By having the tomatoes thoroughly clean, with no mud and scarcely any mold adhering to the surface when they drop on the sorting belt, the amount of sorting required is not only greatly lessened, but the spots of black rot and other forms of decay show up prominently on the surface. It is important that the reel deliver the tomatoes to the sorting belt at a uniform rate, which is seldom done when the crates are dumped into the reel without any system of timing them. At present a hopper for feeding the reel is being experimented with, and it is hoped that it will be an improvement over the uncontrolled system that is now used. The chief objection made to the reel cylinder is that when tomatoes are overripe, having been shipped a long distance, or held at the factory for a day or two, the rubbing action of the wire on the tomatoes, and of the tomatoes against each other, is too severe, and considerable tomato substance is lost by being forced down through the wire mesh by the sharp sprays of water from overhead. The loss in this case is not nearly as great as would be imagined, and what tomato substance is thus lost should be discarded anyway, as it is so soft that in all probability the fiber is permeated with growths of mold, yeasts, and bacteria, which no amount of washing would eliminate. Water Bath With Compressed Air The reel washer is not so common in the east as in the west, and the reason is, as previously stated, that during the greater part of the season at least, tomatoes grown on loose, sandy soil can be washed satisfactorily by other devices which are less cumbersome and can be more easily rigged up. One of these devices which is in satisfactory operation is a shallow water bath through which the tomatoes pass on a chain carrier, and in which the water is kept “boiling” (that is, it has the appearance of boiling) by compressed air which is forced into the water bath through small pipes, and at a number of different places. The tomatoes are thus bounced around and knocked against each other in a very lively manner and receive a thorough cleansing. It is very doubtful, however, if this device would give such good results on tomatoes that had clay baked hard on the surface, or on those which had mold deeply imbedded in cracks at the stem end. Importance of Agitation