484 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



Cost of production of wine grapes per ton: Coast, $22.00; Val- 

 ley, $12.00. 



Average price paid for wine grapes from 1902 to 1911 at three coast 

 cellars : Cellar No. 1, $20.40 ; Cellar No. 2, $20.60 ; Cellar No. 3, $20.25. 



The difference of about $1.50 per ton between the estimated cost of 

 production in the coast region and the prices actually received is 

 accounted for by the fact that the cost of production is increasing, 

 owing principally to the necessity of using grafted vines in this region. 



The estimated cost of $12.00 per ton in the interior valley is, I believe, 

 very close to the average price which has been paid for wine grapes 

 there during the last ten years, if we leave out of consideration the 

 waste raisin and table grapes, which are often used in wine-making. 



The grape grower's profit is what remains of the difference between 

 the price paid by the consumer and the cost of production, after deduct- 

 ing packing expenses, transportation charges and the tolls of the various 

 agents of distribution. 



Often nothing remains, or, in other words, he is selling his grapes at 

 cost and receiving nothing for his time and expenditure of energy. 

 Not infrequently an examination of his balance sheet will show that 

 his profit is a minus quantity. In fact, there are many vineyards in 

 the State, both large and small, which an accurate system of bookkeep- 

 ing would prove to be conducted at an average annual loss. This is 

 possible on a large vineyard only by foregoing a reasonable rate of 

 interest on the money invested, or by paying the deficit from some other 

 source, such as the increase of value of the land. On a small vineyard, 

 where the owner does most of the work, this form of unselfishness can be 

 carried still further. He may not only obtain no returns on any capital 

 invested in his place, but he may fail to obtain even current rates of 

 wages for his own time and labor. In other words, he would be better 

 off financially if he gave his vineyard away and worked for the man he 

 gave it to. 



That there are numbers of growers of wine, raisin and shipping 

 grapes in the position of these hypothetical altruists is certain, and it 

 should be useful to inquire into the causes and to point out, if possible, 

 how the old grower can escape from this position and how the new 

 grower can avoid getting into it. 



The problem is how to insure a tangible residuum of profit after all 

 charges, from the buying and planting of his vineyard to the last toll 

 of the retailer, have been paid. Many factors enter into this problem. 

 The least variable of these factors is the price paid by the actual con- 

 sumer. In practice, this price will not vary much from the maximum 

 which he is able or can be persuaded to pay. If it rises temporarily 

 above this maximum, buying ceases and the price falls automatically. 

 If it falls for a moment below this maximum, the struggle for profit of 

 the various agencies of production, transportation and distribution 

 quickly bring it back to its normal level. 



