THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 485 



The most variable of these factors is that with which the producer has 

 the closest relation, the cost of production. 



The profit of the producers, as a whole, will varj^ to a great extent in 

 accordance with the more or less abundance of the crop, but the oscilla- 

 tions are such as to bring the average very close to zero. In other 

 words, the average price obtained by the producer is not very far in 

 either direction from the average cost of production. To change this 

 general condition would require some ver}^ radical changes in methods 

 of marketing, which it is not my purpose to discuss. 



Even under present conditions, however, it is possible for the intelli- 

 gent and experienced grower, aided Vy a little luck, to extract a tangible 

 profit out of his industry. He can do this usually in one or both of 

 two ways: (I'l By decreasing the cost of production below the average; 

 (2) by increasing the quality of his product above the average. In 

 the first case, if the average cost of producing a ton of grapes is $12, 

 and he can produce one for $10, he is clearly making a profit of $2 per 

 ton more than his fellow growers. By improvements in quality, the 

 gain is not always so direct, nor so immediate, but in the end is equally 

 real. The consumer can be made to pay more for a superior article, 

 and the competition of the distrilnitors for this article will enable the 

 producer to obtain some of this extra price. 



The best examples of how the individual grower can increase his 

 profit by diminishing the cost of production are perhaps to be found in 

 the raisin industry. Our Californian methods of groAving raisin grapes 

 and drying raisins have been so simplified and perfected in the direction 

 of doing everything as cheaply as possible that it hardly seems possible 

 to improve in this respect. 



A mistake made by many growers, however, consists in measuring the 

 cost of production simply by the sums expended on an acre of vineyard. 

 This does not vary much and in most vineyards has been brought very 

 nearly to an irreducible minimum. The true way of arriving at the 

 cost, however, is to compare the sums expended on the vineyard with- 

 the amount of raisins produced. If, by improving our methods of 

 handling Avines and raisins, we can increase the crop, we have diminished 

 the cost of production. If, by expending $5 per acre on improved 

 methods of pruning, cultivation, irrigation, and so forth, we can obtain 

 grape-s worth $15 more, we have increased the profit of our vineyard 

 and diminished the cost per ton of grapes. 



The cost of producing a pound of Muscat raisins has been variously 

 estimated by different growers at from 1^ cents to 3^ cents. The 

 general opinion places it at from 2| cents to 3 cents. Accurate accounts 

 kept by several large producers of raisins place it at about 3 cents. 

 The grower who takes the trouble to keep accurate accounts, as a rule, 

 takes pains to do the rest of his work well. The cost in a large number 

 of vineyards will undoubtedly be more than this. 



The co.st per acre will consist of two categories: (1) Vineyard work, 

 which alone is sometiines counted. This will amount to about $11.75 on 



