_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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.