496 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



prodiietion exceeds consumption lower prices naturally prevail. If at 

 au3' time one competitor places his output on the market at a price pro- 

 hibitive to the other, there are but two courses open to the less favored 

 grower : bankruptcy or a voluntary retirement from the business. 



In the final statement of the cost of production of almonds will be 

 found the following items : Taxes, interest on investment, supplies, 

 labor and marketing. Chief of these is labor. When one compares the 

 wages paid in California with those paid in Spain. France and Italy, 

 he finds that the European grower has a most decided advantage. The 

 labor put into a pound of almonds in Spain is only about one-third as 

 much as the California producer is compelled to put into a pound of his 

 product. In the matter of interest and supplies, the Spanish grower 

 again has the lesser expense. 



When one considers transportation rates, he finds that it costs the 

 American almond grower more to deliver almonds to the home market 

 than it does the Spanish grower to ship across the ocean to the same 

 market. The overland freight rate from California to chief eastern 

 points is $1.40 per hundred weight ; by steamer from San Francisco to 

 New York, via Panama, it is 75 cents per hundred weight. From 

 Malaga, Spain, to New York, it is about 27 cents per hundred weight. 



The Federal Government long ago recognized the disadvantages 

 under which the California almond grower labors. For a considerable 

 time a handicap on the European grower, in the form of an import 

 duty equal to 6 cents per pound on the shelled and 4 cents per pound on 

 the'unshelled goods, was levied on all imports. This, it was thought, 

 would equalize the cost of production and delivery to the common 

 American markets; it meant, in the judgment of those responsible for 

 the law, that it costs about 5 cents per pound more to produce a pound 

 of almonds in America than it does in southern Europe. Recent legis- 

 lation has reduced this differential to a duty of 4 cents per pound on 

 the shelled and 3 cents per pound on the unshelled almonds. The wis- 

 dom of this change is yet to be demonstrated. We know, however, that 

 we on the Pacific coast are pulling against the tide, while the European 

 grower is simply drifting. AVe know that to insure profitable sale for 

 a greatly enlarged output we must extend the markets and induce more 

 general consumption of almonds. The call is out for every grower to 

 help. The task before us is a stupendous one. A successful continua- 

 tion of almond growing here demands organized, aggressive co-operative 

 work. The duty of the grower is not ended when he sacks his crop. 

 Foreigners are appropriating our markets and anticipating the needs of 

 our people. We must popularize our products, advertise their desir- 

 ability and cheapen their production. 



Many of the vexatious problems pertaining to location of orchard, 

 varieties to grow, pruning, spraying, cultivation, etc., have been fairly 

 well worked out.* Growers know about what it costs to produce 

 almonds ; those who have tried it know of the difficulties of selling in the 

 open market. The more thoughtful growers realize that the greatest 

 problem confronting the almond industry of California today is that of 

 marketing the product. 



About the year 1898 local associations of growers began to organize. 

 These were a benefit from an educational standpoint at least, for they 

 taught the benefits of co-operation. They generally combined for the 



