PURPOSE: To wash small turnips without direct contact with water by providing means for transferring the small turnips and means for measuring the outside diameters in the root parts of the small turnips under transfer.

CONSTITUTION: The small turnips are placed by each piece onto attachments 4 from a supplying section 1A. The pawl attachment mounted to an endless roller chain is inclined by a pawl attachment inclining bar 6B when the attachment comes to the supplying section. The rear end 4D1 of a lower pawl 4D comes into contact with a pawl opening guide bar 6A, by which the lower pawl is opened. The small turnips enter a draining chamber where water drops are removed. The small turnips are thereafter introduced into a sensor box section 8. Contact plates 8E2, 8F2 in the sensor box section 8 open by tracing the outside diameter of the small turnips upon entry of the small turnips. A tuning gear rotates to rotate a pinion 8G which in turn rotates a slit plate 8H to measure the diameter of the small turnips and to classify the small turnips. Thus, the small turnips are classified by standards.