faced raisin is thus filled, and when seen from the other side will appear much larger than otherwise. When, again, the top-up method of packing is used, a small block of wood may be employed. This block contains a single cavity of the size, that a raisin when pressed will fill it. The counterpart of this block is furnished with a convex protuberance, and when the two halves are placed together with a raisin between, and pressure is brought to bear, the raisin flattens out and becomes concave just enough to receive the filling.

In this way no handling with the fingers is done, and the raisin keeps its bloom undisturbed. Nothing is more attractive than a raisin with its bloom untouched; similarly the raisin that has lost its bloom always gives the buyer an idea that it has been fingered. Its appetizing quality is gone. Spanish Dehesas are generally both faced and filled. Some objection to this method is that it deceives, but as long as people not only are willing to be deceived but are actually anxious to pay for the deception, there is no reason why the filling should not be used. The deception, besides, is a very innocent one. It has also another excuse: A well faced and filled box is really a work of art; it will help to educate the people up to the appreciation of what fine raisins and fine packing should be. Filling and facing combined are practiced but little in California, and it is doubtful if filled facing will ever grow in much demand here.

Nailing and Trimming.

—The boxes are next moved to the nailing table. Two nails are put in the short sides and two in the long sides of the cover. The boxes when nailed are passed to the trimmer, who with a drawknife trims the edges and cuts off the comers diagonally. The latter prevents the boxes or covers from splitting. The best nails are French wire nails for the sides and ends, one and one-quarter inches long, and for tops and bottoms one inch long.

Labels.

—I cannot finish this part without adding some words about our labels. It is of importance that our labels and colored lithographs should be appropriate. The time has come when our raisins should stand upon their own merits, and should be designated with appropriate names. I should wish to see only California names used, California layers instead of London layers, California scenes instead of foreign scenes, which give no idea of our conditions, and which do not help to advertise our State and its resources. Whatever our labels may represent, they should be distinctly Californian. Another point which is but seldom observed on these labels is the shape and color of our raisin grapes. The latter are often represented on the labels, but their shape is seldom observed. Nowhere have we seen on them a true Gordo Blanco or a true Muscat of Alexandria represented, the grapes there pictured being impossible as raisin grapes, or even well-known wine or table grapes, out of which no raisins could be made. The packer has a right to protest against such misrepresentations of our fair grapes, especially as the lithographer could just as readily and just as cheaply have followed the originals. A beautiful label is well worth its price. As a work of art, it is seldom thrown away, but is carefully kept and made to adorn the walls of many a humble home, in which the name and fame of our State will soon be a household word. Let these labels go out by the million yearly to tell of our climate and of our soil, and of the land where the luscious raisins are produced, with the same care as apples or garden stuff in countries less favored by nature.