The Almond in California

by R. H. Taylor

CROP HANDLING

Harvesting.—The harvesting of the crop should be commenced as soon as the hulls have opened to their fullest extent and no time should be lost in completing the work. The nuts in the center of the tree are the last ones to ripen and so may be used as indicators. If harvesting is commenced early, the nuts will cling to the tree rather tenaciously and knocking must be very vigorous in order to shake them loose. On the other hand, if they are allowed to hang too long after ripening, a number of difficulties may be encountered. They may be blown to the ground by light winds and the cost of gathering be increased, as quite commonly occurs with the Peerless, or the hulls may dry up and in doing so, close around the nuts to a greater or less extent and add to the cost and difficulty of hulling. This is most noticeable with the Nonpareil. Strong winds will break off a great many of the nuts of any of the varieties, and promptness is doubly essential where there is any likelihood of such winds during the harvest season. Depredations by birds may cause serious losses, especially with the soft and papershell varieties. Infestation by worms may often be quite serious in the papershell varieties when they are allowed to hang too long. In case of damp or foggy weather the shells turn dark and sometimes commence to mildew, requiring heavier bleaching to brighten them sufficiently for market demands. Rain stains can never be removed entirely by bleaching.

Fig. 20.—Harvesting almonds by knocking onto sheets spread on ground.

The crop is gathered by knocking the ripened nuts and hulls with long poles onto sheets spread on the ground under the trees. The knocking should be done near the portions of the trees where the nuts are borne and by striking a number of light, quick blows, rather than by a heavy blow aimed to jar a large branch. This will avoid injury to the bark by bruising and will accomplish the work in less time. The blows should always be delivered squarely against the branch. A glancing blow will tear the bark and break off a great many fruit spurs, thus reducing the bearing surface for the next year. For this reason harvesters must be watched closely all the time to insure the proper use of the poles. The sheets, two in number, are spread under the trees so they will overlap and catch all the nuts that fall (see [figure 20]). When sufficiently loaded with nuts to make dragging the sheets from one tree to another difficult, they are emptied into lug boxes and sent to the huller.

The character of the harvesting equipment may vary considerably, depending on the acreage, character of trees and ground, time required, capital available, and the personal wishes of the owner. Some growers use heavy poles of pine, spruce or fir, while others prefer the lighter bamboo poles. The heavy poles are from 1½ to 2 inches in diameter at the base and from ¾ to 1 inch in diameter at the top. Experience has shown that poles of this type over 20 feet in length become unwieldy, and not only swing slowly but do more damage because of the greater difficulty of control. Most growers prefer 16-foot poles with a few 20-foot ones for use in the tops of the taller trees. Where the tops cannot be reached with these, the men climb into the trees with shorter poles. The bamboo poles used are about 24 feet long and because of their lightness can be used with greater speed. Bamboo poles with short internodes should be selected as they are less likely to break. Breakage may also be reduced by storing the poles in a cool place where drying-out will not be excessive.

The sheets used are made of duck ranging in weight from 7 to 12 ounces. Sizes of single sheets range from 12 × 24 to 24 × 48 feet. Sheets need not be much longer than the longest diameter of the tree. To prevent mildew and rotting of the fabric in the sheets they should be boiled in a solution of tannin before being used. The life of sheets thus treated will be greatly lengthened.

A number of growers have provided special contrivances by which sheets are mounted on sleds or wheels so they are not dragged on the ground. The principal objection to such an arrangement is that the sled or wheeled frame must be made in two sections, one for each side of the tree, thus increasing the cost of the operation because the horses can be used for nothing else while harvesting is in progress. On the other hand, by the dragging process sheets will not last more than two or three seasons, whereas by the sled or wagon method they will last from six to ten years longer. The two wagons shown in [figure 21], each 12 × 24 feet, cost between $60 and $70, about 1914. The canvas portion is of 8-ounce duck. By this method the knockers can gather ten lug boxes before emptying. The work can be done much faster with wagons. With the sleds a sheet is fastened lengthwise on the right-hand side of one and another on the left-hand side of the other sled.

Hulling.—After harvesting, the almonds, hulls and all are taken while still moist, to the huller to separate them. If they become dry before hulling they must be dipped in water or the shells will be broken. All hulling was formerly done by hand, and this is still done where only small lots are to be handled. The invention of machinery for this purpose has reduced the cost of hulling from 60 to 80 per cent, for most outfits separate the hulls from the nuts before they leave the machine. Some of the hand hullers consist simply of the hulling portion of the large power machines without the separating screens. These cost about one-sixth or one-seventh as much as the large machines, and where a man has a small acreage and is too far away to haul to a large huller, a hand machine will greatly facilitate the work, even though the final separation must be done by hand.

Fig. 21.—Portable almond sheets mounted on wheels as used by N. J. Lund, Oakdale, California, 1916.

There are three different kinds of hulling and separating machines now in operation in California, all invented by California almond growers. The first one made was the Read “Sure-Pop” almond huller. This is now manufactured in three sizes by the Schmeiser Manufacturing Company, Davis, California. The No. 3 huller does not have any separating device and is generally best for orchards of less than ten acres. It may be operated by hand or by a small engine or motor. The No. 2 hullers both hull and separate and are operated only by power. They should pay in orchards of ten acres or more. The No. 1 is the largest made and is for use in large orchards of 100 acres or more.

The Beach huller is of more recent origin, having been in use only since 1895. It was invented by J. E. Beach of Fairoaks, California, and is being manufactured by him. The two sizes of this machine are both power outfits; they are doing satisfactory work at the present time.

The third huller is that made by C. U. Reams of Suisun. One of the first machines made by him was in 1897, and is now in working order at the F. O. Scarlett ranch, northeast of Suisun, and is doing satisfactory work. Since the first invention, Reams has made a number of improvements both in the method of hulling and of separating.

Many growers do not have sufficient tonnage to enable them to afford a commercial huller, and yet hulling by hand is a slow and tedious practice. C. E. Sedgwick, Manager of the Solano District of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, located at Dixon, California, conceived the idea of using a centrifugal blower operated by a small electric motor to do the hulling. His description of this outfit, quoted from “Pacific Service Magazine,” April, 1916, page 393, after making two small corrections given by Mr. Sedgwick, is as follows:

The equipment consists of a No. 0 Sturtevant exhaust fan belted to a 1 h.p. motor. The nuts are fed into the suction side of the fan where they are picked up by the runner, hurled against the casing of the fan and blown out of the discharge into a box.

The motor consumes three-tenths kilowatts when almonds are fed into the fan at the rate of a lug box every minutes and one-half, so that the power cost, even at the 8-cent lighting rate, is only 2.4 cents per hour. The fan costs about $20, while the regular commercial hullers run as high as $750.

Further inquiry from Mr. Sedgwick developed the fact that this huller has operated for three seasons on a 20-acre almond orchard. Peerless, Drake and I.X.L. almonds were all hulled successfully. Nonpareils have not as yet been tried. The speed most commonly used was about 1200 r.p.m., though it varied somewhat with the different varieties. He believes that a larger size would do better work.

The efficiency of any of the above hullers depends largely upon the speed of the machine and upon the condition of the almonds in the hulls. If the machine runs too fast the almonds will be broken and injured, and if it runs too slowly many of the almonds are not hulled. If the almonds are allowed to hang on the trees too long, or if allowed to lie around too long after being harvested, the hulls become dry and leathery and the difficulty of hulling is greatly increased. Dipping in water in such cases may help to overcome this difficulty to a limited extent.

The papershell varieties, notably the Nonpareil, are much more difficult to hull without breaking the shells than are the harder shelled varieties. The Nonpareil hull has a tendency to close around the nut on drying, making hulling under such circumstances very difficult.

Often when the moisture supply in the soil is exhausted before the nuts are ripe, or where the loss of leaf surface due to mites is serious prior to ripening, the hulls open only slightly or not at all, but dry onto the shell of the nut. Such “sticktights” can only be disposed of profitably by allowing them to thoroughly dry, when they are cracked and sold as kernels.

After the hulling operation all almonds must be gone over by hand to remove pieces of hulls and inferior or gummy nuts. Where canvas drapers are not available for sorting directly from the huller, the nuts are piled in hoppers and sorted on benches beneath them.

Drying.—Immediately following the sorting, the nuts are spread on trays and thoroughly dried in the sun. In the interior valleys during the hot, dry weather the nuts will sometimes dry so quickly that by the time the sorting from hoppers is completed the nuts are sufficiently dry to be bleached. The grower must be certain, however, that such is the case before any bleaching is done, or before the almonds are delivered to the warehouses for bleaching. The nuts are sufficiently dry when the kernels will break without bending. Quick drying is essential to prevent the excessive darkening of the shell.

Bleaching.—When thoroughly dry the nuts are ready for bleaching. The shells are first moistened by spraying with water or subjecting them to low-pressure steam for 10 to 20 minutes. The shells are then subjected to the fumes of burning sulphur for 10 to 30 minutes. The sulphur fumes are absorbed by the moisture on the shells, which are bleached to a bright yellow color. After bleaching the nuts are exposed to the air for a few moments to allow them to dry. The market demands a nut that has been sufficiently bleached to give it a bright, clean, yellow color. An over-bleached almond is equally objectionable because of its pale, sickly, yellow or whitish color. Over-steaming or sulphuring permits excessive penetration of the sulphur fumes, with the resulting danger of absorption by the kernel. While this may not be noticeable in the flavor, it will eventually result in premature deterioration in the form of rancidity. Unbleached almonds remain edible much longer than bleached almonds in nearly every case. Ordinarily one to three pounds of the best flowers of sulphur is required to bleach a ton of almonds. Lump sulphur is not satisfactory.

Sacking.—During the preliminary handling of almonds ordinary grain sacks are commonly used. After bleaching, in which condition they are ready for market, they are put in standard almond bags, measuring 20 × 40 inches and weighing 1¼ pounds. The weight of a bag of almonds will vary, depending not only on the variety but also on the year in which the crop was grown and the locality in which it was produced. For selling purposes the California Almond Growers’ Exchange estimates weights of different varieties to be as follows: Nonpareil about 85 pounds to the bag; I.X.L. about 80 pounds; Ne Plus Ultra, 75 pounds; Drake, 90 to 100 pounds; Languedoc, 100 pounds; and hardshell almonds, 100 to 120 pounds.

Shelling.—Within the past two years the shelling of almonds has taken a prominent place in the consideration of the men charged with the disposal of the almond crop. The increasing popularity of shelled almonds, and the limited market for unshelled almonds, makes the production of more shelled almonds imperative in view of the prospects of greatly increased production in the next few years. A small proportion of the shelled almonds marketed are those accidentally shelled during the hulling process. This probably averages less than 30 pounds per ton of almonds hulled in ordinary years.

The varieties most commonly shelled are the papershells. They are much more easily shelled without breaking the kernels than are the harder shelled varieties and, in addition, are worth more for shelling because of the high percentage of kernel compared to shell.

Grading.—Grading almonds for size is not done at present but probably will be within the next few years. Grading for quality is done regularly by testing an entire lot rather than attempting to separate inferior nuts. The standard grade consists of all lots having the required percentage of good kernels, free from worms or gummy nuts. This requirement varies between 90 and 95 per cent, depending on the condition of the crop as a whole and on the market conditions. The standard grade of a given variety sells on guarantee that it shall be up to advertised standard. All lots which cannot pass this are sold on sample, and therefore, on their own individual merits.