been
equalized the raisins are taken out, assorted into the different
grades, and placed in trays holding 5 pounds each. The trays of the
same grades are then pressed and stacked away in piles ready for
packing.

"Pressing the raisins so that they look well and so none are burst
open is work requiring experience and good judgment. It takes four
pressed trays to fill a 20-pound box. The loose raisins that have
dropped from the cluster through handling before they were equalized
are also graded, the largest, of course, making the choicest pack."

_Classes of raisins._

"Previous to the consolidated organization of the packers the three
best grades of raisins on the stems were known as 'Imperial,'
'Dehesia,' and 'Fancy Clusters,' respectively. The California Raisin
Growers Association established classification and grades similar to
those of the Spanish raisin packers, on which the French trade names
are also based. The original Spanish, as well as English terms with
which they correspond, and the different grades in descending order of
quality are shown in the following table:

=========================================================================
SPANISH TERMS|FRENCH TERMS |ENGLISH TERMS |CALIFORNIA TERMS
-------------+---------------+----------------------+--------------------
Imperial |Imperiaux Extra|Extra Imperial Cluster|Six-Crown Cluster
Imperial Bajo|Imperiaux |Imperial Cluster |Five-Crown Cluster
Royan Bajo |Royaux |Royal Cluster |Four-Crown Cluster
Cuarta (4a) |Surchoix Extra |Choicest |Three-Crown Cluster
Quinta (5a) |Choix Extra |Choice Cluster |Two-Crown Cluster
=========================================================================

"The grading is optical, as a result of experience, there being no
linear or cubic measurement standard. Thus, a nice cluster with all
berries of large size, would be a 'Six-Crown Cluster,' such being the
very finest raisins on the stem. 'Five-Crown Clusters' were formerly
the 'Dehesia' cluster, and 'Four-Crown Clusters' were formerly 'Fancy
Clusters.' Grades less than 'Four-Crown' on the stems (the
'Three-Crown' and 'Two-Crown') are known as 'Layers,' or 'London
Layers.' These are placed in boxes containing 20 pounds net; in half
boxes of 10 pounds; and quarter boxes of 5 pounds; and in fancy boxes
containing 2-1/2 pounds. Loose raisins, or raisins off the stem, are
graded into Two-Cr