Manual of American grape-growing

by U. P. Hedrick

Picking appliances.

But few appliances are needed in picking grapes. Shears are a necessity. These are of special make and can be bought from dealers in horticultural supplies, costing from 75 cents to $1. Some growers, after picking, pack the fruit in the field in the receptacles in which it is to go to market. The greater number, however, pick in trays which are taken to the packing-house and allowed to stand until the fruit is wilted before packing for shipment. Trays may be of several sizes and shapes, but are usually shallow flats holding from twenty-five to thirty-five pounds. The picked fruit is taken from the vineyard to the packing-shed in a wagon with flexible springs to prevent jarring and jolting. Large growers usually have specially built one-horse platform wagons, the front wheels of which pass under the platform.

Picking accounts.

It is no small matter to keep a picking account with pickers. Business-like growers use one of several kinds of tickets or tags in keeping accounts. Probably the most common method is to give a ticket to the picker when the receptacle of grapes is delivered, the grower either keeping half of the original or a duplicate of it. Objections to ticket systems are that the pickers often lose the tickets, are irregular in returning them, or exchange them with other pickers. To obviate the disadvantages of tickets, some growers use tags which bear the picker's name and are attached to his person. These tags have marginal numbers or divisions which are canceled by a punch as pickers deliver the grapes. Still another method is to keep book accounts with each picker in which case payment is made by the pound, each receptacle being put on the scales as brought in from the field, credit being given for the number of pounds. It is the duty of those in charge to see that each picker finishes the row or the part of the row to which he is assigned, and that he does not wander over the vineyard in search of the best picking.

Packing-houses and their appliances.

The commercial grape-grower must have a house for packing and storing. Houses differ in design and fitting for almost every vineyard. Sometimes the house is a combination one for packing and storing. Often the packing-house is a halfway place between the vineyard and the shipping station, in which case it is an open shed or a lightly constructed building. In these field packing-houses there are usually no provisions for storing. The better types of combined houses are provided with a cellar for the storage of grapes, the first floor is used for packing, and the attic provides a place for the storage of baskets and crates. In all such houses provision must be made for thorough ventilation, especially for the storage cellar if the grapes are to be kept for any length of time. Properly ventilated, the temperature of the grape cellar can be kept as low as 50° F. during September and October. The cellar floor in these houses is usually of dirt better to regulate the moisture-content of the room. Often the first floor is divided into two rooms, one to be used for packing and the other as a shipping room. A good combination packing-and-storage-house of this type can be built for $1000 to $2000. Now that cold storage facilities can be secured in most grape-growing regions, and the rates of storage are becoming more reasonable, there is less need of storage-houses.

Fig. 46. Packing grapes on a packing-table.

Packing-houses are so simple in construction and may be so different in design that it is neither possible nor necessary to describe them in detail. A building that protects the workers from the elements and affords conveniences in packing serves the purpose. Such a packing-house, which is often located in the vineyard, should be well lighted, should be connected with the storage-room for baskets and should have advantages for delivering the packages from the storage-room to the packing-room and from the packing-room to the shipping-room. Its size will depend on the quantities of grapes to be packed. The house must be built so that it can be kept clean and sweet.