13S STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



DISCUSSION. 



]Mr. Sla^'ton : How is the expense of the packing-house borne — accord- 

 ing to tlie number of bushels, or according to the number of dollars that 

 each contributor receives? 



Mr. Hale: According to the number of bushels each puts in. 



Mr. Slayton: A thousand bushels of No. 3 would cost a man just the 

 same as No. 1. 



Mr. Hale: Yes, sir, it would require just as much w-ork to pack them. 



Mr. Morrill: Will you give us the plan of keeping account with your 

 patrons? I have reference to how ^'ou get your pay for the work. 



^fr. Hale: In the first place, this was a question that we were some- 

 what divided upon, whether it could be done, whether the fruit could be 

 kept separate with no mistakes and each man given credit for what he 

 had. At first we made an estimate as to how much the expense of this 

 would be. including baskets and all expenses pertaining to the packing 

 and loading of this fruit and shipping it, book-keeping and all. We 

 finally came to a basis at an estimated percentage per bushel, and decided 

 that if at the end of the season there should be anything left it would 

 be pro-rated back to the growers according to the number of bushels they 

 had. 



Mr. Morrill: Have you any objection to stating what the price was? 



Mr. Hale: I have not. AMien we proposed to erect the building, the 

 question was, how could we build it. How could we raise the money and 

 go ahead? Me finally adopted a plan whereby we made a stock company. 

 We took so many shares, determined according to the number of bushels 

 or according to the number of acres of orchard w^e had, as nearly as 

 we could get it, so it would be equally divided; and then we paid part 

 in, and for the balance we took out so much per bushel value on fruit 

 sent through the packing-house by the members. This expense or what 

 we took out applied on the packing-house, and on this stock, and the 

 estimated expense for everything was twenty-four cents per bushel, 

 which we deducted from every bushel before the money went into the 

 hands of the growers. That was all deducted, twenty-four cents on 

 every bushel. That paid for all the baskets and all the expenses con- 

 nected with it. We found at our settlement that this paid for every- 

 thing. Our expenses were heavier this year than they would be again, 

 because we had books and office fixtures to buy. W^e have on hand books 

 enough to run us a year or two, and the office fixtures will last several 

 years. We found that we had enough to pro-rate back to the members 

 to make the actual cost of the handling of the fruit, outside of what 

 we applied on the packing-house, about 18^ cents per bushel. That 

 covered the cost of baskets and everything. 



Mr. Morrill: The fruit delivered? 



Mr. Hale: The fruit delivered on board of the cars. 



Mr. Morrill: That includes receiving, handling, packing, and putting 

 in the car and selling? 



Mr. Hale: Yes. sir; the whole thing, except, of course, freight. 



Mr. Morrill: D(^]ivered on board cars. I believe the car stands right 

 alongside your packing-house? 



