The Raisin Industry: A practical treatise on the raisin grapes, their history, culture and curingEisen, Gustavus A.
History
The Raisin Industry: A practical treatise on the raisin grapes, their history, culture and curing
Eisen, Gustavus A.
Raisins; Viticulture -- California
After the stacking is done, the assorting is in order. This consists in
taking out every bunch that is not sufficiently dried to go into the
sweatbox, and placing them on new trays to dry more. At this time, also,
the bad or inferior and red berries may be taken out, if present in a
very large quantity on good bunches; but when there are only a few on,
it is better not to touch the bunch, as, in handling it, it is only too
apt to break. Any further picking out of bad berries had better be
deferred to the packing-house. The boxing and assorting, which may be
considered together, consist in transferring the different grades of the
now dried raisins to separate sweatboxes. This is done in two ways. The
number one bunches, which have been placed on separate trays, may now
simply be slid into the sweatbox, by a dexterous movement of the tray.
Between every two layers of these first-class bunches should be placed a
stout manilla paper cut so as to exactly fit the box. It is of
importance to have the paper just fit the box, and not be too large nor
too small, as in either case the raisins are apt to become mixed and the
bunches broken. But, if the grapes have not been assorted from the
beginning on separate trays, more work will be required to get them into
the sweatboxes. Every bunch must be carefully taken up by hand from the
tray, and then placed on the paper in the box. But in doing so many
bunches are necessarily broken, as even careful hands cannot help
frequent mishaps, while ignorant and careless workmen may do an immense
injury to the crop. Too few manilla papers are generally used. Some
packers require only two papers in every box, while six or eight, or at
least five, papers should be the proper number for every box of very
choice or even ordinary layers. We must remember that, the more papers
we use, the less apt are the bunches to be injured, but even the best
layer bunches will not suffer if placed two layers high between every
paper. On top and in the bottom of every box must be one paper, so as to
keep out dust. The loose and inferior raisins, which either have been
left on the tray after the layers are picked out, or which from the
beginning have been placed on separate trays, may now, when perfectly
dry, be simply dumped in sweatboxes without any paper.
We have thus at least two kinds of sweatboxes. One kind contains those
raisins which are destined to make layers, and which require sweating
and equalizing before they can be packed. The other kind contains the
loose and drier berries, which are to go immediately to the stemmer and
grader, and which would not separate from the stems if they were made to
equalize.
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