THE MON-THLY BULLETIN". 487 



Owino' to great variations in methods of cultivation, pruning and 

 dryina- in Suftana vineyards, the cost of seedless raisins will vary more 

 than that of Muscats, and I have been unable to obtain sufficient data on 

 which to 1)ase an estimate of the average. A single example from a par- 

 ticular vineyard for a particular year, however, indicates that the cost is 

 not very dik'erent from that of Muscats. 



Returns of a Sultana Vineyard. 

 Size, 16 acres. Crop U tons. 



Cultivation -- ---------| ffg gg 



Feed i iro nn 



Pruning ; ^'^^ "'^ 



Vineyard work 



rp^xes ! ^^ ^ 



Intereston'mortgage at 8 per cent ; 360 OO 



($4,500— $281 per acre.) 1 



Fixed charges 



Trays (handling) , |40 00 



Picking and turning 1 ^^^ ^ 



Boxing raisins 1 ■^^ ^ 



$350 00 



425 00 



Making raisins 1 i '^^^ ^^ 



Total cost 1 $1'065 00 



Gross income at 2f cents per pound ' ^'^^ ^^ 



Profit I ^^5 °^ 



This table shows that the grower sold his raisins at the cost of proj 

 duction, or perhaps below. While there is an indicated profit of $35 

 on the whole sixteen acres, no charge has been made for depreciation, 

 which would amount to more than this amount on the trays alone. No 

 allowance is made for depreciation of stakes and wire trellises, increased 

 age of vines, or depletion of the soil, necessitating future fertilization. 

 When these items are counted, the cost will come up fully to the 3 cents 

 per pound for Muscat raisins. The owner of this particular vineyard 

 probably did most of the pruning and cultivation of the vineyard him- 

 self, and also some of the raisin making. By this means he probably 

 saved, at most, about $300 of the cost. This $300 represents the returns 

 for his own labor. In order that he should be able to pay the inevitable 

 depreciation charges and receive a fair return for his skill, energy and 

 experience, he must receive at least 4 cents a pound for his raisins or 

 increase his crop to at least two tons per acre. 



If this reasoning and these calculations are correct, they prove the 

 proposition with which we started, i. e., that the growers of wine and 

 raisin grapes sell their crcps on the average at the cost of production. 

 In other words, their returns represent simply current rates of interest 

 on their investments and current rates of wages for their o^vn labor. In 

 the case of shipping grapes, undoubtedly similar conditions exist. 



This might represent a fairly satisfactory state of affairs if it were 

 uniform, although the grower has a right to expect some return for his 



