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.